Evening star., 1953-04-01
Spocemen Moy Become
WeightIess' in Flight
Sensation Will Be Like
Falling Into BottomIess Pit
By Thomos R. Henry

A nightmare sensation of falling into
bottomleSS pit viii be the experience
Of the first human to become "weight-
less" for any appreciable time.
It will be mo thrill for timid souls"
but probably extremely terrifying.
Up to now, the condition has been
hardly long enough for man to real.
ize what has happened. In q few
years it may be rather common ex-
perience, II the human nervous system
can adjust to 1t.
This Is the conclusion Of DR.. Heinz
Haber, professor Of space medicine at
the Air Force University at Randolph
Field, Tex.
Mans reaction to absence Of gravity.
Prof. Haber says. is no longer an aca-
demic question of theoretical space
fight" possible In the future, but Of
practical aviation during the next few
years.
Effects Of Gravity Loss.
Gravity as q physical factor Of en-.
vironment has the outstanding prop
erty Of being omnipreSent and ever
lasting" he says. Life has developed
under its incessant presence. No one
has been away from its influence for
more than q few seconds. But q de-
tailed analysis Of the bodily functions
of relation to gravity makes 1t possible
to hazard an intelligible guess.
with the loss of his weight man
gets the impression that every kind Of
support gives way under him. He will,
upon sudden deprivation Of support,
grasp for hold in violent reaction.
Any effort to gain support. however.
will fail in contrast to comparable
common experience. The sensation OF
falling into bottomless pit will go on,
no matter how fast one holds. One
may count on gradual adaptation to
the feeling associated with this per-
petual fall after the first shock has
worn off,"
Social Spiders in Mexico.
Social spiders live along Mexican
roads.
Finding of colonies of these creatures
has just been reported by DR.. Willis 8.
GertSch of the American Museum Of
Natural History. Generally, the spider
has been considered about the most
unsocial of animals, operating almost
entirely as lone wolf" and often as
a cannibal of his own race.
The exceptions, DR.. Gertsch reports.
are of genus known as Metapiera.
They string their lines together to
form one huge web in which flies and
other prey are captured for food. Adults
and young were found living co-opera-
lively in the same communities.
DR.. GertSch, accompanied by DR..
Mont A. Cazier, travelled 1900 miles
through the Southwestern United States
and the Mexican states Of Tamaulipas.
San Luis Potosi. Coahuila, Sonora and
Lower California. They collected more
than SO, 900 specimens Of insects.
OF particular interest is the collection
Of tiger beetles. These are among DR..
Cazier's specialties. ~
The tiger beetles are Of particular in
terest because, occurring in every
known region Of the world. they UNDER
go remarkable physical changes in
adapting themselves to different en-
vironments. The same species may differ
radically in color, markings and size.
the colors ranging from jet black to
metallic reds and greens. -...
ye The tiger beetle Is found all the way
from Fairbanks, Alaska, to the southern
tip Of South America. Out Of 1000
known species 95 have been recognized
in the United States and Canada.