weightlessness

Weightlessness occurs when an object is in free fall, meaning it is accelerating downward due to gravity without any normal force from a supporting surface. In this state, the object and everything inside it are falling together at the same rate, creating the sensation of feeling weightless. For example, astronauts aboard the International Space Station appear weightless because they are constantly falling around Earth, experiencing a continuous free-fall orbit. This condition differs from zero gravity; it's the absence of a normal force exerted by a surface, not the absence of gravity itself.