The large diameter centrifuge, or LDC, is any centrifuge extending several meters, which can rotate samples to change their acceleration in space to enhance the effect of
gravity
In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...
. Large diameter centrifuges are used to understand the effect of
hyper-gravity (gravitational strengths stronger than that of the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
) on biological samples, including and not limiting to plants, organs, bacteria, and astronauts (Such as
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
's Human Performance Centrifuge) or non-biological samples to undertake experiments in the field of fluid dynamics, geology, biochemistry and more.
Description
Frequently, "LDC" is used to refer to the centrifuge at the
European Space Agency (ESA)'s campus known as
ESTEC
The European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) is the European Space Agency's main technology development and test centre for spacecraft and space technology. It is situated in Noordwijk, South Holland, in the western Netherlands, alth ...
(European Space research and TEChnology center). This is an 8-m diameter, four-arm centrifuge covered by a dome, which is available for research. A total of six gondolas, each being able to carry an 80 kg payload, can spin at a maximum of 20 times Earth's gravity, equaling 67 revolutions per minute.
Full technical specification are available for free at the ESA website.
Competition and grants
The European Space Agency (ESA) and UNOOSA lets students compete with a research proposal for the use of the LDC.
[{{Cite web, title=LDC HyperGES Main Page, url=https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/psa/hsti/ldc_hyperges/ao_main.html, access-date=2020-07-30, website=www.unoosa.org] These competitions are known as the 'Spin Your thesis!'. When the proposal is accepted, they are guided at ESA/ESTEC to use the LDC. Support is given for a variety of different fields including biology, physics and chemistry.
See also
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Gravitropism
Gravitropism (also known as geotropism) is a coordinated process of differential growth by a plant in response to gravity pulling on it. It also occurs in fungi. Gravity can be either "artificial gravity" or natural gravity. It is a general feat ...
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Random positioning machine
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Free Fall Machine
The free fall machine (FFM) is designed to permit the development of small biological sample such as cell cultures with a simulated effect of micro-gravity, under free fall conditions.Schwarzenberg M, Pippia P, Meloni MA, Cossu G, Cogoli-Greuter ...
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Clinostat
A clinostat is a device which uses rotation to negate the effects of gravitational pull on plant growth (gravitropism) and development (gravimorphism). It has also been used to study the effects of microgravity on cell cultures, animal embryos and ...
References
Laboratory equipment
Gravitational instruments