Re: Space becomes routine.

From: Henry Spencer (henry_at_spsystems.net)
Date: 07/05/04 

Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 14:54:11 GMT

In article <WpcGc.8797$yy1.667@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
curlyQlink <paulfxfoley@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> It's a status symbol. And people love zero-g...
>
>The experience of weightlessness, as I understand it, is the sensation of
>falling: an unpleasant, nausea-inducing state.

No, you understand incorrectly.

That's what many people predicted, back before it was actually done. But
in fact, that's completely wrong. It *doesn't* feel like falling, for
some reason, and most everyone finds it exhilarating, wonderful, fun.

If allowed to move around freely -- head motions seem to be particularly
an issue -- for substantial periods of time, about 50% of people start to
feel nauseous. Nobody is quite sure why this happens or why it only
affects some people. (It does not correlate with susceptibility to motion
sickness on Earth; in fact, there is no known way to predict who will get
it and who won't.) Moderately effective drug treatments for it are known.

>Want thrills? Want to throw up? Go skydiving...

People get sick on ocean cruises all the time. They keep coming back.

One key trick is to get the duration right: you don't want to end the
trip just as the people who got sick are starting to recover. 

-- 
"Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend."    |   Henry Spencer
                                -- George Herbert       | henry@spsystems.net

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