Scorpion Season 1 Episode 13: "Kill Screen"

Ok, so this the best I can find, go to about 2:00 and watch that little bit (where he is working on the rocket).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9A0Dev7DQw

I thought this could be a fun one to use to talk about rockets! Ok, I guess I'm more talking about a question I got wrong on a recent test. So the question was why do objects in a rocket that is in orbit around Earth appear weightless? I've done some research and I'm ready to give it another try.

As it turns out, for a rocket or space station in orbit around Earth, there is an acceleration downward. So technically, the space ship is falling toward Earth as it remains in orbit. Since the the person typically has the same acceleration as the space ship and the space is also moving around the Earth, they feel weightless.

Moving on, some basic rocket physics! A rocket obtains thrust through the idea of action and reaction (Newton's third law). As the rocket propellant ignites, it experiences a very large acceleration and leaves the back of the rocket (as exhaust) at a very high velocity. This backwards acceleration of the exhaust exerts a force on the rocket that pushes it in the opposite direction, causing the rocket to accelerate forward.

Yay! Okay so that's about it! Thanks for reading!