Microgravity parable

From Peter Smith:
Stuf4 wrote...

You ask whether one can distinguish between gravity and acceleration.
But the question of whether one can distinguish between 'orbital
microgravity' and a 'microgravity field' is a different question.

Peter, please check "orbital microgravity" as a self-contradictory
oxymoron. Orbits require gravity in order to be orbits.

duuh - that's why I used the quote marks, Stuf4.

(A perfectly accurate term is "micro-g". No contradiction.)

I went on to explain how you could (if you were in a sealed box with no
windows and experiencing no obvious gravitational effects), how you could
differentiate between orbit and absence of (significant) gravity.

I agree with your point there. There are other ways to tell that an
astronaut is in a strong gravitational field (vice "zero gravity")
beside just the windows.

By the way, if you looked out the window, how would you detect a black
hole?

One way would be to observe the patch of blackness that defines the
black hole's event horizon circled by a haloed grouping of apparent
stars created by the gravitational lens effect.


~ CT

Stuf4 wrote...

By the way, if you looked out the window, how would you
detect a black hole?

One way would be to observe the patch of blackness that
defines the black hole's event horizon circled by a haloed
grouping of apparent stars created by the gravitational
lens effect.

If the Sun became a black hole, its event horison would have a 6km
diameter. To see the black disc, I would have to be at most 350km away.
At this distance the gravitational gradient would be significant, and I
would be orbiting at 1.9kHz. I would be feeling like LooseChanj is about
now I guess

Pass me a iBuzz Aldrin/i Hic!

- Peter

"Peter Smith" wrote in message
...
Pass me a iBuzz Aldrin/i Hic!

We know that Drew Carey is a space fan- after all, he named the results from
his garage brewery *Buzz* Beer!
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