On Jul 20, 2007, at 10:50 AM, OrionWorks wrote:
I should think that the ferris wheel will appear stationary to a ground observer - after the break has been released. IOW, from a so-called gods-eye view, away from the planet's surface, the ferris wheel will be seen to be rotating at the same RPM speed as the planet. The RPM bestowed on the ferris wheel via inertia once the breaks have been release will not have changed, therefore the wheel will appear to rotate at the same RPM speed as the Earth as perceived off of the planet, but will appear stationary to a ground observer.
Sounds right to me. I overlooked the break aspect. When the breaks are on the wheel is actually rotating 1 rev/day, which won't stop when the breaks are released because the bearings etc. are assumed to be frictionless.
Horace Heffner http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
