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What if you somehow go up straight into sky (assuming that you go up without any displacement in any other direction), would you land on the same spot from where you went up? If not, where could you land up depending upon the time you stay up?

Qmechanic
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1 Answers1

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assuming that you go up without any displacement in any other direction

Relative to what? If you go straight up and down without any displacement relative to the ground, you'll hit exactly where you started. If you mean relative to the air, then where you land will depend on the local wind patterns.

If you're imagining that you can just go straight up and the earth will spin under you, you should keep in mind that when you are on the surface of the earth you are spinning at the same speed as the earth. However much force you apply in a vertical direction, you keep that angular momentum and generally spin at a similar rate to the earth.

You might say "what if we get rid of that angular momentum somehow?" Well certainly you could- you just need to apply enough thrust in the right direction, parallel to the surface of the earth. But you wouldn't usually call that "going straight up and down."

Chris
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