Recently, I had an amazing chance to feel what it’s like to be weightless for the first time on a Zero-G plane in France. I was invited by a YouTuber named Bruce, along with Diana, also known as the Physics Girl. We were about to go on an unforgettable adventure with parabolic flights that make you feel like you’re in zero gravity.
The idea behind weightlessness is pretty simple: the plane and everything inside it must fall toward the Earth at the same speed as a freely falling object in a vacuum, which is about $9.8 , text{m/s}^2$. Imagine your body as a pen and the plane as a bottle. When both are in free fall, there’s no force pushing them apart, so you feel weightless.
Surprisingly, the plane doesn’t just dive to create weightlessness. Instead, it climbs at a steep angle. Inside the cabin, with no windows to see outside, you can’t tell that the plane is climbing. At first, I felt like I was being pushed into the floor with a force 1.8 times my body weight, making it hard to stand. This extra weight made the blood drain from my head, making me feel dizzy.
Lying on my back was much more comfortable. We were told to keep our heads still and look straight ahead to avoid getting motion sickness, as our balance systems were very sensitive during this phase, often called the “vomit comet.”
Once the plane reached an angle of about 50 degrees, the engines were slowed down, and the plane entered a parabolic path. At this point, I started to feel lighter, and the sensation of weightlessness was incredible. Even though the plane was still moving upward, it was accelerating downward at the same rate as a free-falling object.
This experience lasted for about 22 seconds, and we did a total of thirteen zero-G parabolas, along with one Martian gravity and two Moon gravity parabolas. Each phase gave a different feeling of gravity, with Mars gravity allowing me to try one-arm pull-ups.
During the flight, we did several experiments to see how gravity affects different things. One experiment used a barbecue lighter to observe how flames behave under different gravitational conditions.
In normal gravity, flames have a unique shape because hot air rises. In hyper-G, the buoyant force is stronger, making flames stretch out. But in zero-G, without buoyancy, the flame produced more smoke and didn’t rise as high, taking on a strange, irregular shape.
Another experiment involved a slinky. Instead of letting it hang under its weight, I swung it around my head to see what it would do in zero-G. When I let go, the slinky stayed stretched and kept rotating without contracting. This was surprising because I thought it would contract without weight. However, the tension needed for its circular motion kept it extended.
Experiencing weightlessness was not only exciting but also challenged my understanding of physics. It showed how important it is to do research in zero-G environments to learn more about basic principles. I’m really grateful to the team at NovaSpace for this incredible experience and to Bruce for inviting me. If you’re interested, I recommend checking out Bruce’s and Diana’s videos about our zero-G adventure.
Imagine you’re on a Zero-G flight! Create a simple simulation using a small ball and a curved track to mimic the parabolic flight path. Observe how the ball behaves as it moves along the track. Discuss with your classmates how this relates to the concept of weightlessness and the forces acting on the ball during its motion.
Conduct an experiment to understand free fall. Drop two objects of different masses from the same height and observe their fall. Discuss why they hit the ground at the same time, relating it to the acceleration due to gravity, $9.8 , text{m/s}^2$. Reflect on how this principle applies to the Zero-G experience.
Recreate the flame experiment using a candle. Observe the flame’s shape in normal conditions and discuss how it would change in hyper-G and zero-G environments. Use your observations to explain the role of buoyancy and gravity in flame behavior.
Use a slinky to explore tension and motion. Swing it around and release it to observe its behavior. Discuss why the slinky remains stretched in zero-G and relate this to the tension required for circular motion. Consider how this experiment demonstrates principles of physics in a weightless environment.
Write a short story about a day spent in a zero-G environment. Describe the sensations and challenges you might face, incorporating scientific concepts like free fall and weightlessness. Share your story with the class and discuss the physics behind your narrative.
Weightlessness – The condition experienced in free-fall where the effects of gravity are not felt, often experienced in space. – Astronauts experience weightlessness when they are orbiting the Earth because they are in continuous free-fall.
Gravity – The force that attracts two bodies towards each other, typically noticeable as the force that gives weight to objects with mass. – The gravity of Earth is what keeps us grounded and causes objects to fall when dropped.
Zero-g – A condition in which there is no net gravitational force acting on a body, often experienced in free-fall or space environments. – During a zero-g flight, passengers can float inside the aircraft as if they were in space.
Experiments – Scientific procedures undertaken to test a hypothesis or demonstrate a known fact. – In the laboratory, students conducted experiments to observe the effects of different forces on motion.
Plane – A flat, two-dimensional surface that extends infinitely in all directions, or an aircraft used for flight. – The plane flew in a parabolic path to simulate zero-g conditions for the passengers.
Motion – The change in position of an object over time, described by its speed, velocity, and acceleration. – Newton’s laws of motion help us understand how forces affect the movement of objects.
Buoyancy – The upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of an object immersed in it. – The buoyancy of water allows ships to float despite their heavy weight.
Flames – The visible, gaseous part of a fire, which emits light and heat. – In microgravity, flames form a spherical shape because convection currents are absent.
Physics – The branch of science concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy. – Physics explains how the universe behaves, from the smallest particles to the largest galaxies.
Parabolic – Relating to or resembling a parabola; often used to describe the curved path of an object under the influence of gravity. – The aircraft followed a parabolic trajectory to create brief periods of weightlessness for the passengers.
