Hawking in Zero Gee---see famous physicist float

[Martin]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18334489/

 

there is a video too, showing Stephen Hawking floating in zero-gee

 

a related Reuters story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18330938/

[Royston]

Here's another pic from the BBC...

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6594821.stm

 

...perhaps we should run a caption competition.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Sounds like the title of a spam email. "See famous physicist float!"

[grifter]

ha ha ha, yea: "see famous physicist float with three women on a plane used by NASA" the email below reads "cheap Viagra"

 

But on a slightly more serious note, I think its great that the master of gravity itself got as close as you can (without jumping in a tin can filled with enough fuel to blow a hole in the globe...) to experiencing zero G

 

I was in a lecture in Paris the other day where the speaker was the acting doctor on a vomit commit flight in Russia where apparently the safety briefing went as follows:

 

the pilot is speaking to a English interpreter: regarding a small red warning light, a few parachutes and an escape hatch.

 

the interpreter relays the information as follows

 

if the red light goes on and the escape hatch opens; put on the parachute fasten it securely, and jump out the hatch

 

if the red light doesn't go on but the pilot opens the hatch; put the parachute on, don't worry about fastening the cross link, just jump out as fast as you can

 

oh and if the pilot puts the red light on and the hatch doesn't open......[at this point the interpreter begins to argue(shout...) with the pilot]

who eventually turns around and says.....oh don't worry about that.

 

that was one hell of a lecture.

[Phi for All]

He looks like he's having a ball!

Sounds like the title of a spam email. "See famous physicist float!"

Or a recipe: "Take a half glass of root beer, add one scoop of ice cream and one famous physicist....

[KLB]

Dr Hawkings looked like he was just about the happiest person on or off this planet in the video and photos. I think this was just great for him. I don't think there is a person more deserving of an opportunity to go into space and this was a step in that direction.

 

In regards to Grifter's lecture, that would have been one lecture I would have liked to seen, although I'd probably opt out of the flight after words.

[grifter]

yea it was pretty awsome, it was on the aplication of medicine in space, (amongst other things) it was really interesting, especialy seeing the designs of some new Nassa projects based arround principals first made famous in Sci Fi films for artificial gravity, wierd!

[KLB]

Where do you think those Sci Fi writers got their ideas? Good Sci Fi has a solid foundation in real science.

[grifter]

it certainly does

[djeade9790]

It is really obvious that he enjoyed that experience (i would love to go on that plane!).

It must be quite hard for Hawking not to be able to express his feelings as easily as we can.