Even a person with no interest in space has ever seen a movie about space travel or read about such things in books. In almost all such works, people walk around the ship, sleep normally, and do not experience problems with eating. This means that these - fictional - ships have artificial gravity. Most viewers perceive this as something completely natural, but it is not at all.
Artificial Gravity
This is the name of the change (in any direction) of gravity familiar to us by applying various methods. And this is done not only in fantastic works, but also in very real earthly situations, most often for experiments.
In theory, the creation of artificial gravity does not look so difficult. For example, it can be recreated with the help of inertia, more precisely, centrifugal force. The need for this power did not arise yesterday - it happened immediately, as soon as a person began to dream of long-term space flights. Creationartificial gravity in space will make it possible to avoid many problems that arise during prolonged stay in weightlessness. The astronauts' muscles weaken, the bones become less durable. Traveling in such conditions for months, you can get atrophy of some muscles.
Thus, today the creation of artificial gravity is a task of paramount importance, space exploration without this skill is simply impossible.
Materials
Even those who know physics only at the level of the school curriculum understand that gravity is one of the fundamental laws of our world: all bodies interact with each other, experiencing mutual attraction / repulsion. The larger the body, the greater its force of attraction.
Earth for our reality is a very massive object. That is why, without exception, all bodies around her are attracted to it.
For us, this means the acceleration of free fall, which is usually measured in g, equal to 9.8 meters per square second. This means that if we had no support under our feet, we would fall at a speed that increases by 9.8 meters every second.
Thus, only thanks to gravity we are able to stand, fall, eat and drink normally, understand where is up, where is down. If gravity disappears, we will be in zero gravity.
Astronauts who find themselves in space in a state of soaring - free fall are especially familiar with this phenomenon.
Theoretically, scientists know how to create artificial gravity. Existseveral techniques.
Big Mass
The most logical option is to make the spaceship so big that it has artificial gravity. It will be possible to feel comfortable on the ship, as orientation in space will not be lost.
Unfortunately, this method with the modern development of technology is unrealistic. To build such an object requires too many resources. In addition, it will require an incredible amount of energy to lift it.
Speed up
It would seem that if you want to achieve g equal to the earth's, you just need to give the ship a flat (platform) shape and make it move perpendicular to the plane with the desired acceleration. In this way, artificial gravity will be obtained, and ideal.
However, the reality is much more complicated.
First of all, it is worth considering the fuel issue. In order for the station to constantly accelerate, it is necessary to have an uninterruptible power supply. Even if an engine suddenly appears that does not eject matter, the law of conservation of energy will remain in force.
The second problem is the very idea of constant acceleration. According to our knowledge and physical laws, it is impossible to accelerate to infinity.
In addition, such vehicles are not suitable for research missions, since they must constantly accelerate - fly. He won't be able to stop to study the planet, he won't even be able to slowly fly around it - he needs to accelerate.
SoThus, it becomes clear that such artificial gravity is not yet available to us.
Carousel
Everyone knows how the rotation of the carousel affects the body. Therefore, an artificial gravity device according to this principle seems to be the most realistic.
Everything that is in the diameter of the carousel tends to fall out of it at a speed approximately equal to the speed of rotation. It turns out that a force acts on the body, directed along the radius of the rotating object. It's very similar to gravity.
So, you need a ship that has a cylindrical shape. At the same time, it must rotate around its axis. By the way, artificial gravity on a spaceship, created according to this principle, is often shown in science fiction films.
Barrel-shaped ship, rotating around the longitudinal axis, creates a centrifugal force, the direction of which corresponds to the radius of the object. To calculate the resulting acceleration, you need to divide the force by the mass.
It will not be difficult for people who know physics to calculate this: a=ω²R.
In this formula, the result of the calculation is the acceleration, the first variable is the nodal speed (measured in radians per second), the second is the radius.
According to this, in order to obtain the usual g, it is necessary to correctly combine the angular velocity and radius of space transport.
This problem is covered in films such as "Intersol", "Babylon 5", "2001: A Space Odyssey" and the like. In all these casesartificial gravity is close to Earth's free fall acceleration.
No matter how good the idea is, it is quite difficult to implement it.
Problems of the carousel method
The most obvious problem is highlighted in A Space Odyssey. The radius of the "space carrier" is about 8 meters. In order to get an acceleration of 9.8, the rotation must occur at a rate of approximately 10.5 revolutions every minute.
At the indicated values, the “Coriolis effect” is manifested, which consists in the fact that different forces act at different distances from the floor. It directly depends on the angular velocity.
It turns out that artificial gravity in space will be created, but too fast rotation of the case will lead to problems with the inner ear. This, in turn, causes imbalances, problems with the vestibular apparatus and other similar problems.
The emergence of this barrier suggests that such a model is extremely unsuccessful.
You can try to go from the opposite, as they did in the novel "The World-Ring". Here the ship is made in the form of a ring, the radius of which is close to the radius of our orbit (about 150 million km). At this size, its rotation speed is enough to ignore the Coriolis effect.
You might assume that the problem is solved, but it is not so at all. The fact is that a complete rotation of this structure around its axis takes 9 days. This makes it possible to assume that the loads will be too large. In order tothe construction withstood them, a very strong material is needed, which we do not have at our disposal today. In addition, the problem is the amount of material and the construction process itself.
In games of a similar theme, as in the movie "Babylon 5", these problems are somehow solved: the rotation speed is quite sufficient, the Coriolis effect is not significant, it is hypothetically possible to create such a ship.
However, even such worlds have a drawback. His name is momentum.
The ship, rotating around its axis, turns into a huge gyroscope. As you know, it is extremely difficult to make the gyroscope deviate from the axis due to the angular momentum. It is important that its quantity does not leave the system. This means that it will be very difficult to set the direction for this object. However, this problem can be solved.
Problem Solving
Artificial gravity on a space station becomes available when the "O'Neill cylinder" comes to the rescue. To create this design, identical cylindrical ships are needed, which are connected along the axis. They should rotate in different directions. The result of this assembly is zero angular momentum, so there should be no difficulty in giving the ship the desired direction.
If it is possible to make a ship with a radius of about 500 meters, then it will work exactly as it should. At the same time, artificial gravity in space will be quite comfortable and suitable for long flights on ships or research stations.
Space Engineers
How to create artificial gravity is known to the creators of the game. However, in this fantasy world, gravity is not the mutual attraction of bodies, but a linear force designed to accelerate objects in a given direction. The attraction here is not absolute, it changes when the source is redirected.
Artificial gravity on the space station is created by using a special generator. It is uniform and equidirectional in the area of the generator. So, in the real world, if you get hit by a ship that has a generator installed, you would be pulled to the hull. However, in the game, the hero will fall until he leaves the perimeter of the device.
Today, artificial gravity in space, created by such a device, is inaccessible to mankind. However, even gray-haired developers do not stop dreaming about it.
Spherical Generator
This is a more realistic version of the equipment. When installed, gravity has a direction towards the generator. This makes it possible to create a station, the gravity of which will be equal to the planetary one.
Centrifuge
Today, artificial gravity on Earth is found in various devices. They are based, for the most part, on inertia, since this force is felt by us similarly to gravitational effects - the body does not distinguish what causes acceleration. As an example: a person going up in an elevator experiences the effect of inertia. Through the eyes of a physicist: lifting an elevator adds to the acceleration of free fall the acceleration of the car. Upon returncabins to a measured movement "gain" in weight disappears, returning the usual sensations.
Scientists have long been interested in artificial gravity. The centrifuge is used for these purposes most often. This method is suitable not only for spacecraft, but also for ground stations in which it is required to study the effect of gravity on the human body.
Study on Earth, apply in…
Although the study of gravity began from space, it is a very mundane science. Even today, achievements in this area have found their application, for example, in medicine. Knowing whether it is possible to create artificial gravity on the planet, one can use it to treat problems with the motor apparatus or nervous system. Moreover, the study of this force is carried out primarily on Earth. This makes it possible for astronauts to conduct experiments while remaining under the close attention of doctors. Another thing is artificial gravity in space, there are no people there who can help astronauts in case of an unforeseen situation.
Given total weightlessness, one cannot take into account a satellite in low Earth orbit. These objects, albeit to a small extent, are affected by gravity. The force of gravity generated in such cases is called microgravity. Real gravity is experienced only in an apparatus flying at a constant speed in outer space. However, the human body does not feel this difference.
You can experience weightlessness during a long jump (before the canopy opens) or during a parabolic descent of the aircraft. Such experimentsoften staged in the USA, but on an airplane this feeling lasts only 40 seconds - this is too short for a full study.
In the USSR back in 1973 they knew whether it was possible to create artificial gravity. And not only created it, but also changed it in some way. A vivid example of an artificial decrease in gravity is dry immersion, immersion. To achieve the desired effect, you need to put a dense film on the surface of the water. The person is placed on top of it. Under the weight of the body, the body sinks under water, only the head remains above. This model demonstrates the low gravity support found in the ocean.
There is no need to go into space to feel the effect of the opposite force of weightlessness - hypergravity. When taking off and landing a spacecraft, in a centrifuge, you can not only feel the overload, but also study it.
Gravity treatment
Gravitational physics studies, among other things, the impact of weightlessness on the human body, seeking to minimize the consequences. However, a large number of achievements of this science can be useful to ordinary inhabitants of the planet.
Physicians place great hopes on research into the behavior of muscle enzymes in myopathy. This is a serious illness leading to early death.
With active physical exercises, a large amount of the enzyme creatinophosphokinase enters the blood of a he althy person. The reason for this phenomenon is not clear, perhaps the load acts on the cell membrane in such a way that it"perforates". Patients with myopathy get the same effect without exercise. Observations of astronauts show that in weightlessness the flow of the active enzyme into the blood is significantly reduced. This discovery suggests that the use of immersion will reduce the negative impact of factors leading to myopathy. Animal testing is currently underway.
Treatment of some diseases is already being carried out today using data obtained from the study of gravity, including artificial. For example, cerebral palsy, strokes, Parkinson's are treated by using load suits. The research on the positive impact of the support - the pneumatic shoe is almost completed.
Will we fly to Mars?
The latest achievements of astronauts give hope for the reality of the project. There is experience of medical support for a person during a long stay away from the Earth. Research flights to the Moon, on which the force of gravity is 6 times less than our own, have also brought a lot of benefits. Now astronauts and scientists are setting themselves a new goal - Mars.
Before you get in line for a ticket to the Red Planet, you should know what the body expects already at the first stage of work - on the way. On average, the road to the desert planet will take a year and a half - about 500 days. On the way, you will have to rely only on your own strength, there is simply nowhere to wait for help.
Many factors will undermine strength: stress, radiation, lack of a magnetic field. The most important test for the body is the change in gravity. During the journey, a person "gets acquainted" withseveral levels of gravity. First of all, these are overloads during takeoff. Then - weightlessness during the flight. After that, hypogravity at the destination, since gravity on Mars is less than 40% of Earth.
How do you deal with the negative effects of weightlessness on a long flight? It is hoped that developments in the field of creating artificial gravity will help solve this issue in the near future. Experiments on rats traveling on Kosmos-936 show that this technique does not solve all problems.
OS experience has shown that the use of training complexes that can determine the necessary load for each astronaut individually can bring much more benefits to the body.
So far it is believed that not only researchers will fly to Mars, but also tourists who want to establish a colony on the Red Planet. For them, at least at first, the sensations of being in weightlessness outweigh all the arguments of doctors about the dangers of prolonged exposure to such conditions. However, they will need help in a few weeks too, which is why it is so important to be able to find a way to create artificial gravity on a spaceship.
Results
What conclusions can be drawn about the creation of artificial gravity in space?
Among all the options currently being considered, the rotating structure looks the most realistic. However, with the current understanding of physical laws, this is impossible, since the ship is not a hollow cylinder. Inside it there are overlaps that interfere with the realization of ideas.
In addition, the radius of the ship should be solarge so that the Coriolis effect does not have a significant effect.
To control something like this, you need the O'Neill cylinder mentioned above, which will give you the ability to control the ship. In this case, the chances of using a similar design for interplanetary flights with providing the crew with a comfortable level of gravity increase.
Before humanity succeeds in making their dreams come true, I would like to see a little more realism and even more knowledge of the laws of physics in science fiction.
