Is It Possible for an Object to Escape the Influence of Gravity While on Earth?

Is it possible for any object not to be under the influence of gravity while on Earth?C Stuart Hardwick:

No.

No object can escape the influence of gravity anywhere in the universe, as far as we know.

It is, however, possible for an object to escape certain effects of gravity under certain circumstances. Airplanes, for example, escape the acceleration of gravity by constantly expending energy to climb against it. I do it by pressing the electrons in the outer shells of the molecules of my shoe leather against those of the sidewalk.

Skydivers can do something pretty interesting by donning their wind-resistant gear and floating above a giant fan.

Mythbusters did essentially the same thing with a penny and an adjustable blower:

And of course, ships and balloons overcome the pull of gravity via buoyancy:

Astronauts escape more—but not all—effects of gravity by coasting away from the Earth in a straight line at exactly the speed they are falling toward it. This is what we call “being in orbit.” The same thing can be achieved in an aircraft by carefully diving toward the ground along at exactly the speed of acceleration due to gravity. Pulling up after a few seconds is highly recommended.

But all these remain under the influence of gravity, and would remain so even if the Earth weren’t here, because there are plenty of other objects, such as the Sun, which also originate their own far-reaching gravitational fields.

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