A deceptive phenomenon
There are many misconceptions about weightlessness. Here are 3 of the most common:
Misconception number 1:
“Weightlessness is caused by a vacuum”.
Misconception number 1:
“Weightlessness is caused by a vacuum”.
Imagined by Jean-Pierre Penot (CNES) and Bernard Nicolas, illustrated by Bernard Nicolas
It is often wrongly assumed that someone’s weight is due to air pressure bearing down on their shoulders. But the weight of an object measured in a vacuum only varies by 1‰ from its weight in the open air.
To prove it, consider an astronaut on the Moon: s/he is in the vacuum of space but gravity is still present, albeit weaker than on Earth.
Conversely, astronauts in a space station are in weightless conditions but not in a vacuum, otherwise they would be unable to breathe.
Misconception number 2:
“Weightlessness is caused by the distance from Earth”. At 400 kilometres above Earth, where orbital stations like Mir or the International Space Station operate, astronauts are in weightlessness although gravitational attraction is only 10% less than on the Earth’s surface. Gravity lessens as we get further away from Earth, but we would need to travel hundreds of millions of kilometres to free ourselves from it out completely.
Misconception number 3:
“We are in a state of weightlessness in water:”
“Weightlessness is caused by the distance from Earth”. At 400 kilometres above Earth, where orbital stations like Mir or the International Space Station operate, astronauts are in weightlessness although gravitational attraction is only 10% less than on the Earth’s surface. Gravity lessens as we get further away from Earth, but we would need to travel hundreds of millions of kilometres to free ourselves from it out completely.
Misconception number 3:
“We are in a state of weightlessness in water:”
Illustrated by Jean-Pierre Penot (CNES) and Bernard Nicolas, illustrated by Bernard Nicolas
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