TromboneAl
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
- Messages
- 12,880
My main character is on a rotating spaceship. He is hanging on to the inner ring, as in this diagram:
The space between the inner and outer rings is empty.
He let's go when at the six o'clock position. Here's what I figure:
1. He'll be flung off along a tangent to his travel (green), but because the ship is still rotating, it will seem to him as if he falls along the blue arrow, directly away from the center of rotation. He will land at the point which was "below" him.
2. His speed does not increase as he gets further away from the center. If he were to climb down a ladder his perceived "weight" would increase, but as he falls he doesn't touch anything.
But something's not adding up for me. If he stood on the outer ring he'd "weigh" more, but as I have it above, he wouldn't hit with any additional force, because he isn't accelerating.
Where have I gone wrong?
Thanks,
Al
The space between the inner and outer rings is empty.
He let's go when at the six o'clock position. Here's what I figure:
1. He'll be flung off along a tangent to his travel (green), but because the ship is still rotating, it will seem to him as if he falls along the blue arrow, directly away from the center of rotation. He will land at the point which was "below" him.
2. His speed does not increase as he gets further away from the center. If he were to climb down a ladder his perceived "weight" would increase, but as he falls he doesn't touch anything.
But something's not adding up for me. If he stood on the outer ring he'd "weigh" more, but as I have it above, he wouldn't hit with any additional force, because he isn't accelerating.
Where have I gone wrong?
Thanks,
Al