An astronaut inside a small space ship orbiting around the Earth cannot detect gravity. If the space

Question

An astronaut inside a small space ship orbiting around the Earth cannot detect gravity. If the space station orbiting around the Earth is extremely large in size, can he hope to detect gravity?

Professor PC Thomas Classes · Answer

In a very small spaceship, the value of $g$ is practically constant throughout its volume, leading to perfect weightlessness. In a sufficiently large space station, the acceleration due to gravity varies slightly across its length (microgravity), producing detectable tidal forces.