How a simple drop of water sits on a surface is a strangely complicated question. The answer depends on the droplet’s size, its chemistry, the roughness of the surface, and Keep reading
Tag: microgravity
Cleaning Up Combustion
In space, flames behave quite differently than we’re used to on Earth. Without gravity, flames are spherical; there are no hot gases rising to create a teardrop-shaped, flickering flame. In Keep reading
Testing Granular Gas Theory
When excited, a group of particles can behave much like a gas. These granular gases exhibit many similarities to molecular gases but contain one vital difference: without a constant input Keep reading
Boiling in Microgravity
In the playground of microgravity, every day processes can behave much differently. This photo comes from the RUBI experiment, the Reference mUltiscale Boiling Investigation, aboard the International Space Station. Freshly installed and Keep reading
Drinking Coffee in Space
You probably don’t give much thought to the forces involved in drinking here on Earth. That’s because gravity’s effects dominate over everything else. Our cups are designed to hold a Keep reading
Forming Asteroids
Amidst the swirling gas and dust surrounding young stars, asteroids and planets form. Just how these bodies come together – especially before they are massive enough to exert any significant Keep reading
Making Champagne for Space
Humanity’s ongoing quest to enjoy beloved beverages in space has a new entry: champagne. French champagne maker Mumm has announced a new line with specially designed bottles to dispense champagne Keep reading
Hair-Washing in Microgravity
I imagine that the most common questions astronauts get come in the form, “How do you do X in space?” In this video, astronaut Karen Nyberg demonstrates how she washes her Keep reading
Blowing Bubbles in Space
Blowing bubbles in your fruit juice is a bad idea when you’re in space, as astronaut Jack Fischer demonstrates. On Earth, gravity dominates water’s behavior, except when things are very Keep reading
Flames in Freefall
Gravity is such an omnipresent force in our lives that we frequently forget how strongly it affects our daily experiences and how differently nature behaves without it. A wonderful example Keep reading