A team from the University of Colorado at Boulder is working on making the concept of artificial gravity a reality.
Meaning: Artificial gravity means spacecraft generating their own gravity by spinning around in space.
Concept:
- These researchers are examining ways to design revolving systems that might fit within a room of future space stations and even moon bases.
- Under it, a short-radius centrifuge will rotate around the room, gathering more and more speed. The angular velocity generated by the centrifuge will push astronauts’ feet toward the base of the platform — almost as if he was standing under his own weight.
Application: It will one day help keep astronauts healthy as they venture into space, allowing humans to travel farther from Earth than ever before and stay away longer. Astronauts could crawl into these rooms for just a few hours a day to get their daily doses of gravity.
Present status: The concept of artificial gravity has so far as existed only in science fiction.
