Moving in a 2g gravitational environment

[newjerseyrunner]

I have a chapter in a novel that involves a crew exploring a derelict space station. The station's systems are largely down, but the artificial gravity still works and is about twice the g force of Earth.

I wanted it to be low enough that a lay man would find it not terribly alien, but high enough that the characters in it are surprised at how it feels and manage to dislocate a shoulder and get a concussion from just tripping.

What would be some pitfalls about the extra gravity? The extra gravity should cause them to feel like they’re twice their weight, but not twice the mass. So holding themselves upright would be much harder but horizontal motion is the same. This is what trips up the crew because they have a hard time keeping balance.

I don’t think it should have any further effects than that. Their hearts would be beating hard and they might get lightheaded, but they shouldn’t pass out... right?

Eventually, they drop to all fours due to exhaustion and they aren’t in this environment for very long (few hours.)

What other affects would the extra gravity have and how might the group make it easier on themselves?

 

[jrmichler]

Head for the nearest county fair and look for a ride called Gravitron or Starship 2000 or similar. That ride will subject you to 3G's acceleration. Unlike your derelict space station, the ride also is spinning at 24 RPM, so Coriolis effects may give you trouble. One big pitfall of increased gravity that many people miss is that you will fall twice as fast, but your reflexes are the same speed. You will fall before you can balance yourself. It is not like wearing a weighted suit while carrying a heavy backpack at 1G. Your characters don't need to trip, just not balance fast enough.

I was able to sit up without feeling lightheaded, but was not stupid enough to try standing up. A couple of kids got yelled at by the operator for trying to stand up.

I rode one of these rides about 10 years ago when my daughter was 12. She made me do it. I had to lay down for an hour afterward, while she spent the rest of the day riding it again and again and again and ...

 

[hmmm27]

In 2G, as long as you're upright your internal organs would be trying to come unstuck and escape out your butt - uncomfortable, and nausea inducing after a few minutes.

Highly suggested is for the initial scouting be done by a former fighter pilot, preferably wearing a G-suit. If there aren't enough of those to go around for everybody, then weightbelts, girdles, ridiculously-tightly-cinched belts, etc. Unless the gang is <blare of trumpets> Space Force </bot>, they're going to want to spend most of those "couple of hours" sitting and laying down.

 

[Janus]

At 2g, your objects would fall ~1.414 times faster (In that, it takes 0.707 times as long for an object dropped in 2g to fall the same distance as an object dropped in 1g.)
In addition, it will be moving ~1.414 times as fast after falling the same distance. While walking you will topple forward a bit faster than you'll expect, meaning you might not get your back foot forward in time to catch yourself or it will hit the ground before you expect it to.

 

[newjerseyrunner]

@jrmichler I've actually been on those before and considered using it as a basis, but then I realized that it's not quite the same thing because there is an element of angular momentum. I found I could sit up in the thing with relative ease, but couldn't move around a lot mostly because of gyroscopic effects, not "gravity."

@Janus, that's exactly the thing that causes my characters to fall and hurt themselves. The characters were expecting to simply feel heavier, but failed to realize that they don't need to spend any extra energy swinging their arms or legs harder.

@hmmm27 They have robotic probes at their disposal, so recon is done without humans. They have suits, which could be modified quickly for G forces. Is it really necessary? In the g suit wikipedia page, it mentions that the normal tolerance for a human is between 3 and 5. G suits are mostly to prevent pilots from passing out, but there should be almost no risk of that at only 2G. I figured it may make my astronauts nauseous, however, they'd just spent months in flight and their own artificial gravity system is primitive and makes them feel like their on a boat anyway. The ultra high-tech derelict's gravity is stronger, but completely stable, I think this will actually get rid of some of the nausea.

 

[hmmm27]

They have suits, which could be modified quickly for G forces. Is it really necessary? In the g suit wikipedia page, it mentions that the normal tolerance for a human is between 3 and 5. G suits are mostly to prevent pilots from passing out, but there should be almost no risk of that at only 2G.

G-suits are made for pilots, who are sitting down, and the g-forces are transient. Nobody's going to be mobile under "5g" and I'd put money on that statement presupposing prone or possibly supine orientation.

I figured it may make my astronauts nauseous, however, they'd just spent months in flight and their own artificial gravity system is primitive and makes them feel like their on a boat anyway. The ultra high-tech derelict's gravity is stronger, but completely stable, I think this will actually get rid of some of the nausea.

That one's based on personal experience : I was up for a fun-flight in a Diamond Katana (with a real pilot in the other seat to make sure that any landings were preplanned), playing tag with some guy in a Yak55 (yes, very much like a 4 year old tossing a ball with a major league pitcher). I lasted about 10 minutes of occasional 2-3g swoops and turns, before my stomach decided it had had enough. Upshot, I barely made it to the ground and had to sit down for about half an hour (no regrets, though). I figure it was from my stomach pulling against its moorings : fighter and acrobatic pilots tense their abdominal muscles through g-manoeuvres (something I didn't try).

 

[Rive]

2g for few hours (as spent actively) is too much.
MIlitary gear weight is up to ~ 30-50kg, and it is already at an upper limit for highly trained personnel, with optimized distribution of weight. You expect those guys to carry 80+ kg, no optimization. Maybe some special forces supermen can do that, for a limited time.