Gravity

Forget anti-gravity as a means of propulsion for a minute. How important would an onboard anti-gravity device or system be for space-farring or space travel? Would anti-gravity systems be important for manned space missions? I wonder if it is something NASA or aerospace contractors are developing. In regards to flight physiology, I'm assuming a space craft that is capable of cancelling out the effects of anti-gravity would be more comfortable for astronauts? I'm also assuming it would be more effective having an anti-gravity device on board, in regards to performing routine tasks and everything else.

EDIT: The post should read Gravity instead of Anti-gravity. I had it backwards. So basically generating artifical gravity.


Mod edit: title corrected to match the topic.

Theres very little gravity in space so its doubtful that an anti-gravity system would be of any use once we were free of the earths gravitational pull. It would be handy for flying around on earth though.

I'm not sure how it would help astronauts inside the craft either once they were in space,

reply to post by Cosmic911


I think the fascination with anti-gravity stems from the fact that it's one natural force we have yet to exert any control over. It also has the potential at first glance for propulsion without much energy consumption. Being as gravity is the main force that a space craft must overcome, it makes sense to try to control it rather than overcome it.

Originally posted by PhoenixOD
Theres very little gravity in space so its doubtful that an anti-gravity system would be of any use once we were free of the earths gravitational pull. It would be handy for flying around on earth though.

I'm not sure how it would help astronauts inside the craft either.

edit on 29-10-2011 by PhoenixOD because: (no reason given)

Gotcha...I think I posted that backwards. Instead of anti-gravity, I guess I meant artificial gravity. Lol. Would it be beneficial to generate gravity? I've got Star Trek on the brain so the gears are turning! lol

reply to post by Cosmic911


ah ha that make more sense.

Yes that would be almost essential for general living in space for any length of time. Astronauts have lots of digestive problems because of low gravity for a start. Not to mention going to the toilet. Also low gravity has lots of muscle wasting effects on the human body.

reply to post by PhoenixOD


It's also true that due to the lower gravity, an anti-gravity propulsion system could provide constant velocity over very large distances with a small power consumption potential.

as we get further from the mass of the planet gravity reduces what we should be looking at is centrifugal force as a means of artificial gravity .A large enough craft spinning at just the right speed would create 1G.

Originally posted by alexs
as we get further from the mass of the planet gravity reduces what we should be looking at is centrifugal force as a means of artificial gravity .A large enough craft spinning at just the right speed would create 1G.

So now I'm wondering about the earth rotational forces, which also influences centrifugal forces, right? The earth spins roughly 1000 mph, right? And I know rotation changes in relation to the poles and the equator. Faster at the equator and less at the poles, I would assume? I wonder how centrifugal force and gravity interact with each other, if indeed they do? Does one effect intensify or lessen the other?

reply to post by Cosmic911

How important would an onboard anti-gravity device or system be for space-farring or space travel?

Anti-gravity would only be useful as a means of propulsion inside a gravity field. An "anti-gravity generator" presumably emits reversed gravity waves which cause destructive interference and cancel out normal gravity waves. Thus the resulting gravity is 0. Anti-gravity would allow you to float as if weightless. That's how I understand it anyway. In open space, outside of any planet's gravity field, there is virtually no gravity to work with.

I've seen many sources claim the disk type UFO's that bob around in a haphazard manner are the ones utilizing anti-gravity. It creates an effect where they "surf" on the gravity field produced by Earth. However the gravity field isn't completely smooth, it actually fluctuates and creates a "bumpy" surface that the craft must "surf" upon. Thus the craft will typically move around with a slightly erratic and unpredictable motion.

If you ask me, the Government experimented with anti-gravity decades ago, in some of their earliest top secret propulsion experiments. Saucer type UFO's that moved in a very unpredictable manner account for some of the earliest UFO cases on record. I believe they were simply Government experiments. ET's wouldn't use anti-gravity because it's useless in deep space and dodgy inside most gravity fields because of the fluctuations.

That's not to say ET's don't use gravity waves at all. Some experts believe they use a mini-blackhole to generate [normal] gravity waves oscillating at a certain frequency as to literally alter the vibrational state of all the matter in the craft; this would allow for speeds close to or even faster than light. Another way to use gravity waves would be to bend the fabric of space-time, and that is the first step to a warp-drive propulsion system. Instead of surfing on gravity it would be surfing on space-time.

reply to post by Cosmic911

So now I'm wondering about the earth rotational forces, which also influences centrifugal forces, right? The earth spins roughly 1000 mph, right? And I know rotation changes in relation to the poles and the equator. Faster at the equator and less at the poles, I would assume? I wonder how centrifugal force and gravity interact with each other, if indeed they do? Does one effect intensify or lessen the other?

That is an extremely interesting question which I haven't thought about before. I wonder if gravity would be more at the poles? The centrifugal forces would act to pull as away from the surface of the Earth. When they talk about a rotating craft in space they usually mean a hollow doughnut shape. So the people inside are pulled to the outer wall.

There is large amounts of gravity in space. Our entire galaxy is orbiting around a central super massive black hole. Everything in our solar system orbits around our Sun. The idea that gravity is weak in space is false. It appears to be weak because how orbits work. Also, the real breakthrough would be to create gravity, not anti-gravity. You could point your gravity generator in what ever direction you wanted to go and surf on it like a wave. You could also create a gravity bomb that would be more destructive than any nuke known to man. I think we do have the tech but the negative implications of it is what keeps it suppressed.

Chew on that for a minute.

reply to post by ChaoticOrder


Yes, Same.
I still dont believe Humans have really "Got IT" Yes even the super smart ones.
I too have thought, the theory is the Earth is spinning and has a heavy core, so we have gravity, But when we spin an object on a length of rope, the centrifugal force wants to push us away? Therefore, why are'nt we all flying off into space?
Also we are part of a Solar System, supposed attracted to the Sun by gravitational force.
But, we now have astronomers finding singular planets and stars, just roaming around the Universe....Why have they not been attracted their own Solar systems, how can a planet just drift off alone.....Although I guess with the age of the Universe, with super Novas etc, some planets may be jettisoned off into space by the violence of it all? But then why arent they attrached to the super Nova, or other solar systems, by the immense gravity?

Clearly I am no expert on these matters, but there is still WAY WAY more information that we DONT know about the Universe, than we Do know.
Isnt the technology used by ET an Electro-Magnetic Drive one, not a Gravity drive?. Even we use Gyroscopes to create stability and "Gravity".......Marvelous things Gyroscopes, Im sure ive read where scientists still arent 100% sure of all the properties of why they work, either.

reply to post by BIGPoJo


Yes, I originally meant gravity instead of anti-gravity. I was thinking about gravity and how useful it would be during manned spaceflight and travel. You pose some interesting questions!

Originally posted by ChaoticOrder
reply to post by Cosmic911

 

So now I'm wondering about the earth rotational forces, which also influences centrifugal forces, right? The earth spins roughly 1000 mph, right? And I know rotation changes in relation to the poles and the equator. Faster at the equator and less at the poles, I would assume? I wonder how centrifugal force and gravity interact with each other, if indeed they do? Does one effect intensify or lessen the other?

That is an extremely interesting question which I haven't thought about before. I wonder if gravity would be more at the poles? The centrifugal forces would act to pull as away from the surface of the Earth. When they talk about a rotating craft in space they usually mean a hollow doughnut shape. So the people inside are pulled to the outer wall.

I'm not sure about gravity but I would assume there would be less rotational forces and less centrifugal forces at the poles? Without researching this further I cannot say with any confidence...

reply to post by Cosmic911

I'm not sure about gravity but I would assume there would be less rotational forces and less centrifugal forces at the poles?

Yeah that's what I meant. It would seem like there is less gravity if there are less centrifugal forces.

Originally posted by ChaoticOrder
reply to post by Cosmic911

 

I'm not sure about gravity but I would assume there would be less rotational forces and less centrifugal forces at the poles?

Yeah that's what I meant. It would seem like there is less gravity if there are less centrifugal forces.

I believe you are correct. I wonder how this can be applied in everyday life. What things are affected by this difference in rotational forces, and thus, gravitational forces?

reply to post by Cosmic911


The gravity on the earth is created by its mass and not its rotational forces. Being at the poles makes no difference. The gravitational force is propagated from the central point in the earth.

Originally posted by PhoenixOD
reply to post by Cosmic911

 

The gravity on the earth is created by its mass and not its rotational forces. Being at the poles makes no difference. The gravitational force is propagated from the central point in the earth.

Ya know, I brain farted on that one...So while the centrifugal forces differ from equator to poles, does the mass and thus gravity differ from the equator to the poles? No, right?

reply to post by Cosmic911


The applications of anti gravity would be limitless, for one it is essential for any long term space travel. (human bone literally starts to chip away the minute you enter space, due to the lack of gravity)

Originally posted by Cosmic911
EDIT: The post should read Gravity instead of Anti-gravity. I had it backwards. So basically generating artifical gravity.

Even if it was possible to create artificial gravity, creating it so people can walk around inside the spaceship like in star trek might be ok, but using it outside the ship might be a bad idea. Just look at the sun, or Jupiter, and see what happens to them. They are like vacuum cleaners in the solar system sucking everything around into them. Id that really what we want, to turn a ship into a cosmic bullseye and suck every piece of space debris into it?

Note that the International space station has to evacuate periodically into the escape pods when a piece of debris gets too close to hitting it, so they would desperately try to avoid any debris. Creating artificial gravity will suck all the debris right toward your ship, and I doubt you really want that, unless you have some awesome shields, which we don't have.

Originally posted by Cosmic911
Ya know, I brain farted on that one...So while the centrifugal forces differ from equator to poles, does the mass and thus gravity differ from the equator to the poles? No, right?

You weigh about half a percent more at the poles than at the equator due to the Earth's rotation alone, but there are other factors like the shape of the Earth that make it not come out to that amount. But yes, the Earth's rotation affects weight, and no, there's no such thing as centrifugal force, it's momentum that reduces your weight, not centrifugal force.