Zero-G (disambiguation)

Zero-G is the ability to achieve the sensation of weightlessness (for example to be falling freely in an atmosphere, or to be in zero-g).

Zero-G or Zero G may refer to:

See also

Weightlessness

Weightlessness, or an absence of 'weight', is an absence of stress and strain resulting from externally applied mechanical contact-forces, typically normal forces from floors, seats, beds, scales, and the like. Counterintuitively, a uniform gravitational field does not by itself cause stress or strain, and a body in free fall in such an environment experiences no g-force acceleration and feels weightless. This is also termed "zero-g" where the term is more correctly understood as meaning "zero g-force."

When bodies are acted upon by non-gravitational forces, as in a centrifuge, a rotating space station, or within a space ship with rockets firing, a sensation of weight is produced, as the contact forces from the moving structure act to overcome the body's inertia. In such cases, a sensation of weight, in the sense of a state of stress can occur, even if the gravitational field was zero. In such cases, g-forces are felt, and bodies are not weightless.

When the gravitational field is non-uniform, a body in free fall suffers tidal effects and is not stress-free. Near a black hole, such tidal effects can be very strong. In the case of the Earth, the effects are minor, especially on objects of relatively small dimension (such as the human body or a spacecraft) and the overall sensation of weightlessness in these cases is preserved. This condition is known as microgravity and it prevails in orbiting spacecraft.

Zero Gravity Corporation

Zero Gravity Corporation (also known as ZERO-G) is an American company based in Arlington, Virginia, formerly of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which operates weightless flights from United States airports. Unlike NASA, ZERO-G is governed under Part 121 of FAA regulations (as are all US commercial passenger and cargo airlines) enabling the company to cater to both tourists and researchers alike.

History

Founded by entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, astronaut Byron K. Lichtenberg, and NASA engineer Ray Cronise, the company has been operating weightless flights since 2004. A number of notable passengers have been on weightless flights run by the company, including Penn Jillette and Teller,Martha Stewart, Burt Rutan, Buzz Aldrin, Casey Neistat, and John Carmack. Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking also completed a shortened flight on April 26, 2007.

In April 2006, ZERO-G became the first commercial company to gain permission from the Kennedy Space Center to use its space shuttle runway and landing facilities. On April 21, 2007, it began regular flights from Las Vegas for the general public at ticket prices of US$3,675. Good Morning America aired promotional footage featuring the show's weatherman Sam Champion during a preview flight in Ohio. On December 9, 2007, Zero G hosted Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of MythBusters to disprove the conspiracy theory that the Apollo Moon landing was a hoax.

Zero-G Ltd

Zero-G is a company developing sound libraries, sound effects and loops. The company also develops singing synthesizers using the Vocaloid engine developed by Yamaha Corporation.

Products

Vocaloid products

Zero-G developed an English edition of Vocaloid software. They subsequently were given recommendations by Crypton Future Media to Yamaha Corporation. The company then went on to releasing both the first Vocaloid voices and the first English voices. The first Vocaloids, Leon and Lola, were released by Zero-G on March 3, 2004, both of which were sold as a "Virtual Soul Vocalist". Leon and Lola made their first appearance at the NAMM Show on January 15, 2004. Leon and Lola were also demonstrated at the Zero-G Limited booth during Wired Nextfest and won the 2005 Electronic Musician Editor's Choice Award. Zero-G later released Miriam, with her voice provided by Miriam Stockley, in July 2004. A patch was later released to update all Vocaloid engines to Vocaloid 1.1.2, adding new features to the software, although there were differences between the output results of the engine.