A space station that does not rotate cannot simulate gravity for its occupants.

A) True

B) False

From within a rotating reference frame, the centrifugal force simulates gravity.

A) True

B) False

On a rotating station, a person at the center of the station, in the axis, will be weightless.

A) True

B) False

If astronauts had a floor to walk on, they would not feel weightless.

A) True

B) False

For an astronaut walking around a spinning space station, she is pushing against the spinning floor, but the floor is not pushing back.

A) True

B) False

Question

Leonard Herring

Physics

18 December, 13:43

A space station that does not rotate cannot simulate gravity for its occupants.

A) True

B) False

From within a rotating reference frame, the centrifugal force simulates gravity.

A) True

B) False

On a rotating station, a person at the center of the station, in the axis, will be weightless.

A) True

B) False

If astronauts had a floor to walk on, they would not feel weightless.

A) True

B) False

For an astronaut walking around a spinning space station, she is pushing against the spinning floor, but the floor is not pushing back.

A) True

B) False

+2

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Deangelo Cannon · Answer 1

Answers:

1. True: If we want to simulate gravity inside a space station, this must rotate about its axis, creating the artificial gravity environment by the centripetal acceleration.

2. True: The Centrifugal force is a fictitious force that appears when the movement of a body is described in a rotating reference system, or equivalently the apparent force perceived by a non-inertial observer in a rotating reference system.

This means that a non-inertial observer on a rotating platform feels that there is a "force" acting on him, which prevents him from remaining at rest on the platform unless he applies another force directed towards the axis of rotation

3. True: This is possible because the station axis, which is the center of rotation of the system, has the lowest artificial gravity (tending to zero or null gravity). Therefore, the weight of a body in that place will tend to zero, in other words, will be weightless.

4. False: Only having a floor to walk on, is not enough to feel the gravity if the station is not a rotating system.

5. False: The astronaut will experience the centrifugal force, which is a inertial force that will tend to push her back.

This is because the rotation displaces any object or body from the interior of the station towards its walls, giving the appearance of a gravitational thrust directed towards the exterior. The "push", or centrifugal force is actually a manifestation of the objects inside the ship attempting to move in a straight line due to inertia.

The walls of the station provide the centripetal force required for objects to move in a circle. Therefore, the gravity felt by the objects is a simple reaction of force of the object on the walls reacting with the centripetal force of the wall on the object, according to Newton's third law of motion.