Brain Teasers

They were accelerated to excape velocity at lift off and climb. Once they obtained the magic 11KPS velocity they coast away from earth. The reaction was the many G's they endured at liftoff pushing them to the needed velocity. Much like the guy on the scale, at rest he weighs 200 pounds leaping off the scale he might record 300 pounds on the scale causing him to rise against gravity if even for a moment

Steve.N wrote:They were accelerated to excape velocity at lift off and climb. Once they obtained the magic 11KPS velocity they coast away from earth.

OK.....So it was their initial velocity that is causing their weightlessness, not their mass or distance from Earth?

Sorry for the late answer my satalite internet has been down

The mass of the astronauts nor earth gravity have changed. What has happened though is that the capsule, astronauts and everything in the capsule are traveling fast enough to escape earth gravity. The astronauts have no reference because everything is going the same speed and so seem weightless.

Look at it this way. Gravity attracts you toward the center of the earth, you have weight because the surface of the earth stops your travel towards the center it acts as a reference. Take you up in an airplane and drop you inside of a box you would experience weightlessness. Gravity is still attracting you but you are falling the same speed as the box so there is no reference. Up or down it doesn't matter as long as everything is at the same speed.

One of the neatest things in a movie was in 2001 space odyssey where the space station was spinning on its axis to develop artificial gravity in the rim possible because your mass remained constant

Steve.N wrote:One of the neatest things in a movie was in 2001 space odyssey where the space station was spinning on its axis to develop artificial gravity in the rim possible because your mass remained constant

I love that movie!! Another scene that blew me away when I saw it in the theater (cinerama) when it first came out, is the stewardess walling up the wall & upside down when she is bringing a food tray to the crew on moon trip from the space station. Just incredible effects for what, 1968 when it came out?!?