I'm confused by those of you saying we do not feel centrifugal force or
gravity. It is true that when I sit on a chair that I feel the chair.
But what about when I hold my arm straight out to the side, or more
difficult (for me), what about when I lay on the ground and try to do
leg lifts for very long. Am I not feeling gravity when I do that?
Something is pulling my legs down, and it isn't the floor because my
legs aren't touching the floor nor are they tied to it.
And if I am facing inward in a centrifuge with my back and arms and legs
being pushed from behind by the wall of the centrifuge, what if I try to
pull my arm away from the wall, or try to do leg lifts in that
situation. Am I not feeling a centrifugal force? And if the centrifuge
speeds up, don't my leg lifts get a lot more difficult?
Every morning when I wake up, I feel the bed. As I try to get out of
bed I also feel gravity. Lately I find the bed feels a lot nicer than
gravity.
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Physics and Chemistry
Bluffton University
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu