Comments on: Zero-gravity finger pulling is discouraged

Zero-gravity finger pulling is discouraged

DeepFriedTwinkies — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 15:41:06 -0800

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to pop a water balloon in space? (Check out this page for more videos)

By: Sangermaine

Sangermaine — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 15:53:35 -0800

That looks like so much fun...

By: Busithoth

Busithoth — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:14:03 -0800

cool! always a fan of zero-g experiments. thanks!

By: fenriq

fenriq — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:20:49 -0800

I didn't before and don't have to now but I do wonder how you get a cool job doing those experiments?

By: zerokey

zerokey — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:22:26 -0800

As John Davidson would say, That's Incredible!

By: Balisong

Balisong — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:23:44 -0800

EVERY time I'm in space, I wonder about popping water baloons, and know I know. 8=)

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:28:54 -0800

I wonder more about what a burning candle would look like.

By: rolypolyman

rolypolyman — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:30:23 -0800

Reminds me of that water probe from The Abyss.

By: clevershark

clevershark — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:34:34 -0800

It's interesting to see how much more of a role surface tension plays when gravity is removed -- after the initial "splash" most of the the water immediately begins returning to a single spheroid shape. Very cool link!

By: interrobang

interrobang — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:36:26 -0800

Awesome, thanks! odinsdream, flames burn as spheres in zero gravity. I have a picture of it in a book, but I don't know if it's online anywhere.

By: freudianslipper

freudianslipper — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:43:59 -0800

flames in space Great link poster, thanks :)

By: fenriq

fenriq — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:45:24 -0800

Those flames in space are totally bitchin'!

By: interrobang

interrobang — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:45:26 -0800

Thanks, freudianslipper, I was looking for all the wrong things on google and gave up.

By: geoff.

geoff. — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:47:01 -0800

So wait, why does it fall at the end? Is space really not as free floating as I was lead to believe?

By: interrobang

interrobang — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 16:50:07 -0800

They're in the "vomit comet", geoff. They aren't in outer space.

By: Mitheral

Mitheral — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 17:17:27 -0800

Very cool. fenriq writes "I do wonder how you get a cool job doing those experiments?" Ya, I don't remember that option on career day.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 17:27:50 -0800

Awesome. Thank you freudianslipper.

By: danb

danb — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 17:30:44 -0800

I like the last one. They just sorta forgot it'd stop being weightless eventually.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 18:18:19 -0800

Way cool sites. What fun. Dang Twinkies you find neat stuff. Loved freudianslipper's (great name) flame in space link too. Here's a charming pic of a water droplet on a leaf in space, makes me think how hard it would be for water to get to the roots of plants without gravity.

By: daHIFI

daHIFI — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 19:18:40 -0800

and who says science isnt' fun. i like the second video where the dude jumps up trying to catch the water in the garbage bag. Seems like a new olympic sport: zero-gee water sphere bagging.

By: wah

wah — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 19:28:24 -0800

after the initial "splash" most of the the water immediately begins returning to a single spheroid shape. it is the fundamental shape of matter. Ever notice what the vast majority of matter in the universe is shaped like?

By: Ron

Ron — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 19:34:02 -0800

...I do wonder how you get a cool job doing those experiments? I spent two years of my graduate work doing experiments with two-phase flow (liquid/gas flow) in microgravity (like the vomit comet or a "drop tower"). It was really cool at first but got pretty monotonous during the second week.

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Fri, 15 Jul 2005 23:23:49 -0800

Reminds me of a cartoon I enjoyed. Two ancient Egyptians are gazing appraisingly at a giant pyramid. The guy in pharaoh garb is saying to the other guy, "What I really wanted was a giant ball of water, but our technology hasn't come that far."

By: springload

springload — Sat, 16 Jul 2005 05:03:18 -0800

wah: But for different reasons. Planets and stars are spherical due to gravitational force, while the lack of external gravity allows the surface tension of the drop to shape it. Very nice link!

By: Iax

Iax — Sat, 16 Jul 2005 19:37:28 -0800

A video in the same theme was posted to metafilter a while ago. Except instead of water in zero gee, it was an unhappy cat.