Comments on: Does a Boomerang Work in Space?

By: WTF

WTF — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:45:18 +0000

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By: craig

craig — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:23:03 +0000

of corse the boomerang will come back………. in 75 years or so after its passed round the sun…….. or am i thinking of haleys comet

By: Butch

Butch — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:51:30 +0000

In the ISS it will develop lift perpendicular to the spin but it still have a forward motion due to the throw. It would eventually slow down in both directions as air resistance would cause drag in all vectors. Thrown in space it would act like a spinning gyroscope. It would follow the curvature of space while spinning until it ran into the Hubble and cracked the mirror.

By: Larry the LarDog

Larry the LarDog — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:38:33 +0000

Good post, Carl J. You make an excellent point. I would think a boomerang thrown in micro-gravity and normal air pressures (around 14 psi) would spiral upwards until aerodynamic drag stopped its motion.

By: Tibor

Tibor — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:47:41 +0000

This has been the third time a boomerang has been thrown in space now.
Takao Doi just confirmed what french astronaut Jean Francois Cleroy found in 1997 (on MIR) and German Astronaut Ulf Meerbold found in 1992 (on Spacelab).

By: Robert Levy

Robert Levy — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:56:48 +0000

So this is basic Bernoulli principles it sounds like. Is there more to it?

By: Bob

Bob — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:46:18 +0000

Yes, Only if the boomerang has solar sails on one wing.

By: Laszlo

Laszlo — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:27:51 +0000

Carl, the main force is precession ii. The dingle arm sees different air/fluid than leading arm. Depending upon arm angles, aerofoil, length, etc, the dingle sees turbulence to the leading arm's laminar flow. This turning moment returns it promptly in a pinwheel(multi-blader) which are designed for short throws indoors (on stage). Other designs would provide more lift. In vacuum of space, however, aren't many air molecules to provide this contrast in airflow b/w leading & dingle wings.

By: Carl J.

Carl J. — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:19:19 +0000

I'm a bit surprised that the boomerang acted much the same as it does on Earth. Gravity on Earth balances the lift action created by the spinning airfoils, thus creating a level flight. I would have thought that in space, the lack of gravity would have made the lift of the spinning airfoils cause the boomerang to shoot straight up in the air, up to the "ceiling" in a vertical fashon because there's no gravity to counteract the lift and hold things in level flight. I still don't understand why it flew level in space.

By: Johnny Blues

Johnny Blues — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:59:45 +0000

Ok, the boomerang is already paid for in launch expense. So superglue a transponder chip to its center, go out and toss it into space and track it as long as possible.

By: bh in hsv al

bh in hsv al — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:53:15 +0000

Of course a boomerang will not work in a vacuum. Didn't the questioner watch the Apollo 17 Falcon feather / hammer footage?
I'm surprised that such a question was put forward in this otherwise well-informed forum, and I am only a former Space Academy counselor.

Now HERE'S a worthy experiment: Partially inflate a balloon inside the ISS, then take it out through the airlock (where it will undoubtedly expand many times), then let it go in space! I'd be interested to see if its trajectory were straight and true or goofyfied. (OK, sure. you can tell that I've had two martinis on an empty stomach — BUT! Can you also tell that I also have the hiccups?)

By: Mark Yannone

Mark Yannone — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 04:51:01 +0000

In the absence of particles (like our atmosphere) or gravity, once set in motion it will continue in motion, in a straight line. But every collision will have an effect.

By: Christopher Sisk

Christopher Sisk — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 22:38:39 +0000

So we can pointlessly knock golf balls around in space, but we can't test valid physics questions?

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:29:02 +0000

No, Boomerangs much like a curve ball follow the law of aerodynamics, which does not extend in to the vacuum of space

By: smart ass

smart ass — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:46:05 +0000

I wonder what would happen in space.

I mean in space, not only in microgravity with pressured air.

By: Laszlo

Laszlo — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 18:42:51 +0000

I was wondering when these astronauts would finally try boomeranging, after all, they use gyroscopes which precess, as do tops, esp the 'big Top'(earth).
The 3 main forces are: i) lift produced from airfoil of wing as it's thrown precipitously forward at a near vertical angle. The horizontal release, sidearm as frisbees are thrown, will cause the 'rang to climb & then crash (not far from where you're standing)!
ii) the angle b/w the lead & trailing(dingle) arm as it spins causes the precession. You really have to work at the spin release, because it's necessary to follow through, like a real good curveball pitcher. That last snap & imparted spin does the turning. Imagine pushing on a spinning top or spinning bicycle wheel. That force shunts 90degrees in spin dir, so the top reacts perpendicular to your push. The spinning bicycle wheel might be newton's 2nd law @ inertia.
iii) After lift & precession spend their forces, you should be left w a hovering 'helicopter-like' blade fluttering overhead (or in a creek w my luck). Poke your hand through the virtual center of gravity hole, or safely sandwich it between your hands to bring it to rest.
That only explains 75-80% of it's flight, as unfortunately science can't handle boomerangs yet. To see how sensitive they are, you have to make your own. They can't be mfg. From the Finnish hardwood, the arm angle, aerofoil design, embedded cerium weights, arm lengths, moisture, veneer…each will be a work in progress. You design each for specific flight characteristics, test & adjust, test & adjust… Some characteristic competitions: distance, doubles, repeats, max time aloft, pinwheels, speed, etc. Join a local Boomerang club near you, attend some competitions. The Aussies & Americans used to have an annual challenge meet.
Meanwhile…back at the shuttle, they should try the Aboriginal Boomerang. The Aborigineez hunt w a longer siccle-shaped boomerang, which needn't return. They throw it side arm with hefty spin. Hear the aerofoil adds just enough lift to skirt the pampas, hovering a few feet above ground, for several hundred meters. The rapid spin imparts bone-shattering torque to the legs of hoofed ungulates, or marsupials. They should have flown an Aboriginal astronaut for this.
Boomerangs are not space junk. They got tens of thousands schrapnel flying around already! Boomerangs worst enemy's the wind, that's when we should all fly a kite,….about 200km up! Les