Gravity indicator. 'G' or 'g'?

Caramel Clown · Feb 23, 2016

Got curious about why it's uppercase letter G(in reality reserved for universal gravitational constant) used in HUD display of planet's gravity. As I understand Earth's gravity is used as a reference, in which case it should be lowercase 'g'.
Am I missing something? I think it was done for aesthetic purposes, because G looks better on display

Salami · Feb 23, 2016

It SHOULD be capitol, no matter where you are.
It stands for gravitational constant.

DragoonKnight · Feb 23, 2016

Salami said:
It SHOULD be capitol, no matter where you are.
It stands for gravitational constant.

You are wrong.
G = Graviational Constant = 6.674×10⁻¹¹ N⋅m²/kg^{2
g = acceleration due to gravity, in a vacuum, near the surface of the earth =}9.80665 m/s²^{It should be lower case g if you are talking about the force of gravity of a certain planet.}

Caramel Clown · Feb 23, 2016

Salami said:
It SHOULD be capitol, no matter where you are.
It stands for gravitational constant.

No offense, but I'm sure you have no idea what gravitational constant is :/

Salami · Feb 23, 2016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity

And i quote "

$0f36df929ac9d711a8ba8c5658c3bfee.png$

Where F is the force, m[SUB]1[/SUB] and m[SUB]2[/SUB] are the masses of the objects interacting, r is the distance between the centers of the masses and G is the gravitational constant."

Have a good day.

GraXXoR · Feb 23, 2016

Caramel Clown said:
No offense, but I'm sure you have no idea what gravitational constant is :/

You think this guy is funny. I had to listen to a guy on Teamspeak explaining why bigger ships would actually end up flying faster than smaller ships even though they had lower acceleration. I.e. Cutter vs vulture. He equated it to voltage and current. Some ships push out a higher current like acceleration. Other ships push out higher voltage like high speed. By brain exploded and what was left leaked out my ears. Science isn't for everybody.

Salami · Feb 23, 2016

Well, it depends on where your interests lay, i guess.
If science, no matter which, speaks to you, it comes much faster to you.
If, on the other hand, it absolutely does NOT speak to you, it becomes hopeless.

I strongly believe, that everyone has their strong suit, some just not found it yet.
But yes, science is not for everyone, true...

Caramel Clown · Feb 23, 2016

Salami said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity

And i quote "
https://upload.wikimedia.org/math/0/f/3/0f36df929ac9d711a8ba8c5658c3bfee.png
Where F is the force, m[SUB]1[/SUB] and m[SUB]2[/SUB] are the masses of the objects interacting, r is the distance between the centers of the masses and G is the gravitational constant."

Have a good day.

What connection this has with the display of planet's gravity in the game? Assuming that Earth's gravity is taken as a reference(and it is), lower case 'g' should be used. Universal gravitational constant has no place on HUD

Salami · Feb 23, 2016

Question was, if i am correct, if it should be either G or g.
Which i answered.
One says G-force, not g-force.

Caramel Clown · Feb 23, 2016

Salami said:
Question was, if i am correct, if it should be either G or g.
Which i answered.
One says G-force, not g-force.

It wasn't a question. Question was why HUD in game displays planet's gravity as x*G. 2g would mean two times of Earth's gravity, 2G means nothing in this context. It's either a mistake or deliberate choice of a developer to just make it fit better with other things on the HUD.

EDIT. Also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-force

Not that it matters.

Salami · Feb 23, 2016

Caramel Clown said:
Got curious about why it's uppercase letter G(in reality reserved for universal gravitational constant) used in HUD display of planet's gravity. As I understand Earth's gravity is used as a reference, in which case it should be lowercase 'g'.
Am I missing something? I think it was done for aesthetic purposes, because G looks better on display

As i see this, it was more a question, seeing our friend was unsure, and wrong in assumption it is a lowercase?

CTCParadox · Feb 23, 2016

Pretty much the entire HUD is in capital letters. I guess they got carried away.
They got the speed indicator right though.

CMDR CTCParadox

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

Salami said:
As i see this, it was more a question, seeing our friend was unsure, and wrong in assumption it is a lowercase?

But it should be lowercase.

CMDR CTCParadox

Salami · Feb 23, 2016

I've always known it to be capital G, no matter what site I was on, maybe new spelling?
Anyway, I'll stick to capitol G...

CMDR Byr Goefin · Feb 23, 2016

It does have a place, it is call acceleration. You cannot distinguish between acceleration and gravity in a frame of reference. Don't blame me, blame Einstein.

If your ship is accelerating in any direction at ~9.8ms2 you experience 1g of gravity like force. g is just a reference point because everyone knows what a g feels like, or knows that their planet is rated at 1.4G, .8g, or whatever.
Fairly convenient measurement.

Yes, ms2 would be the better measurement, but since you lot don't know what g is, what are the chances you know what ms2 is?

CTCParadox · Feb 23, 2016

Salami said:
I've always known it to be capital G, no matter what site I was on, maybe new spelling?
Anyway, I'll stick to capitol G...

You can stick to capital G, but it's wrong.
It's like using t for Teslas or an n for Newtons.

CMDR CTCParadox

Caramel Clown · Feb 23, 2016

Yes, ms2 would be the better measurement, but since you lot don't know what G is, what are the chances you know what ms2 is?

This thread is either filling with trolls or people jumping into conversation being ignorant about the topic. 'G' and 'g' ARE NOT THE SAME THING.
What displayed in the game should be a lowercase g. I'm starting to regret I've started this topic already. I don't know how to break it down to even lower level.

CMDR Byr Goefin · Feb 23, 2016

Caramel Clown said:
This thread is either filling with trolls or people jumping into conversation being ignorant about the topic. 'G' and 'g' ARE NOT THE SAME THING.
What displayed in the game should be a lowercase g. I'm starting to regret I've started this topic already. I don't know how to break it down to even lower level.

Yes, I know. I fixed it. Posting at 1AM
about physics is probably not the best idea.

You make silly mistakes while getting the principle right.

Salami · Feb 23, 2016

Well, would you be so kind to elaborate then?
I'm most eager to learn.

CTCParadox · Feb 23, 2016

Salami said:
Well, would you be so kind to elaborate then?
I'm most eager to learn.

The funny thing is you quoted Wikipedia.
Did you read the article on the Gravitational Constant?

Wikipedia said:
The gravitational constant, approximately 6.674×10−11 N⋅m2/kg2 and denoted by the letter G, is an empirical physical constant involved in the calculation(s) of gravitational force between two bodies. It usually appears in Sir Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation, and in Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. It is also known as the universal gravitational constant, Newton's constant, and colloquially as Big G. It should not be confused with "small g" (g), which is the local gravitational field of Earth (equivalent to the free-fall acceleration).

CMDR CTCParadox

Kestril · Feb 23, 2016

Salami said:
It SHOULD be capitol, no matter where you are.
It stands for gravitational constant.

You're mistaken.

"G" is a mathematical constant we use in the equation you mentioned to predict the gravitational attraction between two masses. Its a value we found after observing and experimenting with different masses to pin-down and predict the precise relationship between mass, distance, and gravity. "G" is equivalent to 6.674×10−11 N⋅m2/kg2.

"g" is the measurable gravity field we have here on Earth. It is equivalent to 9.81 meters-per-second-squared. If your indicator has a reading of 2g, your ship will accelerate downwards at 19.62 meters-per-second-squared.

Basically, just take the time to double-check your units. I don't see how Newtons*meters-squared/kilograms-squared would be useful for me as a pilot, but I can see how the downward acceleration of a local planet would be useful.

This is why it is great to take the time to double-check these things and not unintentionally spread misinformation.