From: Damien Broderick (thespike@earthlink.net)
Date: Fri Feb 14 2003 - 01:07:04 MST
spike66 said as he set off on his hog:
> A long thin
> rod in orbit will tend to align itself pointed toward
> the earth. Why do you suppose that is? Think of
> it as analogous to the way iron filings align themselves
> in a magnetic field. The gravitational analog to that
> is a rod aligning itself along a gravitational field.
If rods do in fact do that without p/rodding, presumably it's due to tidal
drag or gravity field gradient, so this is doubtless relevant to the skyhook
prospect. (I seem to recall that shuttles typically orbit with their tail to
the ground, perhaps an instance of this effect? Or are they placed that
way?)
Damien Broderick
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