Elevator Fun!

woot! So riding up and down elevators was pretty fun, especially at my Mom's office Building! I tried explaining to her what she was feeling when she rode it. So the normal feeling that one gets from standing in one place is an upward force. This is the normal force that counters the earth's gravitational pull on you. These forces are balanced because if gravity was lower, than you'd start floating away. If your normal force was lower, then you'd start sinking into the ground. But they are balanced and you stay stuck to the earth because THE WORLD SUCKS! But anyway, in an elevator, things change a bit, as anyone who's ever ridden an elevator can tell you. When you start going up to, let's say the 30'th story of a building, you feel heavier at the beginning. This is because the elevator is accelerating upward so your normal force decreases. Therefore it appears as if gravity is stronger and you are heavier, when in fact, your normal force has changed, not gravity. This is probably similar to when you are in an airplane at take off. The plane goes forward, but because your body naturally resists change (not like when you try to wake up in the morning) you feel the drag or the force pushing backwards. Between, oh let's say the 3rd and 27th floor, you feel regular. This is because you are not accelerating, but merely moving at a constant velocity. However, as you slow down and reach the top of your trip, the elevator car slows down and you feel lighter. This is because the car works with gravity and your normal force is suddenly higher than gravity and the elevator. So that is why you suddenly feel lighter.