Gravity on an Orbital Ring

Added 9-15-19: Thank you all for your comments. I will be reading them through carefully. I have quickly skimmed through the answers and I do appreciate your corrections on terminology and ideas, and my equation.

After I've had a chance to think through all the comments and answers, I will revise my questions and post more to see if what I put together holds up to your knowledge.

Angela

In my story, I have an orbital ring around Earth at geosynchronous orbit, supported by and/or connected to a series of space elevators. I have already taken care of materials, purpose, and other issues.

My question is whether the ring is in free-fall orbit, so that the conditions there are zero-G, or whether because the ring is 'attached' to Earth, there will be a gravitational pull towards Earth. If there is a gravitational pull, how strong is it? Would you use the normal gravitational equation F=GMm/r²? And if so, the mass of such a massive structure will make this an interesting calculation.

Would this also depend on how the ring is linked to the elevators?

Thank you.

posted over 4 years ago

Angela‭

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