Between the moon and the Earth a Spaceship travels

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    Earth Moon Spaceship
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the physics of a person pushing a large vehicle (referred to as a tractor) while on a spacewalk between the Earth and the Moon. Participants explore concepts related to mass, inertia, and Newton's laws of motion in a microgravity environment.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether a person pushing a tractor-sized vehicle in space would be pushed back, suggesting that things in zero gravity have no mass.
  • Another participant asserts that mass exists in space and emphasizes that mass always has inertia, regardless of the environment.
  • A participant explains that pushing off the tractor would result in the person being pushed away more than the tractor due to the difference in mass, using an analogy of jumping on Earth.
  • Another participant clarifies that if a person pushes on the tractor, the tractor will push back on the person according to Newton's third law, noting that gravity still exists between the Earth and the Moon.
  • One participant corrects a previous statement about forces, stating that while the forces are equal, the accelerations differ due to the mass of the objects involved.
  • A later reply acknowledges a mistake in terminology, where force was used instead of acceleration, but maintains the discussion on the relationship between force and mass.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the implications of mass and force in a microgravity environment, particularly regarding the effects of pushing off a large object. There is no consensus on the nuances of these interactions, and the discussion remains unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the distinction between weightlessness and the presence of gravity, indicating that the discussion may depend on specific definitions and assumptions about mass and force in space.

Avgiu
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between the moon and the Earth a Spaceship travels. A person goes on a spacewalk and pushes the tractor trailer sized vehicle. Will the person be pushed back even though things in zero gravity have no mass?
 
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There is still mass in space. You sure are pumping out a lot of questions Avgiu.
 
Mass always has inertia, and an object's mass doesn't change either(only the weight changes).

Similarly, if you were to try to kick a bowling ball in space, you would hurt your foot the same way as you would on earth.
 
Avgiu said:
between the moon and the Earth a Spaceship travels. A person goes on a spacewalk and pushes the tractor trailer sized vehicle. Will the person be pushed back even though things in zero gravity have no mass?
If the person pushes on the tractor, then the tractor will push back on the person. That's Newton's 3rd law.

Note:
(1) Things still have mass regardless of gravity.
(2) Not sure what you mean by "zero gravity"; gravity still exists between the Earth and the moon. (Unless you go to the exact spot where the attractions cancel.)
(3) Perhaps you are thinking of weightlessness, which is not the absence of gravity, but the absence of a contact force supporting a body. It's only the apparent weight that is zero.
 
Avgiu said:
between the moon and the Earth a Spaceship travels. A person goes on a spacewalk and pushes the tractor trailer sized vehicle. Will the person be pushed back even though things in zero gravity have no mass?

If you pushed off of a tractor in space you would be pushed away from the tractor more than the tractor, You would experience most of the force of your push because the tractor has more mass, The more mass the tractor has the less force it will experience from your lesser mass and force of your push. Here's an analogy, Try jumping onto the Earth and make it move, you do not have enough force to make a big difference, The Earth is a body in space just like the tractor.
 
Last edited:
Intuitive said:
If you pushed off of a tractor in space you would be pushed away from the tractor more than the tractor, You would experience most of the force of your push because the tractor has more mass, The more mass the tractor has the less force it will experience from your lesser mass and force of your push. Here's an analogy, Try jumping onto the Earth and make it move, you do not have enough force to make a big difference, The Earth is a body in space just like the tractor.
No. The forces (due to Newton's third) are exactly equal. The accelerations are what are different.
 
russ_watters said:
No. The forces (due to Newton's third) are exactly equal. The accelerations are what are different.

I used the word force in place of the word acceleration, Sorry. My bad. :smile:
 

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