0

Guest

Courses New

21. Astronauts in the orbiting space shuttle want to keep a daily record of their weight. Can you think how they might do it, considering that they are "weightless"?

21. Astronauts in the orbiting space shuttle want to keep a daily record of their weight. Can you think how they might do it, considering that they are "weightless"?

Grade:upto college level

1 Answers

Kevin Nash
askIITians Faculty 332 Points
8 years ago
Yes, the astronaut can keep the record of his weight even if he is weightless. This can be accomplished by creating artificial gravity in spaceship. The principle behind creating artificial gravity is that the spaceship is rotated with some speed about its axis of rotation. The centrifuge acts on the objects inside, including the astronaut, and with no centripetal force, the astronaut is pushed farther from the axis of rotation by the centrifugal force.
Eventually, the centrifugal force is large enough to push the astronaut against the inner surface of the space ship, and the astronaut is no longer weightless.
The rotational speed is adjusted such that the magnitude of centrifugal force acting on the astronaut is equal to the magnitude of gravitational force on the surface of Earth. Therefore, to the astronaut it appears that the gravitational force is acting on him, and he can then choose to measure his weight.

Think You Can Provide A Better Answer ?

Other Related Questions on Mechanics

View all Questions »

ASK QUESTION

Get your questions answered by the expert for free

Answer and earn gift vouchers

Win Gift vouchers upto Rs 500/-

View courses by askIITians

Design classes One-on-One in your own way with Top IITians/Medical Professionals

Click Here Know More

Complete Self Study Package designed by Industry Leading Experts

Click Here Know More

Live 1-1 coding classes to unleash the Creator in your Child

Click Here Know More

a Complete All-in-One Study package Fully Loaded inside a Tablet!

Click Here Know More