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Old October 10th 03, 02:22 AM
Stuf4
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Default Microgravity parable

From stmx3:

In response to your opening post, I listed many more references. I also
tried to find sources which discredit "microgravity". Mostly I found
sources which defined microgravity. But here are mo

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=microgravity
1. An environment in which there is very little net gravitational
force, as of a free-falling object, an orbit, or interstellar space.
2. A minute shift in gravity that can occur through geologic factors
in a region, such as the movement of the earth's crust along fault lines.

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
microgravity
a condition in space in which only minuscule forces are experienced :
virtual absence of gravity; broadly : a condition of weightlessness

http://www.bartleby.com/cgi-bin/texi...avity&db=a hd
...1. An environment in which there is very little net gravitational
force, as of a free-falling object, an orbit, or interstellar space. 2.
A minute shift in gravity...

Hmmm...the term is part of the vernacular language.


....and NASA put it there! I consider it NASA's civic duty to take it
out. That requires education. Today I was glad to find this webpage
from Jim Oberg, former employee at NASA JSC:

http://www.jamesoberg.com/myth.html

Space Myths and Misconceptions
OMNI magazine, May 1993, pp. 38ff

Quote:

"The myth that satellites remain in orbit because they have "escaped
Earth's gravity" is perpetuated further (and falsely) by almost
universal use of the zingy but physically nonsensical phrase "zero
gravity" (and its techweenie cousin, "microgravity") to describe the
free-falling conditions aboard orbiting space vehicles. Of course,
this isn't true; gravity still exists in space. It keeps satellites
from flying straight off into interstellar emptiness. What's missing
is "weight," the resistance of gravitational attraction by an anchored
structure or a counterforce."

If one person at NASA can keep this all straight, I don't see why the
entire agency can as well. But in scrubbing that URL TLD for the term
"zero gravity", I was disappointed to see usage of the term subsequent
to the date on this OMNI article. This supports the view that people
*do* know the difference and they just use the bogus terms anyway.

Along the lines of:

"...what I said was "no gravity"...but you know what I meant."


~ CT