Figure P7.45 shows a picture of American astronaut Clay Anderson experiencing we

Question

Figure P7.45 shows a picture of American astronaut Clay Anderson experiencing weightlessness on board the International Space Station. Most people have the misconception that a person in a spacecraft is weightless because he or she is no longer affected by gravity. Show that this premise cannot be true by computing the gravitational field of the Earth at an altitude of 200 km, the typical altitude of a spacecraft in orbit. Compare this result with the gravitational field on the surface of the Earth. Why would astronauts in orbit experience weightlessness even if they are experiencing a gravitational field (and therefore a gravitational force)?

Explanation / Answer

.) Gfield = GMe/d2

d = Re + 200 km = 6400 + 200 km = 6600 km

= 6.67 x 10-11 x 6 x 1024 / (6600 x 1000)2

=9.187 m/s2

at the surface of earth gravitational field if force of gravity per unit mass or acceleration due to gravity

= 9.81 m/s2

b.) the spacecraft keeps revolving around the earth due to which the astronauts experience a centrifugal force(force away from centre of the earth) and so, the net pull towards eath decreases and they feel weightless.

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