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ebm_teacher
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In Sean Carroll's "From Eternity to Here", pages 69-70, the author says that people in a sealed spaceship out in space can tell when they accelerate (they are pushed "down" to the floor say by a rocket firing at the rear of the craft), or when they rotate (an object perfectly positioned at the centre of the axis of rotation stays where it is, but any object off the axis of rotation is "pulled" to the hull of the ship).
When they don't accelerate or rotate, an object released (placed) anywhere in the spaceship stays where it is (I assume).
I have a question about the "pull" that results from rotation. Imagine a cyclindrical spacecraft is going some direction, and if it rotates, it does so around the long axis of the cylinder.
If the spacecraft rotates at some constant rate, is the "pull" present whether or not there is an atmosphere present?
Presumably with the artificial atmosphere in a spacecraft , if it is constantly rotated, the astronauts and anything else in the capsule are "pulled" to the periphery.
Now imagine they get into spacewalking suits (with some air supply etc), open the hatch for a minute so the atmosphere inside the capsule is identical to that outside in "empty" space. They close the hatch and continue on. One of the astronauts, who is stationary with respect to the capsule, say halfway between the centre and hull of the cylinder, releases a marble in front of him. It stays stationary in front of him.
At this point, a rocket is fired which sets the capsule rotating at some constant rate. Are the marble and astronaut "pulled" to the hull of the capsule?
Or does the astronaut get dizzy because he suddenly sees the capsule rotating around him, while he stays "where he was"? (With the marble also staying where it was.)
When they don't accelerate or rotate, an object released (placed) anywhere in the spaceship stays where it is (I assume).
I have a question about the "pull" that results from rotation. Imagine a cyclindrical spacecraft is going some direction, and if it rotates, it does so around the long axis of the cylinder.
If the spacecraft rotates at some constant rate, is the "pull" present whether or not there is an atmosphere present?
Presumably with the artificial atmosphere in a spacecraft , if it is constantly rotated, the astronauts and anything else in the capsule are "pulled" to the periphery.
Now imagine they get into spacewalking suits (with some air supply etc), open the hatch for a minute so the atmosphere inside the capsule is identical to that outside in "empty" space. They close the hatch and continue on. One of the astronauts, who is stationary with respect to the capsule, say halfway between the centre and hull of the cylinder, releases a marble in front of him. It stays stationary in front of him.
At this point, a rocket is fired which sets the capsule rotating at some constant rate. Are the marble and astronaut "pulled" to the hull of the capsule?
Or does the astronaut get dizzy because he suddenly sees the capsule rotating around him, while he stays "where he was"? (With the marble also staying where it was.)