Installed on Friday in the International Space Station and sending down
images by Monday. This picture shows one of the first images of foam formed
inside the Fluid Science Laboratory in Europe’s space laboratory Columbus.
The
Foam-Coarsening experiment, developed by Airbus for ESA, is set to be activated
this month but this image shows that the liquids held in cells are already
bubbling as planned.
The image will
not be used by the scientists yet but is taken to allow the experiment
operators at the Belgian User Operations Centre in Brussels, Belgium, to keep
track of the experiment and set it up.
The foams come
in self-contained cells and hold liquids that are shaken by pistons and
analysed with laser optics and high-resolution cameras for the scientists on
Earth. Researchers are keen to observe how foams behave in microgravity.
On Earth, the
mixture of gas and liquid that makes up a foam quickly starts to change.
Gravity pulls the liquid between the bubbles downwards, and small bubbles
shrink while the larger ones tend to grow at the expense of others. As the
liquid is drawn downwards due to gravity the bubbles lose their strength and
rupture, collapsing back to a liquid state.
This is annoying
for researchers as it limits the time they can study foams and interferes with
their experiments. But in space foams are more stable as the liquid does not
drain to the bottom in weightlessness.
ESA astronaut
Frank De Winne performed the Foam-Stability experiment in 2009 by shaking
liquid solutions and recording what happened next. The samples ranged from pure
water to protein-based fluids, like the ones used for chocolate foams, and
antifoaming agents.
After just ten
seconds, the fluids stabilised more quickly and produced more foam than on
Earth. Scientists discovered that it was possible to create super-stable foams
in zero gravity.
Building on this
extensive foam research, Foam-Coarsening will investigate foam behaviour at
different liquid stages, particularly as it transitions from a solid- to
liquid-like state.
The results from
this research will not just apply to the foam in your morning cappuccino. Foams
are used in a wide range of areas from food production to cleaning and sealing
products, cosmetics and personal hygiene products, and even construction.
NASA astronaut
Jessica Meir installed the experiment in the Fluid Science Laboratory on 6
March after removing the Multiscale boiling experiment known as Rubi. The
experiment is controlled and data collected by the Belgian User Operations
Centre who processed this image on 9 March.
Image & info via ESA
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