4 ms·

This video by Columbia based researchers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3D7QlMVa5s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3D7QlMVa5s says that Coriolis acceleration

This video by Columbia based researchers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3D7QlMVa5s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3D7QlMVa5s says that Coriolis acceleration induced canal sickness could be a major issue, and we don't know exactly what humans can tolerate. In the worst case scenario such torus has to be about one kilometer in diameter, which is prohibitively expensive.

deleted 6y ago
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codesnik 6y ago
I once made napkin calculations that for 1g "gravitation" a station even about 50 meters in diameter would introduce coriolis force so great you'll have a lot of trouble even trying to stand up from a chair.
- mrfusion 6y ago
  Keep in mind though even .1 G (or less?) still gets you a lot of the benefits of gravity. Normal toilets, showers, dining, cooking, etc.
- aetherson 6y ago
  Nobody knows what effects long-term exposure to low, but not zero, gravity will have, but assuming that it is substantially better than microgravity, stations with rotational gravity of somewhere in the 1-5m/s2 seem like they may offer benefits with substantially lower engineering challenges.
  - nradov 6y ago
    Right let's start with 0.1G as a proof of concept and then build larger, faster rotating habitats later.
codesnik 6y ago
though, station doesn't have to be a torus. Zubrin said something about two starships chained together with a loong cable. That could work.
goda90 6y ago
The only experiments that we've done are earth based and involve horizontal acceleration. Sounds like we need to do some real life space tests! Maybe we can get something going with a central weight and a tether so the test pod can rotate around it at high speeds. Also, I recall there being studies into changing how the inner ear is reacting to movement. Maybe someday space goers will have implants to calm the inner ear against coriolis.
- rbanffy 6y ago
  An inflatable habitat could hold a small-ish centrifuge enough for some tests and to provide some semblance of gravity for sleep and exercise. If it gets really bad, the centrifuge can be dismantled and its remains used as divisions for what would be a very large empty space. Tethering two Dragons together would be complicated and maybe require an EVA to attach the tether. The trunk remains attached during a launch abort, so it can survive 1g without flying away (the Dragons will need it for deorbit after the experiment). I'm also guessing they'd need some redesign, because you don't want to mess with the parachute fixation points and, even if you did, the "floor" of the capsule should, for this exercise, be perpendicular to the acceleration. In short, I guess we need sci-fi grade engines that can pull 1g for weeks at a time.
- didericis 6y ago
  I think you’d want to do experiments with two equally weighted pods on each end of a “salt and pepper” (see https://youtu.be/U-a_gtcftZg https://youtu.be/U-a_gtcftZg) type setup. I hope to see tests in space as well. There’s likely some sweet spot that strikes a good balance between mitigating sickness, providing enough gravity to be useful, and being a reasonable size, and I think testing different configurations with a minimal rig where you change the diameter and rotational speed is the only way to discover it. I might be wrong though. There might be compelling evidence there is no such sweet spot and that looking for one would be a waste of time.
musicale 6y ago
> one kilometer in diameter, which is prohibitively expensive Yes, that's why Steve Jobs built his with a .5km diameter. ;-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Park

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

codesnik 6y ago

I once made napkin calculations that for 1g "gravitation" a station even about 50 meters in diameter would introduce coriolis force so great you'll have a lot of trouble even trying to stand up from a chair.

mrfusion 6y ago
Keep in mind though even .1 G (or less?) still gets you a lot of the benefits of gravity. Normal toilets, showers, dining, cooking, etc.
aetherson 6y ago
Nobody knows what effects long-term exposure to low, but not zero, gravity will have, but assuming that it is substantially better than microgravity, stations with rotational gravity of somewhere in the 1-5m/s2 seem like they may offer benefits with substantially lower engineering challenges.
- nradov 6y ago
  Right let's start with 0.1G as a proof of concept and then build larger, faster rotating habitats later.

codesnik 6y ago

though, station doesn't have to be a torus. Zubrin said something about two starships chained together with a loong cable. That could work.

goda90 6y ago

The only experiments that we've done are earth based and involve horizontal acceleration. Sounds like we need to do some real life space tests! Maybe we can get something going with a central weight and a tether so the test pod can rotate around it at high speeds. Also, I recall there being studies into changing how the inner ear is reacting to movement. Maybe someday space goers will have implants to calm the inner ear against coriolis.

rbanffy 6y ago
An inflatable habitat could hold a small-ish centrifuge enough for some tests and to provide some semblance of gravity for sleep and exercise. If it gets really bad, the centrifuge can be dismantled and its remains used as divisions for what would be a very large empty space. Tethering two Dragons together would be complicated and maybe require an EVA to attach the tether. The trunk remains attached during a launch abort, so it can survive 1g without flying away (the Dragons will need it for deorbit after the experiment). I'm also guessing they'd need some redesign, because you don't want to mess with the parachute fixation points and, even if you did, the "floor" of the capsule should, for this exercise, be perpendicular to the acceleration. In short, I guess we need sci-fi grade engines that can pull 1g for weeks at a time.
didericis 6y ago
I think you’d want to do experiments with two equally weighted pods on each end of a “salt and pepper” (see https://youtu.be/U-a_gtcftZg https://youtu.be/U-a_gtcftZg) type setup. I hope to see tests in space as well. There’s likely some sweet spot that strikes a good balance between mitigating sickness, providing enough gravity to be useful, and being a reasonable size, and I think testing different configurations with a minimal rig where you change the diameter and rotational speed is the only way to discover it. I might be wrong though. There might be compelling evidence there is no such sweet spot and that looking for one would be a waste of time.

musicale 6y ago

> one kilometer in diameter, which is prohibitively expensive Yes, that's why Steve Jobs built his with a .5km diameter. ;-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Park