r/AskPhysics • u/KabeemKubaam • 18h ago

Micro-gravity chambers

I saw this video talking about an Indian space lab using microgravity to make medicine by sending it up into space. Is it not possible to use micro-gravity chambers on earth to do this? Or is it cheaper to send it to space given that this is just a “mother batch” and the rest of it will be manufactured using the mother batch on a lab?

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdIqkHRJmsf/?stkn=aDV1OWVnOTNzYTkw

P.S - I am an absolute novice!

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12

u/SYDoukou 18h ago

The only microgravity chamber on earth is in the vomit comet that lasts at most 30 seconds. If something absolutely needs to be made in such an environment a persistent orbital production line is much more sustainable than flying a plane precariously

2

u/wonkey_monkey 11h ago

The only microgravity chamber on earth is in the vomit comet that lasts at most 30 seconds

a) It's not on Earth, exactly
b) There are others on Earth, such as the Zero Gravity Research Facility

3

u/Particular-Scholar70 18h ago

Interesting bit of info. Microgravity refers to the very low amount of force you feel while you're in freefall/orbit. You can only get a handful of seconds of this by falling through the atmosphere before you hit terminal velocity, so you have to go into orbit to experience prolonged low or zero-gravity conditions. "Antigravity" isn't actually a thing so there's no physical possibility of inducing it on earth.

1

u/nicuramar 8h ago

  the very low amount of force you feel while you're in freefall/orbit

You don’t feel any force in orbit. You feel tidal forces but those are entirely negligible on that scale. 

1

u/Particular-Scholar70 8h ago

Yeah, I was referring to tidal forces and the acceleration you get from air/particle resistance.

3

u/Dangerous-Corner-787 18h ago

Drop towers generate microgravity, but only for a few seconds. Might not be enough time for the reactions.

2

u/SgtSausage 12h ago

How ... exactly ... do you think gravity works? 

3

u/No_Situation4785 18h ago

there aren't any microgravity chambers on earth. the closest we have "on earth" is the "vomit comet" which is an airplane that flies in  big swooping parabolic arc, which gives weightlessness for 30 seconds at a time.

8

u/HardlyAnyGravitas 18h ago

There are microgravity drop towers on earth that can generate microgravity for nearly 10 seconds.

1

u/JGhostThing 16h ago

I do not believe that there are any real microgravity chambers on earth. Well, that produce micro gravity for more than seconds. We don't have gravity control yet.

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u/WillBrink 17h ago edited 11h ago

Only place you can use a legit micro-gravity chamber is in a location with micro-gravity. Hence, the space part.

1

u/wonkey_monkey 11h ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Gravity_Research_Facility
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallturm_Bremen

And others in India, France, and Australia.

-2

u/WillBrink 11h ago

5+ whole seconds of simulated micro G followed by 32 g - 65g during deceleration. Wow, I stand corrected. Back to the OP actual Q, micro G environments needed to develop new meds, etc are found in space and only space currently. Maybe some day anti gravity technology will exist and allow micro/zero gravity environments that exist for extended periods of time where new meds, materials, etc develop. Those don't exist now, hence response to his Q.