Why foams last much longer in the weightless environment of space
In short: In this clip, André Kuipers demonstrates how the absence of gravity prevents the usual collapse of foam, making air and liquid phases indistinguishable.
As part of the PromISSe mission's Spaceship Earth programme, André Kuipers performed experiments to observe how gravity influences everyday phenomena. In microgravity, foams exhibit much greater stability than on Earth because the bubbles are not subjected to the gravitational forces that typically lead to draining, coarsening, and eventual collapse.
By observing these processes in space, scientists can better understand the physical properties of wet foams, which is essential for developing cutting-edge materials.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: André Kuipers shows that foams are affected by gravity
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