Zero-gravity finger pulling is discouraged

July 15, 2005 3:41 PM

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to pop a water balloon in space? (Check out this page for more videos)
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies (22 comments total)

That looks like so much fun...
posted by Sangermaine at 3:53 PM on July 15, 2005

cool! always a fan of zero-g experiments. thanks!
posted by Busithoth at 4:14 PM on July 15, 2005

I didn't before and don't have to now but I do wonder how you get a cool job doing those experiments?
posted by fenriq at 4:20 PM on July 15, 2005

As John Davidson would say,

That's Incredible!
posted by zerokey at 4:22 PM on July 15, 2005

EVERY time I'm in space, I wonder about popping water baloons, and know I know. 8=)
posted by Balisong at 4:23 PM on July 15, 2005

Reminds me of that water probe from The Abyss.
posted by rolypolyman at 4:30 PM on July 15, 2005

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!
posted by clevershark at 4:34 PM on July 15, 2005

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.
posted by interrobang at 4:36 PM on July 15, 2005

flames in space

Great link poster, thanks :)
posted by freudianslipper at 4:43 PM on July 15, 2005

Those flames in space are totally bitchin'!
posted by fenriq at 4:45 PM on July 15, 2005

Thanks, freudianslipper, I was looking for all the wrong things on google and gave up.
posted by interrobang at 4:45 PM on July 15, 2005

So wait, why does it fall at the end? Is space really not as free floating as I was lead to believe?
posted by geoff. at 4:47 PM on July 15, 2005

They're in the "vomit comet", geoff. They aren't in outer space.
posted by interrobang at 4:50 PM on July 15, 2005

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.
posted by Mitheral at 5:17 PM on July 15, 2005

I like the last one. They just sorta forgot it'd stop being weightless eventually.
posted by danb at 5:30 PM on July 15, 2005

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.
posted by nickyskye at 6:18 PM on July 15, 2005

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.
posted by daHIFI at 7:18 PM on July 15, 2005

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?
posted by wah at 7:28 PM on July 15, 2005

...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.
posted by Ron at 7:34 PM on July 15, 2005

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."
posted by trip and a half at 11:23 PM on July 15, 2005

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!
posted by springload at 5:03 AM on July 16, 2005

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.
posted by Iax at 7:37 PM on July 16, 2005