be on earth? why or why not?
2007-12-15 04:32:09 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
It would actually be harder. With gravity, you can use the friction of the ground against your feet to resist the force of the contact. In weightlessness, you would be knocked back in accordance with the pure laws of motion.
If you would consider the scenario of pushing or pulling a weight, the problem becomes a little different and probably easier to understand. Suppose you are backed up against a wall in the space station and trying to push a 500 pound object away from you. The only difference between that and doing it on the earth would be the friction. If you could imagine a big ball with almost no friction, on a perfectly smooth, horizontal surface on earth, the amount of force needed for a certain amount of motion would be almost identical to doing it in the weightless situation.
Or look at it this way. Imagine standing in water, leaning up against a piling, and pushing a boat. In space, it would require almost exactly the same amount of force for the same degree of movement. The difference would be the slight resistance of the water.
Also be aware that any amount of force you use in a weightless environment will cause the object to move. Even a very heavy object. How fast it moves depends directly on the mass of the object, the force you exert, and how long you exert it.
2007-12-15 04:57:00 · answer #1 · answered by Brant 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it would. The reason is "inertia". This is a property of mass. It might be viewed as a measure of how difficult it is to stop it moving, to slow it down, or to set it in motion. And it is the same anywhere in the universe an object, such as a lineman, happens to be.
Weight, on the other hand, is really nothing more than an object's reaction to being in the neighborhood of another mass. And it can vary quite a bit as a result of the position of the object.
So if you imagined, say, a space construction project and pictured to yourself a girder with a mass of, say, 1 ton.
A construction worker could lift it slowly because it has zero weight. He could not lift it quickly because it still has it's inertia. He simply lacks the power. And if the crane operator loses control of the load and smashes it into another girder it will surely damage both the same way it would on Earth. And if the construction worker happened to get caught between them, he'll be killed, just like on Earth.
2007-12-15 16:18:18 · answer #2 · answered by Robert K 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
OH YEAH!!! Cause if the lineman is traveling the same speed on the station as on Earth, then his momentum is the same.
And even better, if he it you, you wouldn't fall like on Earth, you'd get slammed against the bulkhead.
2007-12-15 20:24:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, just as hard. Because the mass of the lineman is the same, even though his weight is zero. It is the mass, not weight, that determines momentum, and you have to oppose his momentum to stop him.
2007-12-15 12:47:46 · answer #4 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
you need more information than that, with no gravity you have nothing to push off of. basically you would not be able to stop anything coming at you without something behind you to push off of.
2007-12-15 12:37:08 · answer #5 · answered by Brian K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋