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Exploding Water Balloons In Zero G

Posted by Zonk on from the your-tax-dollars-at-work dept.

ArchAngel21x writes "Experimenters burst water balloons in the low-gravity environment produced aboard a NASA DC 9 aircraft. There are 3 videos available in QuickTime or MPEG." From the site: "The tests were conducted in part to develop the ability to rapidly deploy large liquid drops by rupturing an enclosing membrane. As can be seen from the experiment footage, the initial rupture process is nearly ideal, but the finite size of the balloon material eventually ejects a spray from the drop surface. Then, when the balloon material leaves the drop entirely, it causes a large deformation of the drop (blob) which oscillates throughout the remainder of the test. Calculations suggest that such oscillations will continue for hours before the drop eventually becomes spherical."

14 of 142 comments (clear)

  1. This is quite old by OverlordQ · · Score: 3, Funny

    and i'm 98.7% sure it's been posted here on /. somewhere before

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  2. Don't miss these high-speed videos by putko · · Score: 2, Funny

    http://exploration.grc.nasa.gov/balloon/HS.HTM

    Has anyone done porn in zero-G? I'm thinking bukkake could be big in zero G or super-high speed format.

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    1. Re:Don't miss these high-speed videos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Anyone got a torrent?

  3. Damn it. by mikeophile · · Score: 5, Funny

    I want a bong and a budget too.

  4. You may laugh now but by The+13th+Duke · · Score: 5, Funny

    Soon our daily lives will be improved by new, exciting products based on Zero G Water Balloon Bursting technology.

    1. Re:You may laugh now but by goneutt · · Score: 2, Funny

      I can envision it now.... some smart aleck is gonna slap "NASA TECHNOLOGY" on a $.99 store pack of water balloons and charge $5.99, and sell a few hundred thousand...... hold that thought.

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  5. Important Discovery by mrRay720 · · Score: 5, Funny

    The tests were conducted in part to develop the ability to rapidly deploy large liquid drops by rupturing an enclosing membrane.

    All I can say is THANK GOD someone has finally researched this. I've lost count of the number of times I've wanted to rapidly deploy large liquid drops is a low/no-G environment.

    Now can they please start with th research of the effects of pepper spray on penguins. That's the real science goldmine.

    1. Re:Important Discovery by ozmanjusri · · Score: 5, Funny

      Now can they please start with th research of the effects of pepper spray on penguins. That's the real science goldmine.

      Pepper spray? I've been using pepper sauce. No wonder they still taste fishy.

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  6. Re:Zero G[ravity]? by arose · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or maybe I just should get some coffee before posting, mod parent down before somone can see it please.

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    Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
  7. the abyss by pintomp3 · · Score: 5, Funny

    was i the only one reminded of the movie "the abysss" while watching the clips?

  8. Re:Old News!! by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 4, Funny

    News for Nerds, stuff that mattered 3 years ago.

  9. I still wanna see... by speights_pride! · · Score: 5, Funny

    ..what happens when potato chips are released in Zero G. Then I'll be able to make up my mind as to whether the Simpsons is real or pure fiction.

  10. fish-dream by antiaktiv · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've been thinking a lot about this stuff in my brief life.
    I once had a dream where i was a fish in a "blob" of water floating around in microgravity. I kept seeing how close i could get to the edge, until i finally got too close and was sent out of the bubble and lost control completely. At that point i woke up.

    Anyway, I would love to see that done in the same manner as these experiments.

  11. Patent it! by fbg111 · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... the ability to rapidly deploy large liquid drops by rupturing an enclosing membrane.

    Quick, somebody patent that! They were even nice enough to work out the lawlerly language for us!

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