• Question: Is it possible to make anti gravity?

    Asked by anon-190761 to Matt, Maia, Lyndsay, Liam, Dionne, Brendan on 7 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Brendan Marrinan

      Brendan Marrinan answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      No idea, that is very beyond my expertise.

    • Photo: Liam Taylor

      Liam Taylor answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      Forgive me if I have slightly misunderstood the question – but are you referring to places that have no gravity, like space? If so…. sort of! We can definitely recreate the effects of being in space in two ways. One is in a special airplane (it’s super expensive) that can put you into a few seconds of zero gravity by changing speed very quickly. The other (which is the way astronauts practice) is to simply be underwater! This is a surprisingly realistic environment to being in space. So next time you are in the swimming pool, take a deep breath and head underwater for a few seconds – this is what it feels like to be an astronaut!

    • Photo: Matt Bower

      Matt Bower answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      I don’t reckon so, or at least not until very far in the future when we know a lot more. But it might be possible to invent things to overcome the effects of gravity – using magnets and electric charges perhaps.

    • Photo: Dionne Turnbull

      Dionne Turnbull answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      There’s a crazy thought… I have no idea!! The plants would certainly get very confused – they can sense gravity, which is a big part of how they know to grow roots downwards, and shoots upwards. If you tip a plant on its side, in time its shoots will start to point upward again.
      Imagine what a tree would end up looking like with no gravity… roots and branches all over the place! 😀

      It’s called ‘gravitropism’ if you want to impress any classmates with a planty fact 😉 There is also ‘phototropism’ which helps them grow and bend towards sunlight.

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