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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →It lands slightly east of the point directly below the tower. The falling object keeps the eastward motion it shared with the tower, then moves a little faster around Earth’s axis as it falls closer to that axis. That combination puts it just ahead of the ground below.
Which answer is right: west, east, or directly below?
East is the right choice. The object does not begin its fall motionless relative to space: before release, it is moving east along with the tower because Earth rotates. As it falls, it gets slightly ahead of the surface beneath it.
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Why does it move east of the tower’s base?
It keeps the tower’s eastward motion
At the instant it is released, the object has the same eastward motion as the tower at its height. Gravity pulls it down, but release does not erase that inherited motion.
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It speeds up around Earth’s axis as it falls
The object’s distance from Earth’s rotational axis decreases as it descends. With angular momentum conserved, its angular velocity increases as that distance shrinks. It therefore advances slightly farther east than the ground at the tower’s base while falling.
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A spinning skater illustrates the basic idea: drawing in their arms brings mass closer to the spin axis and makes them rotate faster. The falling object’s motion is governed by angular momentum too, though its path is not simply the same as a skater’s spin.
Why the tempting alternatives are wrong
- West: This answer treats Earth’s rotation as if the ground moves east beneath an object that started without eastward motion. The object already shares the tower’s eastward motion when it is released.
- Exactly below: This overlooks the increase in angular velocity as the falling object gets closer to the rotational axis.
- East: This accounts for both the object’s initial eastward motion and its changing distance from the axis.
How large is the deflection?
It is small. In the Guardian’s illustrative estimate, a drop from Eiffel Tower height at the equator would land about 11 cm east of the point directly underneath. That figure is conditional on the equatorial location and the tower-height example; it is not a universal distance for every tower or latitude.
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The simple explanation identifies the direction, not a complete calculation for a real fall. Latitude, Earth’s shape, the object’s full three-dimensional trajectory and air resistance all matter to a more detailed treatment. The cited estimate should be read as an illustration, not as a reported experimental measurement.
What Newton’s original tower question was about
Isaac Newton discussed a falling body in a 28 November 1679 letter to Robert Hooke. The digitized transcription’s account says the body retains its eastward motion and moves toward the east side rather than descending along the perpendicular. Alex Bellos’s modern puzzle column turns that more technical historical discussion into a choice between west, east and directly below.
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The Guardian quotes Newton’s phrase, “quite contrary to ye opinion of ye vulgar.” The Guardian also describes the Hooke correspondence as rekindling Newton’s interest in gravity and motion; the tower question should not be treated as the sole cause of the later Principia.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A related activity—and what it does not show
The National Trust’s Summer of Discovery at Woolsthorpe Manor activity explores falling objects and how shape-dependent air resistance can affect fall times. It is a child-friendly way to investigate gravity, but it does not measure the small eastward deflection caused by Earth’s rotation.
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