Artificial Gravity

[mEarly1102]

I was recently reading an article about the problems with space travel and muscle atrophy. It disscussed how when astronuats go into space they loose muscle an bone mass due to the lack of gravity. It also went on to discuss ways of preventing this muscle loss, such as spring and cables to simulate weight that is driven by the forces of gravity, and i started thinking up ways of my own.

 

What if a space ship were created with a strong magnetic field in it that could pull the astronuats to the ground, or repel them from the cieling? im sure an elctro magnetic field could be produced to simulate 9.81 m/s^2 if the astronuats were to waer a light metal suit. What are your thoughts on this?

[Ophiolite]

It doesn't strike me as very practical..

1. Large energy requirement.

2. Energy requirement demands more solar cells or other energy source

3. Field generator is massive.

4. Points 2 and 3 demand valuable space.

5. Points 2 and 3 demand valuable heavy lift capacity.

6. Generating a uniform field very difficult.

7. The field would screw up all the other equipment.

Sorry.

Just attatch your space ship to a spent booster by a long tether and spin them around.

[coquina]

of space exploration there was talk of building a huge wheel shaped station that would spin and create it's own gravity.

[JaKiri]

Also, people, on the whole, aren't charged entities.

[swansont]

Sticking to a magnetic floor doesn't simulate gravity for the whole body, so you'd still have the muscle atrophy and bone loss problems. It's not really different than a tether.

[YT2095]

to do it effectively, you`de need some sort of spining aparatus, like the sort test pilots use, that way when standing the heart has to work harder to pump the blood. just working against weights no matter how they`re employed won`t have an effect on these things, that pulling a true 1G will

[mEarly1102]

yeah.. i guess its not very practical.. i was just trying to think of good uses for magnets

[Ophiolite]

Electric motors, electric generators, microphones, loudspeakers, compasses, tape recorders, MRI scanners, electron microscopes, CRTs, Tomakak reactors, scrap metal sorters, latches, torque couplers, bearings, meters, actuuators, clamps, dipole annealing, plasma control, for starters.

Not to mention specialised and esoteric roles like cow magnets and ditch magnets.

Without magnets civilisation as we know it would collapse. (For one thing without fridge magnets we wouldn't know important phone numbers or what other family members were doing.)

[DarthDooku]

The tether idea works because it actually does create a simulated gravity. I think it would be like centrifugal force or something. But the magnets i dont see working. The forces would have to act on the person, the muscles, the bones. Not on a metal suit that they are wearing. Im not sure how magnetic force would react to a person without the metal suit, but im sure someone with more knowledge of physics could answer that.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Perhaps if they wore a chunk of metal on their back, it would simulate their weight.

 

However it is impractical to generate such a large magnetic field when you also have all of the spacecraft's equipment to worry about, and also loose bits of metal that may go flying across the ship.

Centrifugal force works (spinning), however, scientists have discovered that by putting a vibrating plate beneath the astronauts' feet (with their feet on the plate) will help prevent muscle loss.

[Bettina]

What is wrong with the spinning wheel. It was the greatest invention of all time on the planet earth and in space, as Coquina stated, it could still be.

The movie "a space odyssey" had it right. The spinning wheel once put into motion would cost nothing to keep it going, sunlight would be spread around evenly, astronauts would walk around the outer tube as if under normal gravity, whats wrong with that....forgetting costs of course.

 

Bettina

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

We don't use it because we don't need it. Astronauts are fine in 0G.

[JaKiri]

We don't use it because we don't need it. Astronauts are fine in 0G.

 

Well, they're not fine per se. They just don't get the worst of the after effects because they're in space for such a short time.

 

What you meant to say was 'We don't use it because we don't need it. Astonauts aren't in microgravity long enough for these effects to become significant, yet, were we to need them to be in space for a longer time, for example the trip to jupiter in 2001, then we would probably need such a system'.

[ydoaPs]

The tether idea works because it actually does create a simulated gravity.

 

no it doesn't. it just pushes the main structure down. the heart still doesn't have to work as hard, ...

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Well' date=' they're not fine per se. They just don't get the worst of the after effects because they're in space for such a short time.

 

What you meant to say was 'We don't use it because we don't need it. Astonauts aren't in microgravity long enough for these effects to become significant, yet, were we to need them to be in space for a longer time, for example the trip to jupiter in 2001, then we would probably need such a system'.[/quote']

That's sort of what I meant.

 

Also, could you imagine trying to dock with a spinning space station? How would you manage that?

[TheoryOfTime]

Well although being limited on the knowledge of physics, I do also understand the ramifications of using magnets onboard a spacecraft. You must look at the dangers, here are a few:

 

The equipment will fail from the magnets, once this happens, all of the computer systems will shut down. In turn the oxygen equipment will shut down, once this happens the whole crew will die.

 

I do not think magnets would be any good on board a spacecraft. I am not sure what to use though in its place to stop the muscle problems.

[JaKiri]

That's sort of what I meant.

 

Also' date=' could you imagine trying to dock with a spinning space station? How would you manage that?[/quote']

 

By matching rotation? Difficult! Ever played Elite or seen B5?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

No.

[JaKiri]

The equipment will fail from the magnets, once this happens, all of the computer systems will shut down. In turn the oxygen equipment will shut down, once this happens the whole crew will die.

 

Bear in mind that we're in an enormous magnetic field right now.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

...although it's every weak compared to the one required to hold everyone in a spaceship down at 1g.

[JaKiri]

...although it's every weak compared to the one required to hold everyone in a spaceship down at 1g.

 

Given it wouldn't work anyway...

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I do believe they have levitated frogs using extremely high powered magnetic fields, so it would be possible for humans. But only if you had enough power, which is unlikely in space.

[Panic]

I am not familiar with the previous post but it sound interesting. Is there any way that someone can elaborate more on the issue. perhaps a repost or a quote.

 

My take on artificial gravity. So fart from loggical though.

gravity being a continious accelleration can only be recreated a a constant force.

 

For example Centrifugla force of rotation.

I am sure you all recall or have seen the Deep Space 9 stations.

 

continously spining, well the outer most area of this spinder would have the gratest possible gravity effect since centifugal accellerations is dependent on distance from center and also speed of rotation.

[JaKiri]

DS9 used artificial gravity from a non-spin source. If you want to use SciFi, then use B5 as that actually used the spinny g.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

http://www.hfml.science.ru.nl/froglev.html