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
The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the ...
, under free fall conditions.
[Schwarzenberg M, Pippia P, Meloni MA, Cossu G, Cogoli-Greuter M, Cogoli A. (1999). Signal transduction in T lymphocytes--a comparison of the data from space, the free fall machine and the random positioning machine. Adv Space Res. 24(6): 793-800]
Description
The free fall machine (FFM) addresses some of the problems of the simple horizontal
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 embryo ...
or
random positioning machines (RPM). In a typical machine samples are allowed to cycle between free fall for about a metre down a column (micro-gravity simulation, near "0 g") and a "bounce" back to the top of the column that is intended to be so fast (c. 20 g for 20 ms) that it is undetected by the biological sample. Long duration of
hyper-gravity is often simulated by machines such as the
large diameter centrifuge (LDC) at ESA. To simulate partial-gravity (between simulated 0 and Earth's gravity, 1, such as Mars or Moon gravitational strengths) conditions, an RPM can also be used. The sample therefore effectively grows at near 0 g.
See also
*
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 featu ...
*
Large Diameter Centrifuge
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. Large diameter centrifuges are used to understand the effect of Hyp ...
*
Random Positioning Machine
A random positioning machine, or RPM, rotates biological samples along two independent axes to change their orientation in space in complex ways and so eliminate the effect of gravity.Jack J.W.A. van Loon (2007). Some history and use of the random ...
*
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 embryo ...
References
External links
* ETH Space Biolog
''Free Fall Machine''
Laboratory equipment
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