How We May Counteract The G Forces Of A Moving Spacecraft.

[TheSoloPlayer]

 So here is my hypothesis on counteracting the g forces on a person in a moving spacecraft. A person is in a gyroscope like structure. The gryoscope would spin on a horizontal axis and the person in turn would spin backwards or forwards. In this manner, the G force direction will constantly spin around as the person spins.

[sanctus]

Don't know, I guess you would have to spin super-fast.

[CraigD]

So here is my hypothesis on counteracting the g forces on a person in a moving spacecraft. A person is in a gyroscope like structure. The gryoscope would spin on a horizontal axis and the person in turn would spin backwards or forwards. In this manner, the G force direction will constantly spin around as the person spins.

This wouldn’t reduce the maximum force experienced by a person in an accelerating spacecraft, but increase it.

 

For example, consider a spacecraft that is accelerating at about 20 m/s/s, subjecting its passenger to a force of about 2 gs. If the passenger were placed in a centrifuge like you describe, SoloPlayer, say one that caused them to experience a constant force of 1 g when the spacecraft was not accelerating, then when it was accelerating at 20 m/s/s, they would experience a force of between 1 g (when they were closest to the front of the ship and 3 gs (when closest to the back of the ship).

[sanctus]

How I understood it, I imagined that the person is just turning staying "in place" (i.e the center of gravity of the person is always in the same place wrt to the ship, but the mass distribution (=the body of the astronaut) turns around) so the force felt (due to accelaration of the ship only) is always the same...
OK GOT THIS FAR and now I see your reasonining CraigD, it also applies to my scenario, just that, if the astronaut does a backflip, the head feels 1g and the feet 3g.

 

Pity though, the basic idea was cool, since for a very short amount of time our body can take huge g-forces...

[NotBrad]

If it could be used for a very short period of time then you could theoretically use it to counteract a short burn from a high output propulsion system. Therefore allowing greater if shorter acceleration(which would be good for increasing the maneuverability of spacecraft in general)

[A-wal]

All you need to do is give the passengers jetpacks so they can accelerate forward at the same rate as the ship they're traveling on. :)

[sanctus]

A-wal, backwards no? Anyway then yhey also would need a very long ship :-)

[A-wal]

No, they need to accelerate in the same direction as the ship. If they ship accelerates forwards they'll need to counteract the g-force pushing them backwards. That way they'll be accelerating along with the ship and feel no g-force, from the ship.

I like your idea though. They wouldn't need jetpacks. Just a rope to suspend them from the ceiling and attached to a runner so they can free move towards the back of the ship as they accelerate. The start at the front of the ship and would move to the back as the ship accelerates. It then stops accelerating and they simply walk to the front again. Rinse, repeat. :)

I hope you're paying attention ESA/NASA!

[sanctus]

The jetpack does not solve anything though, you just replace the cause of the felt g-force from the ship to the pack. I mean the change in momentum for the astronaut is the same and over the same time span so there is the same g-force.

 

Now though with the long ship though (no jetpack just possibilty to roll back at some fixed speed) you can increase the time span and hence obtain the same change in momentum with less g-force...

[A-wal]

The jetpack does not solve anything though, you just replace the cause of the felt g-force from the ship to the pack. I mean the change in momentum for the astronaut is the same and over the same time span so there is the same g-force.

I know. That's why I said "That way they'll be accelerating along with the ship and feel no g-force, from the ship." Twoz a joke.

 

Now though with the long ship though (no jetpack just possibilty to roll back at some fixed speed) you can increase the time span and hence obtain the same change in momentum with less g-force...

You mean if they accelerate slower they'll feel less g-force. They can do that anyway. :)

[CraigD]

Now though with the long ship though (no jetpack just possibilty to roll back at some fixed speed) you can increase the time span and hence obtain the same change in momentum with less g-force...

... or just attach the passenger part of the ship to the rocket motor part with a “shock absorber” piston or winched tether – an essential feature of nuclear pulse propulsion rocket designs like the 1950s Project Orion. This scheme doesn’t allow the crew to experience a constant acceleration less that the spacecraft’s average acceleration, but allows it to be driven by the brief pulses of high acceleration produced by a series of small nuclear explosions.