Biofuels in Space! Or, What the Heck is Microgravity?

MICROGRAVITY Function: noun Etymology: micr- + gravity : a condition in space in which only minuscule gravitational forces are experienced : virtual absence of gravity ; broadly : WEIGHTLESSNESS —via Merriam-Webster Just as black holes do not suck, there is...

MICROGRAVITY

Function: noun
Etymology: micr- + gravity
: a condition in space in which only minuscule gravitational forces are experienced : virtual absence of gravity ; broadly : WEIGHTLESSNESS

—via Merriam-Webster

Just as black holes do not suck, there is technically no such thing as zero gravity in low-Earth orbit. Earth's gravitational influence, after all, is what keeps the moon tied to our home world, so how could there be no gravity between it and us?

Plants ... in ... spaaaaace!
—Illustration by Dale Gustafson, National Geographic Stock

Instead, objects in orbit are really in a constant state of freefall, like being stuck on a roller coaster just as the car tips over a rise.

In fact, to create the sensation of being in orbit, those "zero G" tourist flights are doing nothing more than making roller coaster-esque swoops and dips in the sky.

What people in space experience is known among the science crowd as microgravity, and ...