Sep 252010
 

A common idea in much of science fiction literature is that those otherwise normal humans who are raised in lower gravity environments (Mars, on the Moon, or even zero-g space stations) will be taller. The idea is that without Earths crushing gravity, a persons bones will grow longer. Commonly (like in John Varley’s “Rolling Thunder,” which I just finished) authors posit Moon/Mars-raised humans being about 20% taller than Earth-raised. That would turn these pioneering folks…

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Into either these people (assuming a purely vertical “stretch”):

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Or these people (assuming a 3-D scaleup in all dimensions):

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Personally, I doubt it, or at least I doubt that it would make a meaningful difference. Those who have spent extended periods in zero-g *have* come home taller, due to the relaxation and expansion of the softer materials in the joints in the spine; but in time they squish back down.

Since we have not, sadly, given birth to whole generations in space (and it’s a damned crime that we haven’t… let’s face it, had we not cheaped out in 1968, but instead made an actual effort, we could have had permanent space settlements of some sort by 1980… and the kids born there would now be THIRTY FRICKEN’ YEARS OLD by now, with kids of their own), this is a tough one to test. My recommendation for those *truly* interested would be to examine the records of those who spent their whole lives bedridden due to disease or paralysis, from childhood to adulthood. These people have not spent their lives being squished by gravity in the normal standing direction, and thus should demonstrate the supposed lengthening of bones.

One area that’s typically *not* examined with sufficient criticality is the arm. Rather than spending time standing around being compressed by the weight of the body, the human arm typically just hangs there… in tension. So if lower gravity would result in bone length change in bones that are normally compressed, then this same effect should also work on bone that are normally in tension. But here, since the tension is reduced, this should make the arm bones *shorter.* So here, kids, is roughly what these superbeings, these gods among men, would look like:

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Urrrrmmm…

To me, these look like long-legged dwarfs (Midgets? Little people? Whatever the hell the PC term is these days). Note that with leg and torso stretched 20% and arms shortened 15%, you wind up with a whole race of people who can’t… hmmm. In an effort to avoid causing any possible offense to delicate reader sensibilities, what’s a good euphemism for “wipe their own asses?”

Additionally: notice that apart from the arms, I didn’t do differential scaling of the bits and pieces. Such as the heads. Would the skull get bigger? If so, why? The underside of the skull only needs to support the brain, and the sides and top obviously don’t need to support even that much. So the skull is not exactly getting crushed out of shape by gravity. And lets face it… the guys nads aren’t getting stretched (well, not by gravity at any rate). And there’s no real gravity stress on the hands, and while the foot clearly is under a great deal of weight, the length of the foot would not seem to be gravity-driven. So, the final sketch shows 20% stretched legs and torsos, 15% reduced-length arms, normal heads (which now look tiny), necks, hands (which now look huge), feet and nads (which now look… well…).

Ick.

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And this is why “low gravity makes you tall” is a feature of science fiction literature, but not so much science fiction TV or movies, or even art. Because if low gravity causes your bones to grow differently, you’re gonna wind up goofy lookin’.

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 Posted by at 1:51 pm

  7 Responses to ““Low Gravity Makes You Tall””

  1. I love John Varley work (specific Eight Worlds )
    more here http://www.varley.net/

    back to “low gravity makes you tall”
    there one aspect the Autors forget: Body mass
    if persion is 20% bigger (in all 3 dimensions) has 56% higher bodymass !
    so bones have to carry that extra mass, also would it compressed the bones…

  2. Think nice firm but wrinkled 75-year old lady boobs. OMG

  3. People are already getting larger. I remember a study based on data collected 100 years ago by the Austro-Hungarian military doctors from draftees with data taken from Austrian military doctors from today (again with the help of draftees.) The average height in Europe has increased significantly. I think the Dutch have the largest percentage of people above 190cm atm, and growing.

    Even in Japan this trend can be seen.

  4. Don’t forget Arthur C. Clarke’s short story “Cosmic Casanova” …

  5. I don’t think the arms or legs would get shorter, just thinner and with less muscle mass.
    Remember in “Close Encounters” that weird stick-insect like alien that shows up at the end? That’s probably something that was evolved for life in complete zero-G; lot’s of reaching ability, but almost no physical strength.
    I always like Frank R. Paul’s aliens for all the solar system’s planets, especially the tall and skinny Martian with its huge lungs:
    http://66.196.80.202/babelfish/translate_url_content?.intl=us&lp=it_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.fabiofeminofantascience.org%2fmarte%2fmartians1.html

  6. Just make the boobs bigger already and call it a day.

  7. One detail all these “low G people” theories miss, low G trashes you cardio vascular system. Just not having to pump blood up to your head and down siting is a pretty good bit. A quip I remember hearing was that siting all day watching TV, is more exercise then being in zero G even if you do a couple hours of cardio a day in space. Mars or moon is proportionatly less.

    So its not that your arms get shorter, your life gets shorter.

    😉

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