>From the description I saw of the elevator, the habitat ring the kids were on >was at a lower altitude than geostationary orbit. That puts it moving around >the Earth at a lower speed than would provide a stable orbit, so the direction >of fall seems right. For the blocks to fall outward, it would have to be >above geostationary -- much farther out. Also, regarding the zero-G section >of the train ride -- from the description, that was a result of the train >decelerating as it approached the ring. I'm guessing it accelerates pretty >fast as it initially leaves Earth, then coasts to a stop as it approaches the >station at a rate that provides free-fall for the passengers (it would seem to >me that you really could free-fall UP if you started out fast enough and were >slowing down...). In fact, we could probably calculate how fast they were >decelerating if we knew the altitude of the gravity block. Another note -- shouldn't the gravity block be on a slight angle? You'll have two sources of acceleration (the centrifugal force from the rotating block, AND whatever part of Earth's gravity you have at that altitude), and you'd have to add the vectors to figure out the angle so the floor isn't sloping from the perspective of the occupants... Likewise, it would be a function of the altitude of the gravity block, its diameter, and how much gravity you wanted. Good point on the gravity block breaking apart with the sections missing. Only way I could see it holding together would be if the habitable parts are all attached to a much heavier ring, and the wild shots from the Super Soldier only hit the linkages connecting it to that ring. Then the mass imbalance from having a portion of the ring become suddenly lighter might be manageable. (It looks bad enough when a washing machine on spin cycle gets off-balance and starts dancing around -- if that gravity block went too far off-kilter, I could see it ripping the whole elevator in half. Or playing it like a violin string.) Of course, you'd also expect that one of those mobile suits applying full thrust to the center of the block would just end up pushing its hands through the hull...
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Re: [gundam] Episode 5 Spoilers!Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 14:35:32 -0500 Actually, it seemed somewhat contrived to me that the Ensign was even able to shoot the blocks loose in the first place. The block hulls are clearly armored well enough to withstand blasts from her gun. So she must have somehow just happened to hit some vital connection links while firing wildly. RE - Direction of fall - wouldn't at least part of that depend on how far up the blocks were? Admittedly Saji and Lousie shouldn't have fallen straight down as they did. But if the station (which was labeled as the "low" station - whatever that means) were in a low enough position, wouldn't they still more or less fall down? Of course, my degree is in English, not science. So I have only the most basic idea of how the physics would work in real life. >From the preview, it looks like there will be more than one of the new mobile >suits. So we may be dealing with an entirely new organization (or possibly >the missing AEU response, though that character didn't look like a military >pilot). One more minor note - Sergei comes off looking quite admirable in this episode, both as someone who obviously has ethical concerns about tinkering with humans, and someone who would probably be willing to sacrifice his own life if it would have saved the civilians on the station block. junior ---------[ Received Mail Content ]----------Subject : Re: [gundam] Episode 5 Spoilers!Date : Wed, 7 Nov 2007 01:57:00 -0500From : "Dr. Core" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To : [EMAIL PROTECTED] pretty contrived that precisely 3 blocks was shot off the gravity ring with no damage to the rest of the ring (none that might overload the rescue capability of the Gundam team, say). From what I know of mechanics, if a artificial gravity ring is broken at one or more points on the circumference it should completely break up, just like cutting one of the main cables of a suspension bridge. According to the design of space elevator and also according to the technobabble given in the episode, if there is to be any gravity, it should be slightly outward. I.e. flinging things out of the Earth's gravity. So if Louise and/or those gravity blocks should be set adrift, they should fall away from Earth, not towards it. The rescue mission is grab them back before they are sent to a higher orbit, which is not a big deal as long as their oxygen supply holds up. Ahh but then there's no urgent need for the CB to step in, jeopardizing their mission and prematurely exposing their ability. Physics and consistence is only a cheap 'ho to serve the plot requirement, again. Next episode: yet another new character and a new MS of the week. Don't hold your breath on a continuation of Marina's diplomatic mission. -------------------------------------------------- The Gundam Mailing List MK-II [email protected] Archives: http://www.gundam.com/gml Help: Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] with this in the BODY: help list _________________________________________________________________ Climb to the top of the charts! Play Star Shuffle: the word scramble challenge with star power. http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_oct
