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This is the final scene of the first episode of Cowboy Bebop. Right before
this gif starts, Spike was gazing into space from the window.

![](https://i.stack.imgur.com/v43Mh.gif)

The following events depicted in this gif are contradicting:

  * _First, Jet rather slowly floats down from the ladder to stand on the floor steadily_. It's because they are in space that he was floating, but his approaching footsteps can be heard, which means he's wearing some magnetic boots which let him stick to the floor.
  * _Jet is holding a cigarette, from which the smoke goes off vertically upwards, away from the floor_ (like it would on Earth).
  * _Jet has a pair of sunglasses hanging downwards from his apron_. So there's either artificial gravity on the ship, or the glasses are being held really tight in this position.
  * _Jet then throws the cigarette to Spike, and it floats in the air like it would in space, smoke still going towards the ceiling_. Maybe the ventilation is designed so that the air flows from the floor towards ceiling.
  * _Spike then catches the cigarette and its smoke continues going upwards, whilst the smoke cloud that Spike exhales just floats onwards without changing its general direction_ This means it's not the ventilation that makes smoke go where it goes.

This is really confusing. I get that such stuff can be easily overlooked in
anime, but the cigarette was clearly floating just now, flying in a straight
line, so I'm not buying all of it. What is known about the gravity on Bebop?


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2013-10-26T02:05:56.573
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2016-06-14T14:40:44.563
2014-08-06T16:48:45.350
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question
cowboy-bebop
What's up with the gravity on board of Bebop?


The Bebop uses centrifugal force to generate "gravity". It has a rotating
cylinder which is where the crew spend much of their time when in space. It is
shown from both inside the ship and outside the ship, and in a few episodes,
it is shown that when the cylinder stops spinning, the people inside that
portion of the ship suddenly start to float.

Presumably, there would be no apparent gravity in the portions of the ship
which do not rotate when the ship is not thrusting. When the ship is thrusting
(accelerating), then the entire ship would experience a force similar to
gravity along the axis of thrust.


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2013-10-28T03:15:14.670
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answer


The gravity on the ship is somewhat inconsistent. However, it is useful to
keep in mind that there are actually two systems used on the Bebop for
attachment to hard surfaces; gravity and magnets (Such as seen in "Honky-Tonk
Woman").

The Bebop, at least in theory, generates apparent gravity by rotating, at
least part of the ship (see "Toys in the Attic"). How this fits in with the
stationary appearance of the Bebop in orbit, I couldn't really say.

Gravity on the command deck, as you alluded to, is somewhat inconsistent in
the show. In the opening episodes, only Spike and Jet appear to have gravity.
As the show went on however, more objects on the bridge appear to experience
gravity - shogi pieces, and Ein being prime examples. However, looking at the
Bebop, the command deck is actually in the _opposite_ orientation to be
experiencing apparent gravity due to centripetal force - if this was the cause
of the gravity in it, Spike/Jet would be walking upside down, and there would
have to be two control consoles; one on the ceiling and one on the floor, for
when landing on a planet.

Here's my rather generous theory: The Bebop has artificial gravity in the
living quarters of the ship, which it accomplishes by rotating its interior
fore-deck independently of the rest of the ship, explaining the lack of
apparent rotation of the Bebop itself. In the rear of the rear of the ship
however, "gravity" is generated by magnetism. This explains how Jet's tendency
to fix the ships in 0-g conditions in the hanger deck (if not Faye's ability
to jump and land on her ship, and Ein); it also means that during "Toys in the
Attic", Spike was disabling a magnetic system of artificial gravity in the
rear, as well as the rotation of the front living quarters, to float the
fridge out of the airlock.

Fun Fact: Based on this, the nuclear reactor powering the Bebop is either in
the (rotating) foredeck; or Jet does 0-G Bonzai. Personally, I'm hoping for
the latter.

_This has clearly bugged me more than I thought. :P_


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2015-03-05T16:52:05.313
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answer


The gravity is generated by a centrifugal force. The floor pulls objects to
its surface. The smoke from the cigarette is drawn to the center of the
centrifuge.

But when the cigarette is thrown, it becomes free of the simulated gravity,
and begins to act as if it was in micro gravity. This is also why when he
jumps to the floor from the ladder, he appears to be in micro gravity. Until
he makes contact with the floor and thus the centrifuge, he is in a micro
gravity environment.

The smoke rising from his cigarette is an indication of him spinning.


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