Question

Why is it impossible for an astronaut inside an orbiting space station to go from one end to the other by walking normally?A. In an orbiting station, the gravitational force is too large and the astronaut can't take his feet off the floor.B. It is impossible to walk inside an orbiting space station because its rotation is too fast.C. In an orbiting station, after one foot pushes off there isn't a friction force to move forward. The astronaut "jumps" on the same place.D. In an orbiting station, after one foot pushes off there isn't a force to bring the astronaut back to the "floor" for the next step.

Answer 1

An astronaut cannot walk normally in a space station because there's no frictional force to move forward in the near-weightless environment. To move, astronauts use handholds and walls, pushing against them to create a reaction force.

Step-by-step explanation:

It is impossible for an astronaut inside an orbiting space station to go from one end to the other by walking normally because C. In an orbiting station, after one foot pushes off there isn't a friction force to move forward. The astronaut would indeed "jump" in place due to the lack of friction between their feet and the floor of the space station, which is a result of the near-weightlessness they experience. In space, normal walking is ineffective because walking relies on gravity to pull the body back down to the floor after each step, which isn't present in the same way on a space station in orbit.

In order to move in such an environment, an astronaut must push against a solid object, creating a reaction force in the opposite direction according to Newton's third law of motion. This principle allows the astronaut to propel and steer themselves around the space station using handholds and walls. The environment inside the ISS is similar to that inside a freely falling box where gravity still exists, but occupants do not feel its effects because they are in free fall around Earth, which creates the sensation of weightlessness.

Answer 2

Answer: Option D is Correct!

In an orbiting station, after one foot pushes off there isn't a force to bring the astronaut back to the "floor" for the next step

Step-by-step explanation:

Imagine how hard it is to jump as high as 6 meters on earth. This is as a result of the earth's gravitational pull, also known as the force of gravity, which is the force by which the earth attracts objects to towards it's center. This force of gravity accounts for the weight of a body, according to the equation below:

w=mg

Where;

W= weight of body

m= mass of body

g= acceleration due to gravity

But in space, the gravitational pull rule doest not apply. Because the moon's gravity is 1/6 of of the Earth, this leads to weightlessness in space. As a result, whenever an astronaut tries to walk normally inside an orbiting space station, there isn't enough gravitational pull to allow that. He gets thrown up due to weightlessness in space.