Episode #278

News Items

Who's That Noisy

  • Answer to last week: Orson Welles

Question #1 – Spinning Spaceship

  • My friend and I are Arguing! OK I listen to your show weekly and think that you and your Rogues are the only ones i know (i say that figuratively) who can put to rest this quarrel between my friend and I. So say you’re in space and you’re in a perfectly spherical spaceship that is spinning. If you start off hovering in the middle of the craft, as the ship spins you stay still and the ship spins around you. If you start off strapped in a chair attached to the side of the craft and it starts spinning you are traveling at the same speed as the craft. (so unless there are windows you don’t realize you’re spinning, right?) Here’s where we disagree on what happens next. if you are in the chair and the ship is spinning and you unbuckle your belt and you jump across the ship, I said that you would end up floating across as if you weren’t spinning at all.Since there is no gravity acting against you, you would float across to the spot directly above where you were while you were sitting. He says, that since it is spinning and it is spherical, that the distance in diameter is smaller then the distance of the circumference, therefor you would (using a clock as an example) jump from 6 to about 9.5 instead of 6 to 12. I thought without gravity slowing you down it would be like your not spinning at all. Please help us figure this one out. Is this a centripetal force type effect or does that not exist in space, or is it something totally different. I hope I was able to illustrate this question adequately enough for you too understand the gist of quarrel:) Thanks for your time and keep up the good work! Andy Cowan Southern Oregon (Ashland Area)
  • I’d thought I would give you a heads up on an upcoming craze to combat seasonal affective disorder. It’s light therapy but the light is administered to your ears. The device is simple: earbuds that have LEDs in them and a control unit to power the device. They claim that because the skull is at its thinnest in the ear canal it is also the most effective way to deliver light therapy. Their web site refers to an ongoing study and to a preliminary study that was ‘promising’. As we wait for the results of a properly done and placebo controlled study, what are your thoughts about this therapy given the limited information? Antti Harala Tampere, Finland

Science or Fiction

Skeptical Quote of the Week.