Re: [Phys-l] Weightless (running around in circles)

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 11/22/2006 05:19 PM, Richard Tarara wrote:

> If I strap the accelerometer to me, as I sit here, I would think it would
> read zero.  

No.  Not for real-world accelerometers ... as you can see here:
  http://www.airworlduk.com/2004pix/accel.jpg

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  The equivalence principle
is not just some hoity-toity abstraction.  In aviation, it is a fact
of everyday life.

The Newtonian gravitational acceleration g_N is just one contribution
to the total (Einsteinian) acceleration g_E.

In practical applications, when people talk of acceleration, they almost
always speak of the total acceleration, g_E.  This is so thoroughly
conventional that in practice the question never comes up.  It is just
taken for granted that the GM/r^2 acceleration is to be treated on the
same footing as all other accelerations.

> Therefore I'm weightless?

No.