Those reckless moon astronauts (was Why gravity helps people work faster)

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "hitssquad" wrote:
>
> --- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "brooksn" wrote:
> > First, this assumes that traction 'friction' is the predominate reason for forklift tipping
>
> No.
>
> > and that current forklifts are all 'at' the edge of their acceptable range for safe operation.
>
> By definition, every activity in every business is operating at the edge of safety. Competition ensures this. Increase gravity, and business can be conducted faster.

That is a broad assumption that 'every activity in business is operating at the edge of safety.' and I don't think it's 'by definition.' I would need evidence to back such a claim.

> > wouldn't increasing the mass of the forklift 6 fold remove the issue
>
> No, but downforce blowers could help. These have caveats, such as mobilizing debris on the floor/ground/roadway. McLaren experimented with this:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLaren_F1
>
> "to improve downforce which is increased through the use of two electric Kevlar fans to further decrease the pressure under the car."

Ff = μ FN

Ff = force of friction
μ = coefficient of friction
FN = normal force

FN = FG = mg

So if mass is halved the force of friction is halved, so if the g (gravity) is reduced by 1/6 but you increase the m by x6 why doesn't that keep the force of friction the same?

> > many transportation facilities use rollers/conveyor belts to move goods
>
> Good point. Gravity inversely limits conveyor-belt speed.
> More gravity = more speed potential
>
> Conveyor belts on the moon would be forced by the moon's 1/6th gravity to operate at 1/6th the speeds of conveyor belts on Earth.
>
> > I recall astronauts 'walking' with some difficulty but not at 1/6th the speed
>
> You weren't watching them in a confined industrial environment. Whether it's in an office, a warehouse, or a factory, in double gravity I can accelerate twice as hard, corner twice as hard, and stop twice as hard as I can in normal gravity. We saw the astronauts moving at reckless high speeds on the moon because they didn't need to worry about crashing into anyone.

I don't think that pointing to unsafe forklifts on Earth translates into reduced speeds for all and every activity and all labor activities in reduced g environments.
Brooks