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Re: rotating space station - merry-go-rounds



Rick Tarrara did not understand the merry-go-round (MGR) example. Others
stated that MGR are difficult to find.

In small-town rural Ohio we're a bit backwards. Apparently we like to make
sure our kids grow up tough. So we still have them. We have two at the
elementary-school playground, and one at the village park. I suppose they
will disappear some day. When that happens, and if I want one, I'll have to
build one for "science."

The MGR is analogous to the space station if you understand the positioning
description. We are sitting or standing on the MGR. We are not lying down.
Our chests and faces point toward the center, our backs point outward.
Chest toward the center and backs outward on a MGR would be the same as
lying down on the space station floor, backs against the floor, and lying
"cross-wise" with respect to the tangential velocity.

If the space station is a cylinder (as opposed to a toroid) the astronauts
could lie on the floor (as I've indicated) and play "pitch-and-catch" just
like we do on the MGR, and it would be bizarre.

Of course, on the MGR there is also gravity perpendicular to the plane of
rotation. This means you have to give the ball a slight upward (away from
earth) velocity in order to have the ball land at the proper height when it
gets to the catcher. But of course this is not problem because we have to
do exactly that when we play pitch-and-catch in the parking lot (not on the
MGR).


Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817