Hypergravity

Manufacturing of titanium aluminide turbine blades in 20 g is being explored by researchers at the European Space Agency (ESA) via an 8-meter wide Large Diameter Centrifuge (LDC).

Paracoccus denitrificans was one of the bacteria which displayed not only survival but also robust cellular growth under these conditions of hyperacceleration which are usually found only in cosmic environments, such as on very massive stars or in the shock waves of supernovas.

In mammals, however, satisfactory experimental demonstration is still lacking because an externally imposed increase of basal metabolic rate of these animals (e.g. by placement in the cold) is usually accompanied by general homeostatic disturbance and stress.

[8] Steady-state food intake per day per kg body weight, which is presumably proportional to 'rate of living' or specific basal metabolic expenditure, was about 18% higher than in controls (P less than 0.01) after an initial 2-month adaptation period.

[9] By comparison to controls, the hypergravity group had shorter latencies before choosing a maze arm in a T-maze and fewer exploratory pokes in a hole board.