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I've been on the Zero Gravity Corp plane- it's cool, but if I had the money to drop, I would absolutely rather go to space. Minutes of sustained zero g would be

I've been on the Zero Gravity Corp plane- it's cool, but if I had the money to drop, I would absolutely rather go to space. Minutes of sustained zero g would be mindblowing compared to what I experienced.

outworlder 8y ago
Genuine question: what is the difference? In both cases you are just falling. Is the difference just an effect of atmospheric turbulence?
- Retric 8y ago
  In parabolic flight you are only weightless for 20-30 seconds at a time. You then experience high g forces going back up and repeat. Consider, people can also feel weightless by jumping yet extending that to 20-30 seconds is worth 5k.
  - dmurray 8y ago
    If "jumping" is a valid comparison, how does it compare with skydiving? You can freefall for 1-2 minutes doing that, with roughly zero training.
    - Retric 8y ago
      Freefall at terminal velocity is 1g not zero gravity. So, you only really get zero g for a at low speeds near the aircraft. PS: You can do hours of floating on air in an indoor wind tunnel (ex: www.iflyworld.com), but again that's not weightless.
      - dmurray 8y ago
        Thanks. I didn't really understand weightlessness until this made me think about it. If I stood on a normal weighing scales, falling vertically feet first, the scales would show my weight when at terminal velocity, because the force of the air on the bottom of the scales would equal my acceleration under gravity. And the same force would be transmitted to me by the scales. Then if we take away the scales, the air below me is acting on me the same way as the ground normally does. Same in the indoor wind tunnel where the air is moving up instead of me moving down, I'm still at terminal velocity there. If I was free falling in a vacuum, or somewhere that the air was being accelerated at the same rate as my fall (like a space station or a vomit comet), there would be no such force, the scales would read zero, and I'd experience what they call weightlessness. Is that all correct?
        Retric 8y ago
        Yes.

outworlder 8y ago

Genuine question: what is the difference? In both cases you are just falling. Is the difference just an effect of atmospheric turbulence?

Retric 8y ago
In parabolic flight you are only weightless for 20-30 seconds at a time. You then experience high g forces going back up and repeat. Consider, people can also feel weightless by jumping yet extending that to 20-30 seconds is worth 5k.
- dmurray 8y ago
  If "jumping" is a valid comparison, how does it compare with skydiving? You can freefall for 1-2 minutes doing that, with roughly zero training.
  - Retric 8y ago
    Freefall at terminal velocity is 1g not zero gravity. So, you only really get zero g for a at low speeds near the aircraft. PS: You can do hours of floating on air in an indoor wind tunnel (ex: www.iflyworld.com), but again that's not weightless.
    - dmurray 8y ago
      Thanks. I didn't really understand weightlessness until this made me think about it. If I stood on a normal weighing scales, falling vertically feet first, the scales would show my weight when at terminal velocity, because the force of the air on the bottom of the scales would equal my acceleration under gravity. And the same force would be transmitted to me by the scales. Then if we take away the scales, the air below me is acting on me the same way as the ground normally does. Same in the indoor wind tunnel where the air is moving up instead of me moving down, I'm still at terminal velocity there. If I was free falling in a vacuum, or somewhere that the air was being accelerated at the same rate as my fall (like a space station or a vomit comet), there would be no such force, the scales would read zero, and I'd experience what they call weightlessness. Is that all correct?
      - Retric 8y ago
        Yes.