Imagine a space station which rotates to create artificial gravity (like in "2001: A Space Odyssey" or "Babylon 5".)
Suppose there is an Olympic size swimming pool in the outer ring.
Would the surface of the water in the swimming pool be flat or curved?
2006-12-10 16:22:38 · 5 answers · asked by Wolf Harper 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The surface of the pool would be cylindrical, the same shape as the ring. If the pool was big enough, it could go all the way around the ring. In a hollow cylinder, the water would curve up and over your head!
The surface of pools on Earth are actually spherical, the same as the surface of the Earth. The big difference is the Earth is so large the pool would need to be pretty big before you could actually measure any curvature. In any normal sized pool it would be indistinguishable from flat. But it would be pretty easy to see the water curving on a space station.
2006-12-10 16:44:08 · answer #1 · answered by I don't think so 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Curved, force is radial, away from center.
But the surface will not be circular, concentric with the outer surface. Water has no shear strength, so the trailing side of the swimming pool must "push" the water around, so there'll be a pile-up of water at that end.
2006-12-10 16:38:14 · answer #2 · answered by arbiter007 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The surface of the water would be round. The water's inertia would draw it out as far away from the center of rotation as possible.
2006-12-10 16:37:05 · answer #3 · answered by jtlarson84 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
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2016-11-25 20:06:52 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It would have to be flat....if the gravity is that of earths.
2006-12-10 16:30:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋