Physics Q: If you throw a baseball from space shuttle

[lyssword]

Ok, I need to settle a little argument:

Will the baseball fall to earth or get stuck in orbit? Lets say you've thrown it at 100 mph toward earth.

 

[mwmorph]

Everything will eventually fall back to earth at LEO where the space shuttle is.

At LEO which is ~200 miles up there's still a very, very, very thin atmosphere constantly slowing and thus dropping an object's orbit. With enough time and no propulsion, the thermosphere will slow down an object so that it will come back to earth.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

:laugh: It will fall to Earth, but depending on how hard you throw it it may spiral around the Earth a few times. I don't feel like doing the calculations for 100mph.

 

[Chaotic42]

IANAP, but I'd think it would depend entirely on the location and velocity of your shuttle and the direction in which you throw the ball. I also think it would be unlikely that you'd get lucky enough to throw it into a stable orbit.

 

[Mojoed]

You could flick it with your middle finger towards Earth and it will eventually enter the atmosphere and return.

 

[lyssword]

thx guys

 

[Mojoed]

Originally posted by: lyssword
thx guys

Did you win?

 

[sandorski]

That'd be a boring(or more so) Baseball Game.

 

[KillerCharlie]

That depends on what orbit the shuttle is in - if it's in the same orbit as the space station, I think it would fall back without being thrown - if I recall correctly, the space station is in a degrading orbit and has to be boosted periodically.

 

[tasmanian]

Its possible to throw it into a stable orbit but extremely unlikely. More likely it will go around the earth a couple times before getting dragged deep into the atmosphere and straightening out.

 

[IronWing]

It's no use, the Cubs will still lose.

 

[lyssword]

Originally posted by: Mojoed

Originally posted by: lyssword
thx guys

Did you win?

Yes, I showed this thread and convinced them that you guys are legit geeks/physics people :laugh:

 

[Mojoed]

Originally posted by: lyssword

Originally posted by: Mojoed

Originally posted by: lyssword
thx guys

Did you win?

Yes, I showed this thread and convinced them that you guys are legit geeks/physics people :laugh:

:beer:

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Objects in orbit are "falling"

 

[KillerCharlie]

Well if you really wanted to calculate it it, it's pretty simple.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: lyssword

Originally posted by: Mojoed

Originally posted by: lyssword
thx guys

Did you win?

Yes, I showed this thread and convinced them that you guys are legit geeks/physics people :laugh:

Damn, you must be one hell of a talker!

 

[Mojoed]

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie
Well if you really wanted to calculate it it, it's pretty simple.

The elusive TRIPLE-IT! :Q

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie
That depends on what orbit the shuttle is in - if it's in the same orbit as the space station, I think it would fall back without being thrown - if I recall correctly, the space station is in a degrading orbit and has to be boosted periodically.

If memory serves me the space station is in a stable orbit but there is still a thin atmosphere up there. The friction with the atmosphere causes the shuttle to slow over time and this will cause the orbit to decay without boosters.

 

[Matthiasa]

Yeah you won it, until he then finds the thread about sand and the speed of light / near speed of light...
Then hes going to question you again.

 

[InverseOfNeo]

Originally posted by: Matthiasa
Yeah you won it, until he then finds the thread about sand and the speed of light / near speed of light...
Then hes going to question you again.

I believe you're forgetting about the epic thread regarding the airplane on a treadmill. That, for sure, will get anyone to question if we are/are not legit.

 

[Epic Fail]

Neither, it will burn up in the atmosphere.

 

[Matthiasa]

Originally posted by: InverseOfNeo

Originally posted by: Matthiasa
Yeah you won it, until he then finds the thread about sand and the speed of light / near speed of light...
Then hes going to question you again.

I believe you're forgetting about the epic thread regarding the airplane on a treadmill. That, for sure, will get anyone to question if we are/are not legit.

Oh yeah so true. LOL
But enough people believed that at the time, that it got tested.
So maybe wouldn't carry as much weight?

Though maybe neither will as this question had to be asked in the first place...

 

[CallMeJoe]

Originally posted by: Epic Fail
Neither, it will burn up in the atmosphere.

That was my thought...

 

[Matthiasa]

Originally posted by: CallMeJoe

Originally posted by: Epic Fail
Neither, it will burn up in the atmosphere.

That was my thought...

The earth's atmosphere is part of earth...

 

[sao123]

The deorbit delta V is quite calculatable.

Depending on the orbit, it may or may not be able to deorbit the baseball.
depending on the orbit (ecliptic vs circular) path, a deorbit delta V could range from 22 m/s (50mph) to 137 m/s (300 mph).

this of course need a lot of unexpressed information for your problem:
altitude
entry altitude
entry trajectory
semimajor axis
eccentricity
argument of perigee
perigee altitude
apogee altitude
entry true anomaly
entry velocity
impulse-to-entry time



/what do i win?