Floating in Space: Can Humans Create Their Own Orbits?

AI Thread Summary
Humans can theoretically create their own orbits in space due to their ability to bend spacetime, allowing small objects to orbit them. However, the magnitude of the gravitational force exerted by a human is negligible compared to larger celestial bodies like Earth. For a human to exert a gravitational pull significant enough for an object to orbit them, they would need to be at a considerable distance from Earth. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding gravitational forces and their relative magnitudes. Ultimately, while the concept is interesting, practical implications are minimal.
smokering0
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This question came to me as having an obvious answer yet I don't know. If a human is floating in space they bend spacetime themselves and could technically have small stuff orbit them. Sorry for the dumb question; just been bothering me.
thanks for any help
 
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It's all about magnitudes. Just because something is definite and measurable doesn't mean it matters in the long run. I can spit in the ocean all day, but the water will never rise because of it.
 
smokering0 said:
This question came to me as having an obvious answer yet I don't know. If a human is floating in space they bend spacetime themselves and could technically have small stuff orbit them. Sorry for the dumb question; just been bothering me.
thanks for any help

Yes, theoretically that is true.

Quiz question for you: imagine an object (mass M) orbiting a person (mass 80 kg) in a 10m radius orbit. How far from the Earth must the person be, so that the Earth's gravitational pull on the object is 1/10 that of the person's gravitational pull on the object?

Use Newton's law of gravitation,

Fgrav = G Ma Mb / d2​
 

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