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Doing stupid things for SCIENCE! (and learning valuable techniques)

JoeSchmuckatelli

By JoeSchmuckatelli
in Science & Spaceflight

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JoeSchmuckatelli

JoeSchmuckatelli

Posted
Posted (edited)

This was the recommended video off of a video posted in the Airplane Design thread... I found it amazing that the Airforce / NASA spent money and time doing this... and then translated what they learned into a useable technique for their astronauts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edIK_3GWq2w

(sorry - don't know how to post this as a playable video)

Edit 

 

Anyway - I thought it would be fun to collect 'stupid science that works' stuff. 

 

Not looking for "Razzies" level stuff - but things that make you think "Why in the world would they try that... huh, okay, well I guess that worked out then..."

 

 

(If this would be better off tucked into another thread, feel free!)

Edited by JoeSchmuckatelli
I done lernt hao to poast a vid!
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magnemoe

magnemoe

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

I can smell the first video right from here.

But the cat won. He has found a free attachment port.

Yes, I assume cats determine down by airflow, in zero g its no flow so cat get confused. 
Cat solution is to use the 4 claw modules to attach to stuff like your face. 

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mikegarrison

mikegarrison

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, magnemoe said:

Yes, I assume cats determine down by airflow, in zero g its no flow so cat get confused. 
Cat solution is to use the 4 claw modules to attach to stuff like your face. 

Well, it would be unethical to submit cats to an airless environment. But we know people balance due to gravity affecting fluid in our ears, and I assume cats actually do the same. However, I don't know this for sure.

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kerbiloid

kerbiloid

Posted
Posted
53 minutes ago, Spacescifi said:

Ever heard of project acoustic kitty?

Quote

The cat was released nearby, but was hit and allegedly killed by a taxi almost immediately.[4] However, this was disputed in 2013 by Robert Wallace, a former Director of the CIA's Office of Technical Service, who said that the project was abandoned due to the difficulty of training the cat to behave as required, and "the equipment was taken out of the cat; the cat was re-sewn for a second time, and lived a long and happy life afterwards"

Spoiler

11523e0d2d7e851d91f7ffcd0d5991e5.jpg

Though, cruel and ineffective but not actually stupid idea.

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Nuke

Nuke

Posted
Posted (edited)

ive always seen those zero g cat videos and always thought it was just flight crews screwing around. never knew it was actual science. later that day everyone on the flight crew found a dead rodent in their shoe. 

17 hours ago, magnemoe said:

Yes, I assume cats determine down by airflow, in zero g its no flow so cat get confused. 
Cat solution is to use the 4 claw modules to attach to stuff like your face. 

the inner ear is effectively a biological imu. when it reads zero, the kitty panics. 

i recently bought a new cat tower. but after a week of it being set up only 2 of the cats use it. i tried to introduce the 3rd to it. it wobbles quite a bit and she is a large cat. so when she goes about hitting the tower's resonant frequency with her attempts at regaining her balance she freaked out. she panicked and i got winged by an errant fistfull of razorblades. fortunately i trimmed her claws recently (they overgrow if left to their own devices and poke her toes), but i could have been scrambling for a bandage. 

Edited by Nuke
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magnemoe

magnemoe

Posted
Posted
12 minutes ago, Nuke said:

ive always seen those zero g cat videos and always thought it was just flight crews screwing around. never knew it was actual science. later that day everyone on the flight crew found a dead rodent in their shoe. 

the inner ear is effectively a biological imu. when it reads zero, the kitty panics. 

i recently bought a new cat tower. but after a week of it being set up only 2 of the cats use it. i tried to introduce the 3rd to it, but she panicked and i got winged by an errant fistfull of razorblades. fortunately i trimmed her claws recently (they overgrow if left to their own devices and poke her toes), but i could have been scrambling for a bandage. 

Yes, but why does the cat react differently to falling and freefall? 
My theory is that its no visual reference of falling, no clear floor inside the padded plane and no air movement.
A bit like its much easier to become seasick in an cabin without windows than if you have a good view of the outside. 

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Meecrob

Meecrob

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, magnemoe said:

Yes, but why does the cat react differently to falling and freefall? 
My theory is that its no visual reference of falling, no clear floor inside the padded plane and no air movement.
A bit like its much easier to become seasick in an cabin without windows than if you have a good view of the outside. 

I think a distinction needs to be made between "freefall" and "parabolic trajectory." Its not as if the cats were taken to altitude and dropped at 9.8m/s while the plane also descended at 9.8m/s. The cats are in a state more akin to being shot out of a cannon and at the top of the ballistic arc trying to "fall" - gravity is countered by their upwards velocity so they experience no acceleration on the Y axis, and thus cannot "fall." I'd bet that you could put a VR headset on a cat that shows video of weightlessness, but dropped them in regular gravity, their inner ears would determine which direction was "down." The inner ear is a hard thing to fight without training. VFR pilots suddenly in IMC can attest to this.

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Nuke

Nuke

Posted
Posted
11 hours ago, magnemoe said:

Yes, but why does the cat react differently to falling and freefall? 
My theory is that its no visual reference of falling, no clear floor inside the padded plane and no air movement.
A bit like its much easier to become seasick in an cabin without windows than if you have a good view of the outside. 

do they react differently or is it that the motions do not accomplish the same thing while in freefall. the cat knows they need to turn but has no idea which way down is. in a normal fall that would become apparent quite quickly. its as if its trying to kill its rotation before it starts moving, but it never does. 

now that i think about it their fur would be able to sense the turbulence caused by aerodynamic drag. of course its the same problem with the inner ear. there is no data coming in, so the cat has no idea what to do in that situation. you expect a vector but it has zero magnitude. 

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kerbiloid

kerbiloid

Posted
Posted (edited)

If the cats react on air, they probably do it with hair.

Do the bald sphinxes properly overturn if safely and accurately throw them up above a soft bed, previously getting sure that there are no dangerous things on it?

(The italic text is for moderators.)

Edited by kerbiloid
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benzman

benzman

Posted
Posted (edited)

As far as I know, (I am too set in my ways to write AFAIK) when a cat first starts to fall it turns its head to face the floor and then twists its body while using its tail as a counterweight to turn  itself until its feet are below it.

Edited by benzman
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