Faculty Supervisors

Abstract

The similar mathematical forms of Coulomb’s Law of Electrostatics and Newton’s Law of Gravitation suggest that two oppositely charged spheres should be able to move in a binary orbit about their center of mass using only the electric force as the force of attraction. To test this idea, we will attempt to achieve a binary orbit between oppositely charged graphite coated Microgravity University, a subdivision of NASA, allows undergraduate student teams to conduct an experiment aboard a modified C-9 aircraft that creates a weightless environment. The student microgravity team, the Rhodes Binary Orbit Team (RhoBOT), submitted a proposal on October 30, 2007 which was accepted by Microgravity University. Our experiment will fly during th