Number: 1391 Name: SPINNING RING QUESTION Address: J.E.D.CLINE1 Date: 901126 Approximate # of bytes: 3780 Number of Accesses: 27 Library: 5 Description: Considering a horizontally spinning ring which has all points going faster than the tangential velocity necessary to overcome the pull of gravity at that orbital distance from center of Earth. Keywords: ring,spinner --------------------------------- File: SPINNING RING QUESTION File Ready. 7 Bit Text. Press to skip, ownload, or uit. ? Skipping file ... ********************************* Number: 1390 Name: KELSODB3.ARC Address: R.REEVES10 Date: 901126 Approximate # of bytes: 49140 Number of Accesses: 11 Library: 3 Description: This the third of three ARCs containing parts of Major Kelso's satellite database. This ARC contains data files for all satellites launched from 1981 through 1990. Keywords: satellite, database --------------------------------- File: KELSODB3.ARC is a BINARY File. Press to skip, ownload, ist, or uit. ?q Quitting ... SPACERT Library?4 Start browse backwards from what file number or for ALL?1391 ALL Libraries. ********************************* Number: 1391 Name: SPINNING RING QUESTION Address: J.E.D.CLINE1 Date: 901126 Approximate # of bytes: 3780 Number of Accesses: 27 Library: 5 Description: Considering a horizontally spinning ring which has all points going faster than the tangential velocity necessary to overcome the pull of gravity at that orbital distance from center of Earth. Keywords: ring,spinner --------------------------------- File: SPINNING RING QUESTION File Ready. 7 Bit Text. Press to skip, ownload, or uit. ?d ** Turn on Capture File ** Press ? SPINNING RING QUESTION November 25, 1990 by James E. David Cline Here is a puzzler on what seems to be a potential space transportation device. Of course it can't work, but why not? Let's mentally create and evolve the device: picture a horizontal evacuated tube, say, one yard long. At each end place a sufficiently powerful reflector, and let a stream of mass bounce back and forth between the reflectors, travelling in the evacuated tube. The mass stream is travelling at or above orbital velocity, say 20,000 mph at sea level, along its horizontal path. Since the mass stream is travelling horizontally and at orbital velocity, it is effectively in orbit around the Earth and thus it adds no weight to the device, right?. If the mass stream is travelling above the orbital velocity for that distance from Earth center, then it would appear to have negative weight, and thus able to exert a lifting force upon the device containing it (the tube with the reflectors) since the tangential velocity would be greater than that necessary to overcome the gravitational attraction of the Earth. To reduce the power needed for the end reflectors, make the mass stream path bounce along an equilateral triangle, needing 3 reflectors. And then between 4 reflectors forming a square. Carrying this process of adding sides to the polygonal path, we reach a limit of a circular shape, requiring minimal reflector strength. Continuing to modify this device, let the mass stream become a solid spinning ring, spinning in a horizontal path at or above the speed of orbital velocity (at sea level, say, where the gadget is being tested) within an evacuated toroid. Make the spinning ring of material of sufficient tensile strength and diameter so as to not break up. Since all points on the spinning ring are travelling in orbits around the Earth, the ring would appear to have no weight; and if its speed is increased even faster, it would even exert lift force on the evacuated toroid it travels within (again, the velocity of each point on the horizontally spinning ring is greater than the velocity tangent with Earth's center needed to balance out the pull of gravity there), assuming very low friction electromagnetic bearing surfaces between toroid and spinning ring. If the upward force exceeds the weight of the evacuated torus, up it goes! (Of course, we know it couldn't go up, for that would be like anti-gravity, and we know that is impossible. But why won't it work? That is the question.) Has anyone carefully measured the weight of a horizontally-spinning gyroscope, before and after spin-up?