Is the weight due to a centrifugal force constant?

[Cosmobrain]

I was thinking about how astronauts aboard the ISS poop in zero g. I creatively had the idea of an axis on the ceiling of the toilet (I know there is no up or down, but you get my point). The stall would be manually spun by other astronauts (to save power) and the poop would naturally fall.

 

That wouldn't be possible, obviously, because it would make the entire space station spin a little bit too. I was thinking if the bathroom could be temporarily detached from the space station. In that case it wouldn't transfer energy to the station. However that would be risky because there is a chance you'd fly away into space while pooping (that would actually be pretty funny, when you think about it. It gets funnier when you remember you're spinning as well. Well - nevermind )

 

Well, back on topic: Consider this hypothetical situation. If the toilet is free in space and spinning, would you have weight forever? Is energy lost?

 

Also, a philosophical question: If there was nothing else in the universe but the bathroom stall, would it make sense to say that it is spinning? spinning in relation to what? Would you go weightless just because of the lack of reference?

Edited June 13, 2014 by Cosmobrain

[Delta1212]

Conservation if angular momentum means that no, you will not stop spinning.

 

Rotation is accelerated motion. You can tell if you are spinning even without an outside reference. You would not go "weightless" if the rest of the universe suddenly disappeared.

[Cosmobrain]

finally, a soul!

[MigL]

So say you had a bucket of water, Delta1212, and you started rotating it, you would see the water rise up along the edges until it overflowed the lip of the pail.

Now what if you kept the pail stationary and spun the universe around it. Would the water aong the edge still rise ?

 

I think this is known as Newton's bucket and Ernest Mach had some interesting things to say about it and rotating systems WRT the universe.