AAMC 11 Gravity

[MedPR]

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Thinking about it again, there's no way the space station is as massive as the earth so my selected answer doesn't make any sense.

I still don't understand how inertia has anything to do with gravity though..

 

[aSagacious]

Spin a bucket full of water around your head. Does the water pour on your head when it's above you? No, because of centrifugal force (a special case of inertia relating to rotation). Now replace the water with a tiny person standing inside of the spinning bucket. Imagine what force he would feel.

 

[MedPR]

Spin a bucket full of water around your head. Does the water pour on your head when it's above you? No, because of centrifugal force (a special case of inertia relating to rotation). Now replace the water with a tiny person standing inside of the spinning bucket. Imagine what force he would feel.

Ah that's true, I hadn't thought about centripetal force in that context.

 

[MedPR]

Does the mass of the space station have an effect on anything?

 

[aSagacious]

Does the mass of the space station have an effect on anything?

Intuitively, I would think that it draws the person into its center of gravity. In this case if it were shaped like a donut and the person were standing on the outside of the ring then the gravity of the space station would (infinitesimally) decrease the net force experienced by the person.