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Blowing bubbles might typically be the mindless pastime of young children but for one astronaut it has become a scientific experiment.
Don Pettit, of NASA, has been passing time on the International Space Station by injecting bubbles into bubbles.
This video shows the fruits of his labours, while he talks through his mini experiment, telling the camera: ‘I’m just playing right now… I wanna make one big bubble.’
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Gently does it! Astronaut Don Pettit has filmed experiments on the International Space Station including his method of injecting bubbles into bubbles
Forever blowing bubbles! Don Pettit carried out his mini experiment on the International Space Station
A new perspective: The astronaut's experiment is a bit more scientific than blowing bubbles in the traditional sense
With no gravity to pull down on the liquid and burst his bubbles, the rim between one bubble and a second injected within it can become very thick and last for a long time.
Intriguing: NASA astronaut Don Pettit has done several experiments with bubbles in space which he posts on YouTube
Petit described it as: ‘A thick spherical shell of water’ in the video which has appeared on Digg.com.
‘Now,’ he says, ‘let me show you something wild’. Pettit injects a third bubble into the centre which bounces around within the rim.
He excitedly says: ‘Oh look at that… a droplet with bubbles inside of a bubble in the water… Oh wow!’
The small droplet rotates around the shell, with lots of tiny bubbles emerging in the centre. ‘That’s where I would go if I was a bubble,’ Pettit says.
He injects some water into the space between the outer bubble and the one inside it, causing the smaller one to rotate.
Using lasers he shows the movement of the bubble with the coloured light reflecting off the different layers of bubble.
‘Now I have to figure out what it all means,’ he says.
Pettit is currently on the International Space Station as a member of the Expedition 30 crew, where he will remain until May.
He spent more than five and half months on board the station during Expedition 6 in 2002 and 2003, returning to space during STS-126 in 2008. While there he gathered quite a fan base with video demonstrations such as the Zero G Coffee Cup.
Off the back of his viral success, NASA and the American Physical Society have launched a partnership to share videos from the orbiting outpost with students, educators and science fans around the world.
Astronauts like Pettit use everyday objects from Earth to demonstrate physics through 'Science off the Sphere' presentations, posing questions for viewers at the end of the clips.
At the end of the bubbles video, Pettit asks: 'When the water sphere rotates why do the bubbles centre themselves?'
It really is a lesson from outer space!
Precision: Using a needle Pettit carefully injects water into the rim so that the inside bubble spins round
No gravity: The lack of gravity means that the rim is thick and lasts for a long time
Bright lights: The astronaut shows the movement of the small interior bubbles using lasers
Glittering: Lots of tiny bubbles within the larger shell bounce around and reflect the light
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Sorry forget my previous post if the bubble is solid (i.e. balls of water) :-) Again I looked at the video but it doesn't look like bubbles as such, in fact they look like balls of water.............. If so, the second bubble/water (and all others) changed when (or before) he injects or pours inside another. Thanks to gravity the balls of water (the chemical compound) changed as it enters another ball of water (bubble). Yeah right! :-)))
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The question at the end of the video asked, 'when the water sphere rotates why do the bubbles center themselves?' Answer: Thanks to air between the bubbles. Because of speed (rotation) air moves or distributes itself equally between the spheres or bubbles. (((Wondering, is my logic too simple??)))
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Considering we will never get further than the moon. given man's anatomy. It goes to prove one thing, the scientific communities desire to keep itself in Jobs...what a complete waste of money. Meanwhile...children still starve to death on earth. - Dave, GBR ( Great Britain Ruined ), 23/4/2012 09:49 If there is no food, then maybe the parents shouldnt be having children?
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Considering we will never get further than the moon. given man's anatomy. It goes to prove one thing, the scientific communities desire to keep itself in Jobs...what a complete waste of money. Meanwhile...children still starve to death on earth.
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A housing bubble inside a lending bubble insie a bank speculation bubble, all about to burst - this guy's made a model of the UK economy in outer space.
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'Star in the sky' and 'someone, New York, - your ignorance is phenomenal. These are physics experiments which can only be done in zero gravity and add to our knowledge - you know, that 'thing' that allows development and in fact enabled you to have a computer and write daft comments
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INCEPTION!!!!
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He should try to get an iPhone protective cover on if it's bubbles he wants!!
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Wonder how much that little trick cost us?
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Sounds like the kind of - ahem - spaced out conversations we used to have in the evenings in my university years... I bet they have some other kind of "experiment" going on with plants in the next pod ;-)
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