Re: Very high speed docking
- From: Roland Hutchinson <my.spamtrap@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:28:24 +0000 (UTC)
On Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:52:43 -0600, Mark Brader wrote:
BBC:
The docking was manually completed by commander Charlie Hobaugh as
the two spacecraft travelled towards each other at 17,000 miles an
hour.
Peter Moylan:
17,000 miles an hour relative to what? Did they count the Earth's
motion around the sun, or the sun's motion relative to the galaxy? Why
or why not? The simple fact is that the statement is meaningless unless
the frame of reference is known.
The sentence *gives* the frame of reference -- "travelled towards each
other at". That's what makes it wrong.
As I recall always worked those sorts problems in physics class by taking
the frame of reference of the center of mass of the entire system of two
bodies.
Assume two perfectly elastic spacecraft...
....Not!
--
Roland Hutchinson
He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba,"
.... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy.
--Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ )
.
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