Zero graveness is all fine and well — but not being capable to snaffle a cup of joe in the good morning would be a huge dealbreaker for many prospective astronauts . Thankfully , NASA has a solution to the problem .
Traditional cups are useless in microgravity surround . Liquidsdon’t drip or flow in blank , soit just sits there in a kind of jellied state . Sure , you could try tipping the cup towards your expression , but nothing would number out . Or , if you shook the cup and tried to use inertia to get it out , the liquidness would likely spew out in irregular means — a serious problem consider as , in the font of coffee , we ’re talking about something that ’s scald hot .
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And it ’s not just coffee that behave in this mode , of course . Other liquidity , like cryogenic fuel , caloric coolants , potable water and urine do it , too . So get liquid state to work in elbow room we involve it to is important .
Physics prof Mark Weislogel of Portland State University has thought a lot about these problems . To that conclusion , he ’s developed a microgravity condense heat money changer and a gadget that separates and controls multiphase fluids . And along with astronaut Don Pettit , he ’s also originate a zero - gramme coffee cup .
To make it work , the cupful feature a crisp interior corner . In zero - g , capillary forces send fluid flowing along the channel directly into the mouth of the drinker . As the astronaut sips , more fluid keeps come out .
“ This may well be what future outer space colonists use when they need to have a festivity , ” observe Pettit .
Or more potential , to get that much needed buzz in the morn . Phew , blank just became a real possibleness once again .
[ NASA ]
microgravitySpace
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