Re: [Phys-l] Weightless

[Jack Uretsky <jlu@hep.anl.gov>]

Hi all-
	Rick implicitly poses a question that Newton might actually have 
considered.  What would be the weight of a person sitting on the moon?
And, pursuing the question a bit further, what would that weight be if the 
size and mass of the moon shrank almost to zeor (leaving enough to hold 
the space traveller).
			Regards,
				Jack


On Mon, 20 Nov 2006, Rick Tarara wrote:

> In the 'g' thread, we've (yet again) opened up the definition of weight
> debate.  While I see certain pedagogical advantages to either of the two
> main approaches, I would ask if the proponents of saying that one IS
> weightless while in the space station can explain that from a Newtonian
> viewpoint?  Seems to me that there is only one force acting on the person.
> If we call that the gravitational force due to the earth, then what (again
> in the Newtonian viewpoint) is weight?  Isn't this gravitational force a
> component of your weight?  But it is the only component here in the
> Newtonian view and is not zero!
>
> Rick (who likes weight as GMm/R^2--despite difficulties therein--because the
> 'apparent' weight approach ties to discussions of fictitious forces in a way
> that I think is more closely connected to student's everyday experiences.)
>
> ***************************
> Richard W. Tarara
> Professor of Physics
> Saint Mary's College
> Notre Dame, IN
> rtarara@saintmarys.edu
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