Does Spinning Affect Floating in a Rotating Room?

[cheer_chic]

Okay guys, I have a serious question. In our Physics class, we were discussing rotational motion. Someone asked the question "If we were falling in a room (we're floating) and someone started to spin the room, would we still be floating? Or would we hit the walls?" If anyone could help me with that, it would be greatly appreciated! I'm going to search the web for circular motion, but who knows what I'll find! Thanks!

 

[HallsofIvy]

If you and the room were falling in gravitational field, so that you have no contact with the walls, and someone applied a force to the walls so as to make the room itself spin, you would NOT spin with it and, in particular, would no experience any "centrifugal force".

(The air in the room next to the walls would experience some friction force which would cause the air in the room to start rotating (slowly) which would affect you eventually but that would be a very small effect.)

 

[M98Ranger]

Great question! The answer is that it would depend on the initial conditions and the speed at which the room is spinning. If the room is spinning at a constant speed and the objects in the room are not initially moving, then they would continue to float as the centrifugal force from the spinning would cancel out the gravitational force. However, if the room is spinning at a high enough speed, the objects in the room could hit the walls due to the centrifugal force pushing them outward. This is similar to how a carnival ride like the Gravitron works. The key factor is the balance between the centrifugal force and the gravitational force. I hope that helps!