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Mon 5 May, 2008 09:36 am
Define space.
As long as there is an atmosphere, they work.
nips
Welcome to A2K Nips. I's not a scholar but I will guess as to why you said "no". The test was conducted inside a vehicle with an artifical atmosphere where the boomerang is traveling at the same speed as the vehicle. Would open space velocity and sans atmosphere make a difference and prevent it? Or is the gravity different between the two environments?
But go ahead and tell me why you think it doesn't work.
BBB
Francis
Francis wrote:Define space.
As long as there is an atmosphere, they work.
Speedy Francis beat my response post.
BBB
see when someone says space, it generally means space like where spaceships go and the like. the reason i said no was bacause in space there is no atmosphere so therefor a boomerang wouldnt work in space
You probably mean outer space...
The international space station (ISS) is only 220 miles up. Is it what you call space?
However, it has an atmosphere, therefore the boomerangs work there.
if you throw it in the direction of earth but if you throw it the other way would it work?
nips
Francis wrote:You probably mean outer space...
The international space station (ISS) is only 220 miles up. Is it what you call space?
However, it has an atmosphere, therefore the boomerangs work there.
Nips, I think Francis has got you on this one.
BBB
Sure. That's why we use the "boomerang effect" to "slingshot" satellites around planets to change speeds/trajectories.
It may remain in perpetual circular motion; but that's only a guess.
nips wrote:if you throw it in the direction of earth but if you throw it the other way would it work?
The direction of the Earth doesn't matter. The space station is in free-fall meaning that the effect of the Earth's gravity on the boomerang is negligible.
The only thing that matters should be the atmosphere.
Re: Do boomerangs work in space?
In space, we call the boomerang a stick.
I've never seen a boomerang do any productive work, none, zilch, nada. For that matter I've never done any productive work meself.
dyslexia wrote:I've never seen a boomerang do any productive work, none, zilch, nada. For that matter I've never done any productive work meself.
Well, well-handled, they will kill/maim animals. Which is what they were designed to do.
Mind you, they don't generally come back if they do that.
dlowan wrote:dyslexia wrote:I've never seen a boomerang do any productive work, none, zilch, nada. For that matter I've never done any productive work meself.
Well, well-handled, they will kill/maim animals. Which is what they were designed to do.
Mind you, they don't generally come back if they do that.
I have an atlatl for that purpose however, it's mostly just decorative, so it doesn't work either.I bought a new 20 bag of kitty chow the other day and the damn cat (dante) chewed a hole in the bag even though he has a bowl full of kibble. he must have worked hard to chew that hole. He's the only member of this household who works.
By golly, if a boomerang is actually a weapon instead of a toy, they should durn well make a bullet that comes back to the shooter, too. A halfway point would be a gun that shoots around corners.
No, they've done that, already. I've got a Davis derringer that shoots a four foot curve to the left at 20 feet. Clever, huh?
I think the question is more about the definition of "works." If I recall correctly, a boomerang works because of the inwardly directed "lift" generated by the spinning fins, which means that as long as there is some gas in the space you're using it in, you'll observe some boomerang like effect, but in an environment with as little material as outer space, there won't be anything to generate that lift, and the boomerang effect will be so slight that you probably won't notice it.
The reason, I suspect, that the boomerang in that video works, is that the inside of the ISS has an artificial atmosphere. If he tried it outside of the space station, other forces(like gravity) would affect the boomerang's trajectory much more dramatically.
Yeah, I know how gleefully the disarmament faction is going to jump on the returning bullet. Go fer it!
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