Why people float inside free falling airplane

In summary, the conversation discussed the concept of weightlessness in airplanes falling freely under gravity. It was mentioned that weightlessness occurs due to the lack of normal reaction between the floor and the person inside the plane. The reason for the relative separation between the floor and feet to increase was also questioned, with a possible explanation being the difference in initial velocity before free fall. The conversation also touched upon the use of a G meter on modern aircraft to measure and record the force of gravity during acrobatic maneuvers.
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  • #37
hackhard said:
suppose a train travels along equator at 15,600 mph in direction of rotation of Earth gforce on man inside train is 0.
Going into low orbit is simpler.
 
  • #38
A.T. said:
Going into low orbit is simpler.
It actually seems to be the same thing by definition...
Meaning simply that hackhard's train would need no rails aside from the part where it's picking up its speed initially. After that, it is technically in (very) low orbit.
[edit: in practice a way to remove atmospheric drag would be required, which still means probably a vacuum guide tunnel and the maglev equivalent of rails.]
[edit 2: which is probably more complicated than going into a not-so-low low orbit, which finally makes me appreciate the point you were probably making :p]
 
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