Artificial gravity ship: Floor?

Click For Summary
Creating artificial gravity through a rotating circular ship relies on centripetal acceleration, which mimics Earth's gravity. The floor of the ship provides the necessary centripetal force, preventing occupants from floating away. If a person jumps, they continue in a straight line due to inertia but will land back on the floor because the floor moves beneath them. However, if they run against the ship's rotation and jump, they won't land back in the same spot, similar to jumping on a treadmill. The effectiveness of this artificial gravity diminishes with high speeds or jumps, highlighting the differences between artificial and natural gravity.
  • #31
eroxore said:
So if one were to jump "really hard", would that enable one to land on a different spot than the one you jumped off from?

Yes, because the higher your jump and the longer you spend in the air traveling a straight line while your jumping-off point is following the curved path, the less accurate the small-angle approximation becomes.

Something similar happens when you jump on the curved surface of the earth. You don't notice or worry about the rotation and curvature of the Earth when you make a normal human-sized jump. But if you're aiming very long-range artillery (the artillery shell is "jumping" many kilometers and spending an appreciable time in flight) you do.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #32
eroxore said:
So if one were to jump "really hard", would that enable one to land on a different spot than the one you jumped off from?

However high you jump there is a difference between your traveled distance and how far the floor has traveled by the time you land. The difference is increasingly relevant, the higher you jump.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
3K
Replies
18
Views
2K
  • · Replies 96 ·
4
Replies
96
Views
10K
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 52 ·
2
Replies
52
Views
7K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Replies
2
Views
3K
Replies
8
Views
3K
Replies
3
Views
2K