|
|
Article: Rotational acceleration: why it's a real headache. (Safe at Any Speed).
- Article from:
- Design News
- Article date:
- January 13, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
THERE'S BEEN MUCH DEBATE ABOUT the possible hazards of high G-force amusement park rides and the issue of head rotational acceleration. What's the concern?
Basically, you can get a big headache at high G-Force levels. If you want to know more about the physics behind it, read on.
Although we commonly think in terms of "G forces applied to the whole body. Body components that are free to have relative motion, such as the blood, resist the change in speed. The resulting relative motion of body components causes stretching of tissue, pooling of the blood in the lower body, downward pressure on spinal fluid and the spinal column, and numerous other effects. ...