The universe is flat or a glob?

[MeteorWayne]

Minor tweak, visible light is higher frequency than radio waves

 

[jasonpply]

what i mean is that i was taught that space is a vaccuum. that why we get the zero gravity effect. as i understand it. what i'm wondering how this effect is created. what is the cause and maybe why? i was thinking that for some reason a vaccuum had to be closed in in order to be effctive but i think i was mixing that up with pressure ie; if you take the air out of a sealed containor of water it would boil at room temp due to the amount of pressure. sorry maybe my mistake.. but would still like to know what the cause of the vaccuum is.......

 

[MeteorWayne]

Well first of all, the "vacuum" of space and "zero gravity" are unrelated.

The vacuum is caused by the gravitational attraction of objects in space. The more mass there is in any one place, the more material is attracted to it. Our very thin atmopshere is near earyh because of the earth's mass keeping it close.

In space, in between massive objects there is very little material. It's not really a true vacuum (that's why I put it in quotes above) since there is some stuff there; it's just muuuuuch less dense out there. On earth, it would qualify as a very good vacuum, but it's not empty.

As for the zero gravity, there's never actually zero gravity (That's why I put that in quotes). Anything in the solar system (halfway to the nearest star) feels some gravity from the sun, all the planets and dwarf planets and asteroids.

Even in the vast areas between galaxies, there is still gravity from the closest masses. Anywhere in the Universe, anything feels gravity from every other object in the Universe. So there never is zero gravity.

As far as astronauts in orbit; they are weightless, but not gravityless. An orbit is a free fall state where the object (the ISS, Shuttle, or astronaut) is falling towards the earth's surface at exactly the same speed as the earths surface is receding because it's a sphere and the object is moving forward. The environment they are in is technically called "microgravity".

So anywhere in the Universe, there is no such thing as a true vacuum, or true "zero gravity".

Wayne

 

[jasonpply]

thank you........ I'm sure i am now the sdc class dunce...lol. i get it though ty. I just wish they explainded this stuff better in classes or maybe i shoulda just listened more.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Please jasonpply, don't feel that way. You are asking very good, and very common questions. Just because I answer them don't feel in the least that they are not good and valid questions. I just try and answer them the best I can, believe me, I ain't a god here! I could just as easily be wrong, in which case the SDC team will correct me. Please never be afraid to ask legitimate questions. Finding the answers is how we all learn. So take that dunce cap you think you have and shove it...well...somewhere. There is nothing wrong or dumb in asking any serious questions. In fact we love it, because it challenges us to make sure we know what the heck we are talking about!!!

 

[jasonpply]

lol. ty wayne. i thank you. but i think i will pass on the shoving it somewhere part as it may have drastic effects that may cause pain so i will stick it in the corner till my next question.