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Tinamuline
Joined: 19 Sep 2005
Posts: 52
Helped: 2
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 14 Oct 2005 14:09 how to determine mass of object in space? |
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| I am wondering how we can measure the mass of an object in space. As we all know, everything in space is weightless, then how can we measure the mass of an object in the spacecraft by using balance? Thanks for your help.
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steve10
Joined: 26 Mar 2002
Posts: 177
Helped: 33
Location: Los Angeles (Chinese)
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14 Oct 2005 17:16 stiffness |
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| My understanding about this issue is that it depends on the sizes of the objects you are interested in. For stars and planets, you measure the masses by investigating the relationships between those monsters. For small objects, I think you essentially use Newton's three laws of motion. For example, f=ma. In the space, you slap on an object, and then you check the velocity to come up with the acceleration a. Another exmaple is the free vibration, mx"+kx=0. Suppose you know the frequency w and the spring stiffness k, then w^2=k/m.
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sp
Joined: 01 Jan 2004
Posts: 421
Helped: 27
Location: Floating Garden
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14 Oct 2005 17:36 how we measure mass in space? |
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another way is use a stick or ruler... stick one end to the static object(space ship) another end to the object(u wanna measure the mass) and make it oscillate.. it will go forth n back... count the frequency... it is constant (almost independent of gravity)..
then compare it to the frequency u hav when u do it on earth wth different mass... n u can predict the object mass in space...
i learn tht in high school time...
regards,
sp
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artem
Joined: 22 May 2003
Posts: 1653
Helped: 91
Location: Turkey
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14 Oct 2005 22:36 how to measure the mass of an object in the space |
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Just kick the object by another object ( let say hummer )) ) with known weight at known speed and mesure speed of the object after it kicked . Assuming ideal energy transfer
m1v1^2 = m2v2^2
))
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14 Oct 2005 22:36 Ads |
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Kral
Joined: 28 Mar 2005
Posts: 1184
Helped: 187
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14 Oct 2005 22:41 Re: How to measure the mass of an object in space |
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Tinamuline,
Apply a constant force (f) to the object. Measure the distance (d) that the object travels in a specified time interval (t).
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Let a = the acceleration of the object.
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d = at^2/2
a = 2d/(t^2)
Now that you know the acceleration (a), you can calculate mass:
f = ma
m = f/a
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Regards,
Kral
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