Talk:Microgravity environment
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I see several major problems in this article. The most serious is with the term "microgravity" itself. I've added a link to weightlessness where a subarticle there details the issue. I recommend scratching all use of the term "microgravity" and replacing it with "micro-g" (starting with the title).
The next problem is with the statement "only three methods". There is a fourth method. Theoretically, the gravity field within a hollow sphere of uniform thickness (uniform mass throughout the shell) cancels out completely, leaving zero net gravity at every point within the shell. It is often wise to avoid words like "only" and "always" because you can paint yourself into a tight corner.
Another problem is with the second method of "falling". I see this as an overly restrictive characterization. Micro-g is also experienced in that part of the trajectory that is increasing in distance from the Earth, whether that be a basketball as it is "rising" to its apogee above the rim or a satellite in an eliptical orbit as it is "rising" from perigee. Half of the parabola flown by the Vomit Comet is a "freerise", so to speak, before it reaches the apex and continues into "freefall".
...which leads into the next problem in the statement that "falling...approaches microgravity [sic] only when the fall is in a vacuum...". I agree that air resistance will spoil the zero-g effect, but a simple approach to countering this is to counter the force of drag with the force of thrust. This is exactly what the KC-135 did. No vacuum required at all.
The next problem I see is with the third given method of "orbiting a planet". This is overly restrictive on two counts:
- The massive body being orbited need not be a planet. It could just as well be a sun, or a moon, or a black hole.
- The trajectory need not be an orbit. Zero-g is experienced within spacecraft that are on parabolic and hyperbolic trajectories (non-orbiting) as well.
Finally, it would be more conceptually sound to combine the given second and third methods since they are exactly the same effect experienced on different scale. The micro-g environment results out of an unforced (no net external force) trajectory within a gravity field.
This article has potential to be very useful, but as it stands now it needs lots of work.
