On 2008-02-09, Phillip Thorne <pethorne@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> But what if you're in the air *between* the axis and floor? What,
> if anything, causes you to "fall" to the floor?
Initially nothing.
> If you had an initial downward (outward) radial velocity, you'd
> soon pick up a tangential velocity from the air; but do you
> accelerate radially?
There are two main ways to look at this: from the inertial reference
frame or the co-rotating one. Both give the same answer.
In the inertial frame, you start at rest. The air ru****ng past you
imparts some velocity to you, tangential to the colony's rotation
axis. If no subsequent force acted upon you, you would drift along
that line until you met the (rotating) outer shell. The picture is
actually more complicated because other forces will act upon you: the
air at each point along your path has a different velocity.
In the co-rotating frame, you start with a tangential velocity. As it
happens, the centrifugal force at your position is negated by the
coriolis force due to your velocity. However, as your speed is
reduced by drag the centrifugal force begins to dominate, so you
accelerate toward the stationary outer shell. The situation is
complicated by the changing direction and magnitude of drag as your
velocity changes, but you will end up hitting the "ground".
- Tim
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