morning, about an hour before noon
That would be an easy matter , he assured them . It would be at the very moment when both themselves and all the other objects contained in the Projectile would be completely free from every operation of the law of gravity ; in other words , when everything would cease to have weight . This gradual diminution of the action of gravity , the travellers had been for some time noticing , but they had not yet witnessed its total cessation . But that very morning , about an hour before noon , as the Captain was making some little experiment in Chemistry , he happened by accident to overturn a glass full of water . What was his surprise at seeing that neither the glass nor the water fell to the floor ! Both remained suspended in the air almost completely motionless . `` The prettiest experiment I ever saw ! ''