tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post4850413413810813923..comments2023-10-10T05:07:13.577-07:00Comments on En Tequila Es Verdad: Sunday Sensational ScienceDana Hunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00890312745525306991noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post-90140003088723978232009-05-17T11:52:00.000-07:002009-05-17T11:52:00.000-07:00BTW, my later reference to using pools to train as...BTW, my later reference to using pools to train astronauts for tasks in weightlessness is an instructive one here - a body's buoyancy tends to counter the force of gravity.Cujo359https://www.blogger.com/profile/10385213658828021737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post-88492827082056481882009-05-17T10:39:00.000-07:002009-05-17T10:39:00.000-07:00That's true, lasthussar. But, for all practical pu...That's true, lasthussar. But, for all practical purposes, gravity's not there. That's what creates an orbit. As I suspect most writers do on this subject, I chose to keep the terminology simple.Cujo359https://www.blogger.com/profile/10385213658828021737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6851578517872251953.post-72020755464390710922009-05-17T07:42:00.000-07:002009-05-17T07:42:00.000-07:00To correct a common miscoception- There is loads o...To correct a common miscoception- There is loads of gravity in orbit.<br /><br />Gravity follows the squared rule of diminishing. So if G at x distance = 100, at 2x it is 25- the same G is spread amoung 4 times the area- ie 2^2 - G=25. At 3x it g=11.11 [100/(3^2)] and so on.<br /><br />The distance to orbit is just a few hundred miles, a fraction of the 7000 miles from the earth's centre of gravity. Thus 1.03x for orbit of 250 miles. Given at an orbital distance of 7000 miles, G would still be 2.4ms^1, rather than the 9.81ms^2 you are currently experiencing (double the distance, 1/4 the effect), at 250 miles orbit is still 9.1ms^2.<br /><br />What actually happens in orbit is that everything is falling at the same rate, thus you appear weightless. The reason every thing keeps falling is that as you descend the Earth curves away from you as fast as you fall.<br /><br />There is gravity, it is just that every thing is in freefall.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com