killivolt

(I just herd on the radio) a Boomerang in space thrown by an Astronaut then comes back to him ?
Can anyone explain this when it's a vacuum. Or are there some residual gases that it can act against ?



Thank you in advance, kv

dknguyen

Is this hypothetical? Because I don't think the astronauts would throw anything in space since it makes space junk (and sends them flying in the opposite direction).

But even then...I personally didn't think it would return since there's no air and a boomerang works a bit like a wing. Could it have something to do with precession?

Hero999

It depends.

If it was inside a space shuttle then yes, it would come back to him, as it's filled with air.

If it was outside in space then it wouldn't, since the aerodynamics wouldn't work as there's no air.

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jpanhalt

Sure, but he didn't say at what speed. Maybe he threw it at something less than the escape velocity from a very fat astronaut?

John

killivolt

[quote=dknguyen]Is this hypothetical?

Just someone making a comment on the radio saying

QUOTE = He did it and it did come back ?

Outside or Inside they didn't say.

killivolt

I googled it
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news...na016000c.html

jpanhalt

A second thought. I suspect if the astronaut was in orbit and threw it at exactly the right angle, it would fall back to him/her.

Edit: So, he was inside in an atmosphere.

killivolt

[quote=jpanhalt]Sure, but he didn't say at what speed. Maybe he threw it at something less than the escape velocity from a very fat astronaut?

lol What an image

Hero999

According to the article, it was inside the International Space Station which is pressurised.

What surprises me is that he's 53. I didn't know they sent people over 40 odd up there.

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killivolt

It was his boomerang and if they didn't let him throw it, he would take it and go home. Besides people are fatter after 40.

Pommie

If you were in space and threw anything, boomerang, spanner, feather etc, at 90° to your direction of travel then you will meet it again on the other side of the earth. As both you and the object are doing great circles your paths will cross twice per orbit.

Mike.

Hank Fletcher

If the object has the same mass as you, and your initial velocity is 0. If it has a much lower mass, it will do many orbits and pass you several times before you do one. Thrown at a tangent to your orbit, I would also expect the radius of the object's orbit to consequently become somewhat greater than the thrower's own orbit.

I presume you mean 180 degrees (by the way, how do make the degree symbol?)? Thrown at 90 degrees and a tangent to the orbit, and given the variables related to momentum I've already mentioned, it's most likely that the orbits of the object and the thrower will never simultaneously intersect.

jpanhalt

alt+0176

John

Hank Fletcher

That doesn't seem to work. Maybe because I'm on my laptop?

jpanhalt

Are you Windows? Do you hold the ALT key while hitting the 0176 on the keypad? The ° should appear when you release the alt key. John