Why do astronauts float in ISS?
The International Space Station (ISS) is placed in low Earth orbit, approximately 415 km above the Earth's surface. It orbits the Earth in 90 minutes at a speed of 7.7 km/s or 27,700 km/h. The international crew dedicated to scientific research in the space environment witnesses about 16 sunrises and sunsets each day. The astronauts aboard the International Space Station are in a state of weightlessness but not microgravity. The ISS and the astronauts are in free fall around the Earth. That’s why the astronauts float in the International Space Station.
Gravity, Weightlessness, Zero Gravity, Microgravity!
Before answering the question of why astronauts float in the International Space Station (ISS), we need to clarify some physics terms simply.
Gravity is the force of the gravitational field that pulls us towards the center of the Earth; this term pertains to the planet Earth. It is also the force that gives weight to any physical body (weight).
Gravitation more generally refers to this force or interaction between two massive celestial bodies. But these two terms are identical.
Weightlessness is the almost complete absence of the sensation of weight, unlike gravity.
Microgravity characterizes very weak gravitation experienced by an object located very far from any massive body or in a corner of space where the gravitational influences of several massive bodies cancel each other out, such as at Lagrange points.
Zero gravity or zero G does not exist because gravitation pervades all space up to the large-scale structures of the universe. The experience of "zero gravity" is an illusion that gives the impression that gravity disappears. But in reality, it is the sensation of weight that disappears when one is in free fall. Indeed, if one falls freely in an elevator with its cable cut, both bodies fall at the same speed, and neither rests on the other. If both bodies fall, it is precisely because of gravity.
So what is the physical phenomenon that allows astronauts to float in the International Space Station?
Gravity measures the acceleration of an object in free fall at the Earth's surface.
Newton's Second Law, expressed as F=ma, states that the force of gravity (f) is equal to mass (m) times acceleration (a).
In this equation, a force of 1 newton acting on a mass of 1 kg accelerates at 1 m/s². Thus, the force of gravity is about 9.81 newtons for a mass of 1 kg.
However, gravitation and acceleration are two aspects of the same force (F=ma and F=mg ⇒ g=a).
Gravity is expressed as g0=9.81 m/s², which is the acceleration due to gravity (at sea level at 45° latitude).
Unlike weight, the mass of a body (expressed in kg), which is used in the calculation of gravitational force g, does not change depending on the celestial body where the body is located. It is g that decreases with the square of the distance separating two bodies.
Our International Space Station moves in a low orbit located about 415 km from the Earth's surface. This distance is very small, and the gravity at this altitude (g=9 m/s²) is practically the same as on the Earth's surface (g=9.81 m/s²).
Thus, the astronauts aboard the International Space Station are in a state of weightlessness but not microgravity. The ISS and the astronauts are in free fall around the Earth. That’s why the astronauts float in the International Space Station.
N.B.:
The Earth is a reference for other celestial objects where gravitation is different. Thus, Earth's gravity is equal to 1 concerning other objects, which is why we confuse mass and weight (p=mg).
Does the electron have a shape? The surprising answer of quantum physics
String Theory: When Physics Breaks the Boundaries of Four-Dimensional Spacetime
At the Heart of Matter: The Proton's Well-Kept Secrets
How an Electric Field Travels at 300,000 km/s with Almost Stationary Electrons
Why Doesn't Matter Pass Through Matter?
Magnets: From the Small Fridge Magnet to Levitation Trains
From Electron Spin to Magnetism: Emergence of Mini-Magnets
Free electrons: from colliding balls to dancing waves
Water Anomalies: A Common and Abundant Molecule in the Universe
Heat and Temperature: Two Often Confused Thermal Notions
Electroweak Force: The Unification of Electromagnetism and the Weak Interaction
Special Relativity: The Beginning of a New Physics
The Higgs Boson: The Unification of Fundamental Forces
Quantum Entanglement: When Two Particles Become One!
The Pentaquark: A New Piece of the Cosmic Puzzle!
Why are Rare Gases rare?
Brownian Motion: A Link Between Two Worlds
The 4 Articles of Albert Einstein from 1905
Why does nuclear fusion require so much energy?
Stars cannot create elements heavier than iron because of the nuclear instability barrier
Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Radiation: Understanding Their Differences
Planck wall theory
Is Absolute Vacuum a Utopia?
Giant Colliders: Why the LHC is Unique in the World
The World of Hadrons: From the LHC to Neutron Stars
Radioactivity, natural and artificial
The World of Nanoparticles: An Invisible Revolution
Schrödinger's Cat: An Exploration of Quantum Mechanics
Eternal inflation
What is a wave?
Quantum Field Theory: Everything is Fields
Quantum Computers: Between Scientific Revolution and Technological Challenges
Bose-Einstein Condensate: When Matter Becomes a Single Quantum State
From Probability Cloud to Particle: The Electron in Quantum Mechanics
What is Entropy? A Journey into Disorder and Information
Beta Radioactivity and Neutrino: A Story of Mass and Spin
Spacetime: Space and Time United, understand this concept
Time Measurement: Scientific and Technological Challenge
Spectroscopy, an inexhaustible source of information
The Chemical Code of the Universe: Abundance and Origin of the Elements
The size of atoms
Magnetism and Magnetization: Why Are Some Materials Magnetic?
Quarks and Gluons: A Story of Confinement
Superpositions of quantum states
Alpha decay (α)
Electromagnetic induction equation
Fusion and Fission: Two Nuclear Reactions, Two Energy Paths
From the Ancient Atom to the Modern Atom: An Exploration of Atomic Models
The Origins of Mass: Between Inertia and Gravitation
From the Nucleus to Electricity: Anatomy of a Nuclear Power Plant
How many photons to heat a coffee?
How Do We See the Hidden Structure of Atoms?
Quantum tunnelling: exploring the invisible atom by atom
The 12 Particles of Matter: Understanding the Universe at the Subatomic Scale
Atomic orbitals: from the probabilistic cloud to images of the infinitely small
Antimatter: The Enigmas of Antiparticles and Their Energy
What is an electric charge?
Our matter is not quantum!
Why use hydrogen in the fuel cell?
Newton and Einstein: Two Visions for the Same Mystery
Where does the proton's mass come from?
Einstein's Universe: Physical Foundations of the Theory of Relativistic Gravitation
Einstein's Annus Mirabilis : 1905, the year that revolutionized physics
What does the equation E=mc2 really mean?
Between
Waves and Particles: The Mystery of Duality
The supercritical state of water: between liquid and gas, a fourth phase?
Quantum Mechanics and Spirituality: Another Way to See the World