[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
I spoke to an orthopedic surgeon once about these issues, and I recall he
mentioned that not only a certain amount of gravity, but also a fairly low
electromagnetic field, would also be necessary to maintain human health.
does anyone know exactly what he may have meant by this? He said something
about Earth having a certain energy field around it that has positive, even
necessary, effects.
At least one writer (Marshal Savage, in his book "The Millennium Project"))
has suggested that astronauts on long-term, deep space missions wear a
close-fitting body suit that provides constant electrical stimulus to all
muscle groups in succession. I've had muscle therapy at an orthopedic office
that involves attaching electrodes to the skin which case the muscles to
"fire" in succession. It was a peculiar sensation, not too pleasant at
first, but once the level is scaled back it becomes quite endurable, and I
imagine it could be fine-tuned to where you could barely feel the electrical
pulses, but they would still be constantly at work on your muscles. I've
seen similar devices advertised as a way of toning muscles without heavy
exercise (the lazy man's way to a six-pack gut). Such an "electrode suit"
might take the place of the heavy exercise required to maintain muscle tone
and bone strength in zero-G (and which a lot of astronauts and cosmonauts get
tired of and neglect). It might also eliminate the need for a costly,
weighty device like a centrifuge. Finally, it might also provide the
"electric field" you speak of to help cell growth and bone healing. Savage's
idea seemed eminently feasible to me, certainly worth a try. Has anything
like it been tried on Mir or any shuttle missions?
DS Michaels
