Astronaut feels space's toll on his body

Posted by 726 at 01:18 PM | 0 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry

Heck, some folks like 726 don't even have to go into space to feel a toll on his body. You can tell from his posts that instead of flattening of his optic nerve, he's had flattening of his cerebrum.

Space Tolls are unjust! Space should be free!

No more space tolls without representation!

Future space stations need to spin. They haven't figured this out yet? We evolved with this damn gravity thing.

Yeah- plenty of films, 2001: A Space Odyssey most notable, all have spinning stations to simulate gravity, and that was back in the 70s. You'd think they'd have incorporated that in real-world designs by now.

"Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see..."

For a rotating wheel to produce 1g of acceleration ...

g=w^2*r

Where g is the gravitational acceleration per unit mass on the Earth's surface, w is the angular velocity and r the radius of the wheel.

We know g, it is ~9.8 m/s^2.

The ISS is on the order of 100 meters dimensionally so we know we can assemble a structure that big in orbit.

9.8 = w^2*100
0.098 = w^2
.313 = w

Now that's radians/second, there are 2*pi radians in a circle so that's about 0.05 cycles per second, or ~3 RPM.

Seems doable. Too bad the United States of America doesn't have a way to do it. We should spend the taxpayer's money bailing out incompetent bankers, insurance companies, manufacturers, etc. because they are 'too big to fail' I think it is.

This condition does not affect women astronauts.

Lucid was in space more than any American--and her return was delayed twice. So she spent time --Reading...

I had heard they --astronauts --will grow up to 2 inches while in space.

They exercise like crazy up there--stationary bikes.

This eye condition needs to be fixed though.

-"-will grow up to 2 inches while in space."

Guess he'll be the talk of the town at the pool party.

#1 | POSTED BY MATSOP AT 2012-02-10 03:20 PM | REPLY | FLAG: FUH FUH FUH DUH

Could it be related to the atmospheric pressure? There is no gravitational pull when they are in orbit-perhaps that could be playing a part. What do the flight surgeons say about it.
I am a retired internist and ophthalmology was not my area of expertise. It would seem that increased air pressure would flatten the disk and that decreased pressure would tend to shrink pressure inside the making the volume of the content less and allowing retina to wrinkle as a balloon might if it lost air or other gas.

Try this on your eyeballs.
#8 | Posted by Zatoichi at 2012-02-11 05:19 PM | Reply | Flag: OK

Try this on your eyeballs.
#8 | Posted by Zatoichi at 2012-02-11 05:19 PM | Reply | Flag:

Try this on your eyeballs.
#8 | Posted by Zatoichi at 2012-02-11 05:19 PM | Reply | Flag:

Try this on your eyeballs.
#8 | Posted by Zatoichi at 2012-02-11 05:19 PM | Reply | Flag:

Try this on your eyeballs.
#8 | Posted by Zatoichi at 2012-02-11 05:19 PM | Reply | Flag:

Try this on your eyeballs.
#8 | Posted by Zatoichi at 2012-02-11 05:19 PM | Reply | Flag:

Try this on your eyeballs.
#8 | Posted by Zatoichi at 2012-02-11 05:19 PM | Reply | Flag:

Try this on your eyeballs.
#8 | Posted by Zatoichi at 2012-02-11 05:19 PM | Reply | Flag:

Timely thread.

I'm currently reading a book about anti-gravity.

It's impossible to put down.

Who need LASIKs; send me to the ISS for six months. I already need reading glasses.

We should spend the taxpayer's money bailing out incompetent bankers, insurance companies, manufacturers, etc. because they are 'too big to fail' I think it is.

That and blowing up people around the globe to get at their oil.

It's impossible to put down.

FF!

Who need LASIKs; send me to the ISS for six months.

LASIK is by far cheaper.

2001: A Space Odyssey most notable, all have spinning stations to simulate gravity, and that was back in the 70s. You'd think they'd have incorporated that in real-world designs by now.

#4 | Posted by adammm

Weight, expense, and complexity. All points on the wheel must be superbly balanced with its opposite to avoid the inevitable wobble off axis.

The wheel in the Discovery from 2001 was relatively quite small. I have come across references that discuss the net gravitational effect being equal to about 1/6 g, or that of the Moon. Still, in that small radius of the wheel, the feet are moving considerably faster than the head when the person is standing, which would cause significant disorientation.

Also keep in mind that the hamster wheel concept is a simulation of gravity, using centripetal force. Objects will not react in the same manner as they would in a gravity field.

There is no gravitational pull when they are in orbit

#13 | Posted by Donald

That is incorrect. There is gravitational pull from the Earth, just greatly reduced.

"There is no gravitational pull when they are in orbit"

#13 | Posted by Donald

What do you think keeps them in orbit Copernicus?