A space-walking astronaut has become detached from her spaceship. She's floating in space with her handy tool belt attached to her waist, thinking about
how she might get back to the ship, which she can see 50 meters from her current location.
How can she get back to the ship? Use language from the Laws of Motion in your answer.

Question

A space-walking astronaut has become detached from her spaceship. She's floating in space with her handy tool belt attached to her waist, thinking about
how she might get back to the ship, which she can see 50 meters from her current location.
How can she get back to the ship? Use language from the Laws of Motion in your answer.

osprey · Answer

This astro't has one big problem ! I guess that it depends on what's in the astro's tool belt. Or, maybe it's just the act that the thing is attached at all. Because, if it's ATTACHED it can, I think, be DETACHED. I think the astro't can do this but not actually move forward or backwards - WRIGGLING may be ok, just no TRANSLATION movement. So, the intrepid, hapless and, were it me, panic stricken, astro't looks at here the space ship is, and then aims in the opposite direction and throws the belt away. The LAW OF CONSERVATION OF LINEAR momentum then may kick in (hope it does), and the astr't will be "RECOILED" towards the ship. We both hope. It may help if there were some sort of aerosol thing in the tool belt, but I don't know about that. If I ever meet up with this astro't, or any other astro't for that matter, after I'd fainted I might ask if the idea worked. Bon chance http://perendis.webs.com