Would a starfighter pilot be subject to pulling "g" in space?

Site Notices

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Would a starfighter pilot be subject to pulling "g" in space? (Page 1 of 4)

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:10:52 PM EDT

So you are flying through space in your starfighter and are attacked by another spaceship with a skittle cannon. You are forced to make violent maneuvers to avoid the sugary bringers of death. Would you be subject to "g" type forces while doing so in a zero gravity environment? I am thinking centrifugal firce would maybe impart a g-type loading to the pilot's body. Thoughts?

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:11:47 PM EDT

[#1]

No.

Never ask a man who has had a couple of drinks if he has any thoughts about inertial forces in a zero g environment.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:12:02 PM EDT

[#2]

Do astronauts masturbate in space?

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:12:28 PM EDT

[#3]

I have no idea, therefore I'm going to say yes and in before Keith J or someone smarter than me

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:12:57 PM EDT

[#4]

Quote History

Quoted:
No.

View Quote

Actually...yes.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:13:21 PM EDT

[#5]

Quote History

Quoted:

No.

View Quote

Wrong.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:13:50 PM EDT

[#6]

Yes.

Inertia is a bitch regardless of gravity.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:13:55 PM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:

Actually...yes.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
No.

Actually...yes.

The OP's question was "Thoughts?". I answered honestly.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:14:06 PM EDT

[#8]

I'll say yes.

Inertia and centrifugal forces still hold true in zero gravity.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:14:30 PM EDT

[#9]

Yes.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:14:55 PM EDT

[#10]

Things in motion tend to stay in motion...

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:15:02 PM EDT

[#11]

Is a treadmill involved. . . ?

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:15:15 PM EDT

[#12]

Only when he activates Death Blossom.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:16:19 PM EDT

[#13]

Physics...

Arfcom aint got time for no physics...

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:16:23 PM EDT

[#14]

Yes, G's come from acceleration/deceleration. Whether the source is gravity or thrust is irrelevant.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:16:46 PM EDT

[#15]

Yes. Any change in vector requires acceleration. Acceleration means pulling Gs.

However, there is no aerodynamic turning in space. It won't be wings, it'll be thrust vectoring that does the work.

Visual range combat between two small vessels in space will NOT happen unless both ships run out of all kinds of ammo

and have to resort to throwing the contents of their tool kits at each other.

Thus, there will be no dogfighting. Nor would such maneuvering resemble aerial dogfighting in any way. Without aerodynamic

lift and drag, no way, no chance, no how.

Spacecraft do not maneuver like aircraft.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:16:47 PM EDT

[#16]

Does the pilot have mass? Or is he just a figment of your imagination? (Like your Star Fighter)

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:17:02 PM EDT

[#17]

Yes. Pulling g's isn't from gravity (except for, on earth, the first one), it's from acceleration.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:17:10 PM EDT

[#18]

You'll feel 1G accelerating at 9.8 m/s^2 whether gravity is present or not.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:17:13 PM EDT

[#19]

Yes, g-force is just an object's acceleration normalized to earth's gravitation acceleration constant. It isn't dependent on gravity being present.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:17:13 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
So you are flying through space in your starfighter and are attacked by another spaceship with a skittle cannon. You are forced to make violent maneuvers to avoid the sugary bringers of death. Would you be subject to "g" type forces while doing so in a zero gravity environment? I am thinking centrifugal firce would maybe impart a g-type loading to the pilot's body. Thoughts?

View Quote

Of course. "G" or gravity is only one vector of acceleration. Acceleration happens whenever we change velocity as well, like when we hit the accelerator on our car and are pushed back into our seats or take a turn at a good speed. These physics are universal.

Wear your seatbelt! Not just on thee road but in space as well. In fact, you are typically moving at much higher speeds in space such that any sudden change in direction will make you loose your lunch and smash your head into a bulkead.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:17:50 PM EDT

[#21]

Yes. Battlestar Galactica explained this.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:18:08 PM EDT

[#22]

Of course. How does one experience g-forces greater than one in the first place. Those forces are due to acceleration. As your space craft accelerates in a new direction, your body and the parts of the space craft undergo g-forces. Force is just mass times acceleration (F = mA).

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:18:57 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
So you are flying through space in your starfighter and are attacked by another spaceship with a skittle cannon. You are forced to make violent maneuvers to avoid the sugary bringers of death. Would you be subject to "g" type forces while doing so in a zero gravity environment? I am thinking centrifugal firce would maybe impart a g-type loading to the pilot's body. Thoughts?

View Quote

Do you think the higher "G" forces felt by fighter pilots and astronauts have anything to do with gravity? Nope, "G's" are just a very handy unit of measure.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:19:18 PM EDT

[#24]

Quote History

Quoted:
Do astronauts masturbate in space?

View Quote

Some probably take advantage of that vacuum tube which is supposed to be for waste disposal...

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:19:30 PM EDT

[#25]

Only if they have mass.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:19:41 PM EDT

[#26]

Yes. But Space Dogfights? Laff.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:19:57 PM EDT

[#27]

Yes.

There is one G acting on you at all times on earth. You can modify the direction you feel the most G's, but that one positive G is always there, always acting on you. So that means all the G's you feel in maneuvers are pretty much independent of the Earths gravity.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:20:26 PM EDT

[#28]

Quote History

Quoted:

Yes. Battlestar Galactica explained this.

View Quote

But first Babylon 5 had to explain it to them so they could get it right the 2nd time.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:21:00 PM EDT

[#29]

yes.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:21:02 PM EDT

[#30]

Quote History

Quoted:
Yes. Any change in vector requires acceleration. Acceleration means pulling Gs.

However, there is no aerodynamic turning in space. It won't be wings, it'll be thrust vectoring that does the work.

Visual range combat between two small vessels in space will NOT happen unless both ships run out of all kinds of ammo
and have to resort to throwing the contents of their tool kits at each other.

Thus, there will be no dogfighting. Nor would such maneuvering resemble aerial dogfighting in any way. Without aerodynamic
lift and drag, no way, no chance, no how.

Spacecraft do not maneuver like aircraft.

View Quote

There isn't anything special about space that would negate dogfighting. Now dogfighting is pretty much a thing of the past due to better weapons, but you COULD do it in space.

Completely non-scientific demonstration: go play freespace 2.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:22:09 PM EDT

[#31]

Quote History

Quoted:
I'll say yes.

Inertia and centrifugal forces still hold true in zero gravity.

View Quote

No such thing as centrifugal forces.

Thrusters on the right that move the spacecraft to the left, will cause the astronaut to be pushed against the right wall. Just like thrusting from below will increase g forces and make the astronaut feel he/she is heavier.

Other comments about it not being like aircraft are right on.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:22:44 PM EDT

[#32]

Quote History

Quoted:

No.

View Quote

actually yes. because you are no longer dealing with weight per say but mass and inertia. inertia still works in a zero gravity environment because it is an object in motion. the key component in this is mass, not weight. The "forces" acting upon your body would be the container you are in (i.e.) the spacecraft. it will be the thing forcing you to change your direction either by a chair and restraints. or bouncing off of a bulkhead if you are not strapped down, because weight momentum works directly off of mass and not off of weight. weight is just an extra component of force that needs to be calculated in a gravitational environment in F=ma.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:23:26 PM EDT

[#33]

Ahh, buckle this!

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:23:32 PM EDT

[#34]

Absolutely.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:24:11 PM EDT

[#35]

Quote History

Quoted:

Yes. Any change in vector requires acceleration. Acceleration means pulling Gs.

However, there is no aerodynamic turning in space. It won't be wings, it'll be thrust vectoring that does the work.

Visual range combat between two small vessels in space will NOT happen unless both ships run out of all kinds of ammo

and have to resort to throwing the contents of their tool kits at each other.

Thus, there will be no dogfighting. Nor would such maneuvering resemble aerial dogfighting in any way. Without aerodynamic

lift and drag, no way, no chance, no how.

Spacecraft do not maneuver like aircraft.

View Quote

should have kept reading. well said sir.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:24:38 PM EDT

[#36]

Quote History

Quoted:
Yes.

Inertia is a bitch regardless of gravity.

View Quote

This.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:25:56 PM EDT

[#37]

Yes

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:26:22 PM EDT

[#38]

blah blah blah blah....

F=ma

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:27:31 PM EDT

[#39]

Really?

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:27:34 PM EDT

[#40]

Quote History

Quoted:

No such thing as centrifugal forces.

Thrusters on the right that move the spacecraft to the left, will cause the astronaut to be pushed against the right wall. Just like thrusting from below will increase g forces and make the astronaut feel he/she is heavier.

Other comments about it not being like aircraft are right on.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
I'll say yes.

Inertia and centrifugal forces still hold true in zero gravity.

No such thing as centrifugal forces.

Thrusters on the right that move the spacecraft to the left, will cause the astronaut to be pushed against the right wall. Just like thrusting from below will increase g forces and make the astronaut feel he/she is heavier.

Other comments about it not being like aircraft are right on.

Centrifugal, centripetal

I knew I'd pick the wrong one

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:27:58 PM EDT

[#41]

is the ship on a tread mill?

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:28:26 PM EDT

[#42]

Spacecraft rely on inertia to keep moving forward in space. Otherwise they would need shit tons of fuel to et anywhere.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:29:19 PM EDT

[#43]

Absolutely, yes. But it doesn’t work like it does in an airplane.

If a gravitational field causes you to move then you don’t feel any acceleration. That’s because the gravity is acting on every particle in your body equally and acting on every part of the spaceship equally. (there is an exception near a black hole, but that’s not important right now)

When you turn in an airplane what is happening is that the airplane points its nose in another direction. The air then pushes on the wings causing the airplane to change course. The airplane then pushes on you to make you change course along with the airplane. You, of course feel this and it’s what pilots feel when they experience g forces in a turn.

OK, now say you are in your space fighter and notice a missile closing on you. You turn your nose in a different direction, and nothing happens. That’s because there’s no air acting on wings to force the fighter to turn. Oh, you feel the turning, but assuming you are at the center of the fighter, you just felt yourself turn and that’s it.

So you trigger your under jets that you normally use for landing and get pushed straight down in your seat at 2G (or whatever you had the under jets set at.) When you cut them off you feel nothing again. Then you fire your main engine and feel yourself get pushed back in the seat. As long as that main engine is running you will feel like you are laying on your back.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:30:04 PM EDT

[#44]

Quote History

Quoted:
Yes.

Inertia is a bitch regardless of gravity.

View Quote

Came here to post this.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:31:04 PM EDT

[#45]

Quote History

Quoted:
Does the pilot have mass? Or is he just a figment of your imagination? (Like your Star Fighter)

View Quote

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:31:44 PM EDT

[#46]

Yes because magnets

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:35:50 PM EDT

[#47]

Quote History

Quoted:

Only when he activates Death Blossom.

View Quote

But it's never been tested. It might overload the systems -- blow up the ship.

Posted: 7/21/2013 6:38:02 PM EDT

[#48]

Quoted:

So you are flying through space in your starfighter and are attacked by another spaceship with a skittle cannon. You are forced to make violent maneuvers to avoid the sugary bringers of death. Would you be subject to "g" type forces while doing so in a zero gravity environment? I am thinking centrifugal firce would maybe impart a g-type loading to the pilot's body. Thoughts?

View Quote

Haven't you ever heard about how a real light speed capable craft would liquify anybody that tried to use it unless it accelerated verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slowly?