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Gravity In general there is no gravity in
Aeron. Objects float freely through the air. However,
large-enough objects do create a limited gravitational attraction.
A 1G gravity field is generated by
every object vehicle-sized or larger. The gravity is only
experienced directly over the object (it does not extend either to the
sides or below). Gravity appears to be distinctly quantized.
The gravity field of a vehicle (one displacement ton or greater) extends
only about 10 meters straight up. The gravity field of a
relatively small island (less than 100 kilometers in diameter) only
extends about 100 meters above the "ground" while the gravity field of
larger islands extend a kilometer above the ground. The practical
upshot is that vessels can moor to the edges of an island, and can fly
over it if it stays above the limits of the field.
Aerodynes (fixed-wing aircraft,
gliders, and rotary-wing aircraft) are often used to transport people
and cargo from an island surface to waiting aerial vessels lingering
outside the limits of the gravity field.
Collisions between islands and other
islands and seas are not uncommon. If the two are on the same
plane it can be bad enough as hundreds of millions of tonnes of material
bump into one another. If the two meet on different planes and the
one above enters the gravity field of another it can be disastrous.
Sometimes one will just "brush" the field of another and the result will
be a rain of water or dirt onto the lower island. However, if a
large enough part of one island enters the field of another it will
begin "falling" toward the latter with catastrophic results for anyone
caught between. The largest of the islands probably formed through
such accretion.
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