Quick Answer: The Galilean Relativity apparatus is a 1200 mm aluminium track with a motor-driven cart carrying a spring-loaded vertical launcher, used to compare a projectile’s path seen from the moving cart and from the bench. The cart runs at a steady 0.1 m/s to 1.0 m/s.
Last updated: October 2026
Key Features
1200 mm anodised aluminium track with engraved metric scale
Polycarbonate cart on stainless steel ball bearings
Variable-speed DC motor with step-less speed control, 0.1 m/s to 1.0 m/s
Spring-loaded vertical launcher on the cart
Photogate bracket mounts
12V DC adapter for 220V AC, 50Hz mains
Technical Specifications
Specification
Value
Track
Anodised aluminium, 1200 mm, metric scale
Cart
Polycarbonate, stainless steel ball bearings
Drive
Variable-speed DC motor
Velocity range
0.1 m/s to 1.0 m/s
Launcher
Spring-loaded, vertical
Power
220V AC / 50Hz with 12V DC adapter
Included
Launch cart, tracking targets, steel projectiles, power adapter, manual
About This Product
With the cart still, a ball fired straight up lands back in the launcher. With the cart moving at a constant speed, the ball still rises and falls straight back into it as seen from the cart, while students at the bench see a parabola, showing that the laws of motion and the acceleration due to gravity are the same in both inertial frames.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the ball land when the cart of the Galilean Relativity apparatus is moving?
Back in the launcher cup, because the ball keeps the cart’s horizontal velocity; from the bench its path is a parabola.
