Considering that most examples on the page are O'neil cylinders rather than ringworlds I think we might need to rename it to something like "Cylindrical Space Station".
Can someone point me to the Revenge of the Sith example?
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I think that troper was thinking of Cato Nemodia or one of those planets with wierd architecture in the Order 66 sequence. I'm removing it as a reference, I used to watch that movie three or four times a year, and I never once saw a ringworld.
The Narrator
This page says that Ring World Planets are popular because their centrifugal force makes them at least somewhat plausible.
But according to my Physics textbook, there is no such thing as a centrifugal force.
"...I want to take a minute to make sure you do not get the concept of centripetal force confused with the concept of 'centrifugal force.' It is important to distinguish between the two, because while centripetal force is a valid concept in physics, centrifugal force is not! Although you might have heard about centrifugal force (indeed, it is even in the dictionary), it is not a real force."
I would rather not post the entire reasoning process by which the text argues this point, so I would just like to suggest that one of you pick up your Physics textbook and read the relevant sections.
-Psychohistorian's brother
I will laugh when you are in trouble! When they cry for help, I will not answer. -Jesus rebuttal to fools found in proverbs 1:26-28? Hide / Show Replies
Your brother is wrong. Centrifugal force is a perfectly valid physical concept.
I'm getting a bit sick of seeing, in this wiki, the term centripetal force used where centrifugal force is the correct term. The two are not interchangeable: the force felt by a test mass in a rotating reference frame is centrifugal, the centripetal force is the one responsible for *keeping the mass rotating*, pointing *toward* the center of rotation. In the case of a ringworld, for example, the artificial gravity felt by the inhabitants is centrifugal force, whereas the *normal* that acts on their feet from the ground is the centripetal force. In a rotating reference frame, these two force cancel to keep the mass at rest, in an inertial reference frame, the centripetal force keeps the inhabitants in a circular trajectory. Both views are valid, but *only* centrifugal force can be said to be responsible for artificial gravity or to cause stresses on the ringworld structure. Do not be fooled by the "ficticious" - as any military pilot can attest, it is quite real.
Edited by kernedge
Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Ambiguous Name
, started by zarpaulus on Sep 12th 2012 at 9:25:16 PM
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman