Given that momentum is the product of speed and weight (Velocity x Weight) would rapid deceleration or acceleration in weighless space, of Space X's BFR have an impact on its passengers. I ask because if it is to travel at 27000km/h most of its journey would be spent accelerating and decelerating very much limited by earthlike g forces as airliners do, therfore minimizing on the reduction of travel time. Would most of the braking and accelerating have to take place in space at zero gravity?
1 Answer
The factor here is mass, not weight - weight is the force produced by mass and the effect of gravity.
The same kinds of forces are produced by acceleration. In "weightless space" (zero gravity) a spacecraft accelerating at 1g (9.81 m/s2) will impose the same force on its occupants as earth's gravity.
For a high speed spacecraft, a lot of the time will be spent accelerating and decelerating to keep the force on the occupants within tolerable limits.
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$\begingroup$ I never considered before that constant acceleration at 1g for half the journey and -1g for the remainder would give a 1g environment for the occupants. Unfortunately this would not be very efficient and regenerative braking would not be an option! $\endgroup$ Oct 3, 2017 at 19:37