Imagine a base on the moon with streets and sidewalks just like on earth. Would walking be harder or easier on the moon?

mk2norwich

Considerably harder, due to the lack of gravity. It would certainly make running for a bus more interesting, though! With the moon having only a sixth of Earth's gravity, you can imagine the problems.... Dec 07 02, 5:27 PM

sequoianoir

Depends on your interpretation of harder. It would not be harder in the sense of the amount of energy required to 'walk' due to the reduced gravity . It might be more difficult which I think was the point that mk2norwich was making. Dec 07 02, 6:37 PM

Gnomon

Gravity on the moon is about one sixth that of the Earth. So you could cover about six times the distance with a single stride as on Earth. Once you had got used to it, you would find it a lot easier walking on the moon. Dec 07 02, 11:18 PM

sequoianoir

I still think it is more 'difficult' to WALK on the moon. RUN yes. JOG yes. JUMP, HOP SKIP yes. WALK, NO! Walking is only achieved when a foot is always in contact with the ground. So your left foot must regain contact with the ground before you right foot loses contact, and vice-versa. This is the definition as used for walking races, otherwise it is classed as running. It is called 'lifting'. Judges constantly check that walkers are not lifting otherwise they are warned and/or disqualified since they have stopped 'walking' With reduced gravity you would have to be very careful to achieve this and potentially have to walk slower. Gnomon talks about taking strides 6 times longer than on Earth. This cannot be 'walking'. Your 'stride' or 'pace' is governed by the length of your legs not the amount of gravity! Dec 07 02, 11:47 PM

Bryce

Consider this...Harder, because the sidewalks would be more slippery. The friction between the shoes and the underlying surface is proportional to the person's weight, which on the moon - as pointed out previous - is only one sixth of the weight on earth. Dec 08 02, 3:36 AM