What is the relationship between weightlessness in space and free fall?

Weightlessness in an orbiting spacecraft is physically identical to free-fall, with the difference that gravitational acceleration causes a net change in the direction, rather than the magnitude, of the spacecraft’s velocity. This is because the acceleration vector is perpendicular to the velocity vector.

What is free fall and centripetal force?

(i) Freefall: – A body is said to be under free fall when only the force of gravity acted upon it. (iv) Centripetal Force: – A body performing circular motion is acted upon by a force that is always directed towards the center of the circle. This force is called centripetal force.

What is the relationship between gravity and weightlessness?

The sensation of weightlessness, or zero gravity, happens when the effects of gravity are not felt. Technically speaking, gravity does exist everywhere in the universe because it is defined as the force that attracts two bodies to each other.

What causes centripetal force in space?

Centripetal forces cause centripetal accelerations. In the special case of the Earth’s circular motion around the Sun – or any satellite’s circular motion around any celestial body – the centripetal force causing the motion is the result of the gravitational attraction between them.

How does force work in space?

Gravity is a very important force. Every object in space exerts a gravitational pull on every other, and so gravity influences the paths taken by everything traveling through space. It is the glue that holds together entire galaxies.

What is Freefall escape velocity?

Free falls is a normal falling of an object from up to down under normal gravity condition, escape velocity is the velocity at which an object can escape from earth to space.

What are the free fall escape velocity?

The escape speed is independent of the mass of the escaping object. For example, the escape speed from Earth’s surface is about 11.186 km/s (40,270 km/h; 25,020 mph; 36,700 ft/s).

What is free fall and why does it make you weightless briefly describe why astronauts are weightless in the space station?

Earth-orbiting astronauts are weightless for the same reasons that riders of a free-falling amusement park ride or a free-falling elevator are weightless. They are weightless because there is no external contact force pushing or pulling upon their body. In each case, gravity is the only force acting upon their body.

What do you understand by weightlessness due to free fall?

Weightlessness of a body is the state in which the body experiences that the body is not being attracted by any force. Weightlessness occurs during free fall and at the null point. The space between any two heavenly bodies at which the resultant gravity is zero is said to be a null point.

How does weightlessness occur in free fall?

The phenomenon of “weightlessness” occurs when there is no force of support on your body. When your body is effectively in “free fall”, accelerating downward at the acceleration of gravity, then you are not being supported. The sensation of apparent weight comes from the support that you feel from the floor, from the seat, etc.

What is the net external force for a free falling object?

For a free falling object, the net external force is just the weight of the object: Substituting into the second law equation gives: The acceleration of the object equals the gravitational acceleration. The mass, size, and shape of the object are not a factor in describing the motion of the object.

Why do astronauts not feel weightless when they orbit the Earth?

(A) An astronaut standing on Earth does not feel weightless because the ground creates a normal force that opposes the force of gravity. (B) An astronaut orbiting the Earth does feel weightless because there is no ground or normal force to counteract the force of gravity.

Do astronauts fall free fall in space?

Yes. Free fall is defined as “any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it.” In the vacuum of space, where there are no air molecules or supportive surfaces, astronauts are only acted upon by gravity. Thus, they are falling towards Earth at the acceleration of gravity.