5 minutes of weightlessness!!!!

5 minutes of weightlessness!!!!

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Discussion

andy4200

Original Poster:

5,037 posts

280 months

Thursday 23rd December 2004
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here

comforting to know it has a price guarantee

Chim_Girl

6,268 posts

266 months

Thursday 23rd December 2004
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I take it you're looking into alternative ways of getting home tomorrow.

andy4200

Original Poster:

5,037 posts

280 months

Thursday 23rd December 2004
quotequote all
or presents for her that don't involve going to the shops

UKBoB

16,277 posts

272 months

Thursday 23rd December 2004
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Amazing! You would think that (considering the fuel to get you there) the craft would stay up in weightless zone for more than 5 bloody minutes though!

Eric Mc

122,861 posts

272 months

Thursday 23rd December 2004
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There is no such thing as "a weightless zone".

Any flying craft (including all aircraft) can provide you with a few minutes of weightlessness. All they have to do is put the plane into a parabolic arc and as the plane goes over the top of the arc, you will find yourself beginning to float. The higher the plane climbs in its initial ascent, the longer the parabolic profile it can fly and the more zero - g you experience. I've even experienced it in a Cessna 152 - for all of about ten seconds.

simpo two

87,113 posts

272 months

Thursday 23rd December 2004
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Eric Mc said:
There is no such thing as "a weightless zone".

Outer space?

timsta

2,779 posts

253 months

Thursday 23rd December 2004
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simpo two said:

Eric Mc said:
There is no such thing as "a weightless zone".


Outer space?


It'll have to be *very* outer space, even pluto only stays where it is due to the gravitational pull of the sun.

You'll have to go way beyond the solar system, and then way beyond the milky way, which only stays in formation due to gravity as well.

Ok, ok, I'm just leaving.

Eric Mc

122,861 posts

272 months

Thursday 23rd December 2004
quotequote all
Quite right. Gravity is everywhere. There is no part of space (no matter how "outer" it gets) where the effects of gravity cannot be felt.

What people really mean when they talk about "weightlessness" or "zero-g" is "freefall".

The feeling of floating is caused by the fact that the individual or object is falling freely in a gravitational field and not bumping against a solid surface - like the surface of the earth, or the moon, or any other body. A skydiver is in freefall too. The problem for a skydiver is that at some point his freefall will end up with him smacking against the surface of the earth - which will bring about a sudden stop and possible pain.