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Re: centrifugal force



At 08:49 PM 11/7/01 -0500, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:

.... I would say that those playing tennis already
belong to the rotating frame while those circulating above
them still belong to the initial frame of reference.

Objects do not "belong" to frames of reference.
-- The rotating frame can be used to analyze each and every object
mentioned.
-- The nonrotating frame can be used to analyze each and every object
mentioned.

If the calculations are done correctly, all the physically-relevant
predictions will be the same.

All above was in a vacuum. But what about air inside the
pipe? I suppose its viscosity will sooner or later put it to
rest with respect to the walls of the pipe. And satellites,
due to air resistance, would spiral toward the wall of the
pipe (called the ground).

Sure. You can work out the rate, using the Coriolis formula backwards.
Start with the force (due to drag, along the direction of orbital motion)
and find the corresponding velocity (outwards, toward the "ground"). For
simplicity assume fairly low viscosity, so the orbit remains almost circular.