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[jim in paris]

hi all and especially the friends at UC

I've just read that thanks to the Gravity Probe B spacecraft , nasa scientists have been able to measure "......the amount a spinning object pulls space and time with it as it rotates..."
full article and final results here
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/gpb/



i'm sure Monsieur Le Professeur Markus will enjoy the reading 


jim

[ta0]

If a spinning top "drags space," does it mean that it will be faster to walk around at top in the same direction that it spins than walking around in the opposite direction?  Hey, Mike, maybe you should be throwing your big tops inside the track at the school to help the runners improve their times . . . 

The rotors of the gyroscopes in this experiment were floating spheres the size of golf balls, spinning at 4800 RPMs. So they were very comparable to our tops, just more expensive. I think I once read they were the most precise spheres ever fabricated. That would also make them the best balanced spintops ever. Now that they are surplus I'll keep a eye for them on Ebay 

[the Earl of Whirl]

.....Hey, Mike, maybe you should be throwing your big tops inside the track at the school to help the runners improve their times.....

Hmmm!  That is an interesting thought.  Thanks, Jorge.  I will give it a shot and tell the team about how helpful I am in their progress.  They are always ready for about anything to help them improve (except steroids, of course). 

[Neff]

Thanks for the link Jim, fun stuff to think about

[johnm]

Nice, Jim, thanks.