Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 6877604" data-attributes="member: 63">My understanding is that if you entered the sphere at its axis, you'd just float, and the world would spin around you. If you went to where the equatorial plane crossed the axis, then pushed yourself toward the 'ground,' you still wouldn't feel any gravity. You'd just travel at whatever speed you accelerated to (and would slow down due to air resistance). However, the ground beneath you would be spinning, possibly quite fast. If you drifted to the ground, at some point you'd probably move into the path of something like a tree or building, and it would hit you and then drag you along the path of rotation. Only then would you start to experience gravity, as the rotational movement tries to move you away from the center, and the ground keeps you from flying away.Check out this calculator: <a href="http://www.artificial-gravity.com/sw/SpinCalc/SpinCalc.htm" target="_blank">http://www.artificial-gravity.com/sw/SpinCalc/SpinCalc.htm</a>As an example, a 38 meter radius ring (239 meter circumference) rotating at 3 revolutions per minute produces an effective 1/3 G at 'ground level.' From a stationary observer it's moving at 43 kph, or 27 miles per hour. So even if there were no obstacles, if you drifted into it'd be like bouncing into a wall while traveling at 27 mph. Probably not fatal, but pretty unpleasant.If you have the same ring and spin it almost 5 times per minute, you get a velocity of 44 mph. You probably don't want to fly into a house at that speed. So a well designed station would have ladders or elevators down from the central spur that would slowly increase your tangential velocity.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="RangerWickett, post: 6877604, member: 63"] My understanding is that if you entered the sphere at its axis, you'd just float, and the world would spin around you. If you went to where the equatorial plane crossed the axis, then pushed yourself toward the 'ground,' you still wouldn't feel any gravity. You'd just travel at whatever speed you accelerated to (and would slow down due to air resistance). However, the ground beneath you would be spinning, possibly quite fast. If you drifted to the ground, at some point you'd probably move into the path of something like a tree or building, and it would hit you and then drag you along the path of rotation. Only then would you start to experience gravity, as the rotational movement tries to move you away from the center, and the ground keeps you from flying away. Check out this calculator: [url]http://www.artificial-gravity.com/sw/SpinCalc/SpinCalc.htm[/url] As an example, a 38 meter radius ring (239 meter circumference) rotating at 3 revolutions per minute produces an effective 1/3 G at 'ground level.' From a stationary observer it's moving at 43 kph, or 27 miles per hour. So even if there were no obstacles, if you drifted into it'd be like bouncing into a wall while traveling at 27 mph. Probably not fatal, but pretty unpleasant. If you have the same ring and spin it almost 5 times per minute, you get a velocity of 44 mph. You probably don't want to fly into a house at that speed. So a well designed station would have ladders or elevators down from the central spur that would slowly increase your tangential velocity. [/QUOTE]

Verification