4 ms·

Wouldn't it be straightforward to produce 2G on earth in a rotating ring (combining forces similar to superelevation in rail tracks)?

• yummypaint 5y ago
  Yeah there are carnival rides that basically do this. If scaled up to maybe 100 meter diameter horizontal ring the coriolis forces shouldn't be too bothersome. The floor would be banked to seem level to the people inside. There would still be some weird second order effects but it seems like it could be livable for days at a time. The room should be as thin as possible if the floor is to be flat in one direction to minimize weirdness. Having the outside of the wheel moving at around highway speed with >45 degree bank angle should give about 1.5 g. Someone must have built a centrifuge barracks or something during the cold war. Have never heard of such a thing, though.
  • yummypaint 5y ago
    Closest thing i found: "In the late 1950s, two scientists, Carl Clark and James Hardy, had a more daring idea. Physics dictated that if a spacecraft could be steadily accelerated at 2 Gs, it could reach the moon or Mars in days or even hours. But could a human being survive the constant acceleration? Clark used the centrifuge to find out. “He essentially moved into the cab, brought his La-Z-Boy from home, and stayed in there at 2 G for 24 hours,” says Shender. Clark slept, ate, worked, and lived at two Gs for a full day under constant medical surveillance. He suffered nothing more than fatigue. Further marathon rides were planned, but more immediate space missions loomed and the idea was set aside. " https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/the-g-machine-16799374/ https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/the-g-machine-...
    • yummypaint 5y ago
      Also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMLe7WB_86Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMLe7WB_86Q