Rotating Space Station

I am attending a conference with lots of math, science, and writing.  I traveled all night and began attending presentations right away.  One presentation I attended was quite fascinating in that it looked at all the viewpoints in reference to rotating space stations.


The rotating space station was first theorized back in 1903 and scientists such a Braun looked at ways it might be built.  The gentleman used vectors in the form of vector arrows to explain why the movement occurred.

He showed the movement of the person inside the rotating station from both inside and from the space ship circling the station.  It was obvious the Coriolus effect effected the path of the person who was picking, running, falling, even playing basketball. One reason puking was covered is because it happens under certain circumstances.  In addition the path it follows is based on whether it is sent retrograde or prograde. Prograde is less messy.

So in addition to using vector arrows, he explained how the Coriolus effect applied to certain situations and why the viewer saw the movement the way they did.  At the end he gave a brief rundown of the equations these observations were based on.  Apparently, a rotating space station may not be the most stable building because the Coriolus effect could be quite wobbly.

The audience laughed so much because reality was so different from the expected reactions.  I found it interesting because it provided a real look at physics and math in a great situation. I will try to share more tomorrow from a different talk.