Why does the normal force go down in an downward accelerating elevator? When standing in a stationary elevator the force due to gravity and the normal force cancel each other out hence the net force is 0. When the elevator starts accelerating downwards there's a net force in the downward direction meaning that the body in the elevator now experiences three forces, the force due to gravity,the force that is causing the acceleration of the whole elevator and the normal force, accordingly the downward force is now of a greater magnitude than that of the normal force the body experiences. Then my question is, why does the normal force need to reduce if the downward force is still greater than the normal force even if it doesn't decrease. The body feels the force of gravity and the force which

odcizit49o

odcizit49o

Answered question

2022-11-11

Why does the normal force go down in an downward accelerating elevator?
When standing in a stationary elevator the force due to gravity and the normal force cancel each other out hence the net force is 0. When the elevator starts accelerating downwards there's a net force in the downward direction meaning that the body in the elevator now experiences three forces, the force due to gravity,the force that is causing the acceleration of the whole elevator and the normal force, accordingly the downward force is now of a greater magnitude than that of the normal force the body experiences. Then my question is, why does the normal force need to reduce if the downward force is still greater than the normal force even if it doesn't decrease. The body feels the force of gravity and the force which causes the elevator to accelerate these two are greater than the normal force and therefore the elevator accelerates in the downwards direction, why should the normal force get smaller?

Answer & Explanation

Nkgopotsev1g

Nkgopotsev1g

Beginner2022-11-12Added 15 answers

"When the elevator starts accelerating downwards there's a net force in the downward direction meaning that the body in the elevator now experiences three forces, the force due to gravity,the force that is causing the acceleration of the whole elevator and the normal force"
This is not correct. There are only two forces acting on the body in the elevator. One is the downward pointing force of gravity, and the other is the upward pointing normal force. The force of gravity is constant, but the normal force can vary. There is not a third force involved. The net force is just the sum of the two forces, not a separate force on its own.
So if the body is not accelerating then the net force is 0 so the two forces are equal. If the body is accelerating downward then the net force is downward so the upward pointing normal force must be reduced so that the magnitude of the downward pointing gravitational force can exceed it.
evitagimm9h

evitagimm9h

Beginner2022-11-13Added 5 answers

The force that the elevator acceleration excerts on you is in opposite direction of the direction of acceleration. If the lift accelerates upwards you feel a bigger force downwards and if it accelerates down the force on you will diminish. If it accelerates down fast hard enough you can land up on the ceiling. The normal force reacts accordingly.

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