This week's podcast is all about movie magic. How do filmmakers simulate weightlessness when they want to make movies that take place in space? Today I talk about three movies that each tried different approaches to this problem. Popular Mechanics talks about how Gravity defied gravity. Here's the movie trailer: Update: Listener Steve very politely pointed out an error I made in the podcast: in my description of a reduced gravity aircraft I stated that the period of "weightlessness" for the passengers ends as the plane turns back down toward the Earth. Actually, that period occurs during the entire peak of the parabola, including a few seconds as the aircraft starts to descend. Check out the graphic below to see exactly what I mean. Image: NASA
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