In 2001, the space hotel is a wagon wheel configuration that rotates. IIRC, you can generate near earth gravity in the outer ring of such a ship. Is this true?
Also, assuming it is true, could a spaceship be constructed in that shape (but not necessarily that size) and be used for a trip to Mars?
I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t it be true? Centrifugal force exists and you experience it eveery time you go around a corner.
Yes - this is true.
There’s the old trick where you fill a bucket part way with water and whoosh it around in a circle and the water stays in. The space hotel ring works on the same principle.
Centrifugal force (or more accurately Centripital (sp?) Acceleration) is the reason. The person inside the rim (or water in the bucket) wants to proceed in a straight direction, tangential to the radius and the floor is trying to change that direction. The net result is that the floor pushes up (or the person pushes down) on the person, giving the illusion of gravity. It’s just Newton’s Laws in action.
Sure, you could constuct a space ship with the same device - the Discovery from the same movie had a spinning section (remember Dave Bowman running laps?).
Belrix-Are you saying that people have actually used artificial gravity in space?
I was unaware of this and would like some clarification.
Nobody said it’s actually been used in space. It hasn’t. It’s been shown that people can remain in free-fall for over two years and remain healthy, so I don’t think we’ll see spinning spacecraft until even longer stays become a reality.
scr4-I see, I think I was a little confused reading Belrix’s post.
Artificial gravity of the type you mention would act like any other gravity. It needs to be said, though, that unless the ship were pretty darned big, the Coriolis effect might result in some pretty weird things. And the “gravity” would be variable depending upon how far you were from the center of rotation.
Would such a spaceship be financially feasible?
Obviously, it would have to be constructed in space. Which version would likely be built? A wagon-wheel type or the long type with a rotating section in the center?
Nitpick: it was Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) who did the jogging scene.
I believe there is or were plans for the International Space Station to have a small centrifuge for testing behaviour in various gravity fields.
There is a serious proposal by a hotel company to put a rotating hotel in space. It would be made up of discarded shuttle liquid fuel tanks. Currently, the Shuttle jettisons that tank into the atmosphere when the fuel runs out. The proposal is for the shuttle to carry them into orbit with it, then release them. They would be collected, and each one would be fitted with a pre-fab interior hauled up in another shuttle. These tanks would be pulled into a circle, with spokes into a center hub. The whole thing would rotate, providing 1/3 earth gravity.
One problem with rotating structures is coriolis effect. If you throw a ball in one one of these, its path would trace an arc through the air. So do your semicircular canals when you move. Some have suggested that being inside a fast-spinning wheel like that would be very disorienting. The brain would probably adapt, I’d think, but perhaps not soon enough for short-term travellers to be pretty uncomfortable.
Not necessarily. You could just launch two modules, connect them with cables and give it a good spin. No moving parts, and no space construction required. Of course things get a bit more complex if you want both spinning and non-spinning sections.
God help you if that cable snaps!
Sam Stone has got it right.
scr4–“It’s been shown that people can remain in free-fall for over two years and remain healthy, so I don’t think we’ll see spinning spacecraft until even longer stays become a reality.”
Not entirely true. Since “[a]s demonstrated by Skylab and Russian space station Mir missions, bone loss, which can increase the risk of fracture by weakening the skeleton, is an established medical risk in long-duration space flight.”
Who knows but I would bet artificial gravity could help that. Maybe just a small version where they could spend a few hours a day is feasible and worth the effort?
I wouldn’t really call it a ‘serious proposal’. It would require NASA to help with it, and that isn’t very likely.
Plus, being a hotel implies a short stay. Why would you spend thousands of dollars to stay in a space hotel for a few days if you couldn’t have the fun of living in microgravity? It’d be like eating at McDonalds when you travel abroad.
What if you were there on business? 
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Why would you spend thousands of dollars to stay in a space hotel for a few days if you couldn’t have the fun of living in microgravity?
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I’ve heard the scenery is nice, for one thing.
Also, it wouldn’t be too hard (relative to the building of the rest of the hotel) to add a central hub to such a hotel.
If I was a megarich dot-com survivor, I’d consider blowing a half-mill or more to spend two weeks in space.
I don’t see any problem with slapping together something and then charging the megarich big bucks to ride it. As a source of financing, bored rich people are actually pretty dependable. That’s how Ferarri stays in business.
You would be amazed at the number of people who travel to Tahiti just to stay in the Papeete Hilton.
Here’s an intersting link on the idea of using spinning tethered spacecraft for AG.