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Comment by bricestacey | Hacker News Reader

That's a fascinating story. I'm curious what would it actually feel like to rotate 1 rotation per second in space? I guess the bigger factor may be location within the spacecraft (e.g. I imagine if near the center it would be much less stressful).

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I just tried the the old spin the office chair, with a buddy counting roughly 1 revolution per second. I was holding my laptop and trying to surf.

I feel sick now.

Don't forget this happened while he was in a spacecraft orbiting the earth when this happened, AKA free-fall or (approximately) zero-g until it started spinning. Here on earth it's probably not even possible to recreate the conditions he experienced.

If you spin in place at one rotation per second, it'll upset your equilibrium pretty quick; that's the minimum. That said, Gemini was not a large spacecraft; the two crew were sitting side by side in a space that was about the size of a small car's front seat.

This inspires me to try to write on a notepad while spinning in my office chair. I think I can achieve one rotation per second. :) Maybe not a good idea after lunch though.

If you were just sitting there, I think it wouldn't be too bad. The trouble comes when you actually need to do something. Coriolis forces will totally screw up any movement you make. Your reflexes will be all wrong. Imagine reaching for a switch and having your hand get jerked off to one side as you move it. Then as you pull your hand back, it gets jerked off to the other side. Any head movement will cause your inner ear fluids to do weird things, causing dizziness.

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