bwoodacre

The easiest way to get a sense for the difference between the laws is to look at their mathematical statements. From the sheer magnitude of the forces induced, electrostatic repulsion of like charges (Coloumb's law) is ~10^23 times more strong between two electrons than the attractive force between their mass as given by the law of gravity; for protons (which have more mass & opposite but equal charge) you lose a few orders of magnitude, but the margin is still ~10^20. But gravity always attracts, while electrostatics may attract or repulse, so when you consider a real situation then things like your falling example get more complicated. I prefer just to remember the difference in their magnitudes.