Space and gravity.: Philosophy Forums

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Space and gravity.

boron
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Posted 09/21/05 - 11:31 AM: Subject: Space and gravity.	#1
I understand that if gravity suddenly disappeared then we would all explode and "paint the walls red". Because our bodies push upwards with a foce equal to the force of the atmosphere pushing down on us. So what I want to know is why, when astronauts are in orbit and do not have the pressure of the atmosphere on them do they not expand as if they were outside their space craft? Sorry if this a really stupid question, but I am new to this forum and this subject matter.

rabeldin
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Posted 09/21/05 - 11:41 AM:	#2
boron wrote: I understand that if gravity suddenly disappeared then we would all explode and "paint the walls red". Because our bodies push upwards with a foce equal to the force of the atmosphere pushing down on us. So what I want to know is why, when astronauts are in orbit and do not have the pressure of the atmosphere on them do they not expand as if they were outside their space craft? Sorry if this a really stupid question, but I am new to this forum and this subject matter. That is a misunderstanding. Our bodies resist the pressure of the atmosphere, with or without gravity. Astronauts have air pressure equivalent to that of the atmosphere while in their capsule or in their space suits. Without it, they would "explode". That is one of the essential requirements of a space vehicle, that it substitute for the missing atmosphere artificially.
Leave no assumption unquestioned.

keda
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Posted 09/21/05 - 12:03 PM:	#3
Our bodies resist the pressure of the atmosphere, with or without gravity Without gravity would there be any atmosphere?
All about making money Free Europe Now How to fix your country The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. -Benjamin Franklin If my sons did not want wars, there would be none - Gutle Rothschild It's not the people who vote that count, it's the people who count the votes - Josef Stalin

rabeldin
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Posted 09/22/05 - 02:32 AM:	#4
keda wrote: Without gravity would there be any atmosphere? ... but without an atmosphere, would there be anyone to observe its lack?
Leave no assumption unquestioned.

Heathen
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Posted 09/22/05 - 07:10 AM:	#5
I assume we would be hurled away from the planet on a tangent. or...?

rabeldin
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Posted 09/23/05 - 01:19 PM:	#6
Heathen wrote: I assume we would be hurled away from the planet on a tangent. or...? Like a philosophy in a forum!
Leave no assumption unquestioned.

geoff23
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Posted 10/16/05 - 07:00 AM:	#7
Heathen wrote: I assume we would be hurled away from the planet on a tangent. or...? That's exactly what was assumed by many of the people who couldn't bring themselves to believe Galileo and Copernicus. If the Earth spins, why aren't we flung from its surface like a stone from the rim of a wheel?
The poets did not win; the philosophers surrendered. (Umberto Eco)

Paul
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Posted 10/16/05 - 09:04 AM:	#8
rabeldin wrote: Astronauts have air pressure equivalent to that of the atmosphere while in their capsule or in their space suits. Without it, they would "explode". Actually that's also a misunderstanding. After sufficient exposure a person dies from the lack of pressure, but they would not explode. References: http://www.sff.net/people/Geoffrey.Landis/vacuum.html "You would survive about a ninety seconds, you wouldn't explode, you would remain conscious for about ten seconds." http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answe... "The reason that a human does not burst is that our skin has some strength. For instance compressed oxygen in a steel tank may be at several hundreds times the pressure of the air outside and the strength of the steel keeps the cylinder from breaking. Although our skin is not steel, it still is strong enough to keep our bodies from bursting in space."

Banno
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Posted 10/16/05 - 01:03 PM:	#9
rabeldin wrote: ... but without an atmosphere, would there be anyone to observe its lack? Briefly....
Davidson: We make maximum sense of the words and thoughts of others when we interpret in a way that optimizes agreement. Russel Morris: There's a meaning there, but the meaning there doesn't really mean a thing...

Timothy
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Posted 10/16/05 - 05:35 PM:	#10
the eyes pop out or don't pop out?
""Physics investigates the essential nature of the world, and biology describes a local bump. Psychology, human psychology, describes a bump on the bump." W.V.O. Quine

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