The open glass of water visible in a video taken aboard the Chinese space station Tiangong has literally driven conspiracy theorists crazy. According to them, this proves that the video was actually filmed on Earth, not in space. But is there any truth in such statements?
The published video was made in 2021. It is an open lesson conducted by the crew of the Shenzhou-13 mission before returning to Earth. Among other things, the taikonauts demonstrated an open glass of water. To demonstrate the difference between the behavior of various objects on Earth and in zero gravity, they placed a ping-pong ball inside it, which remained inside and “stuck” to the wall. For comparison, on Earth, the ball immediately rose to the surface because it has positive buoyancy.
However, this is far from the truth. “Water molecules like to stick to glass and other water molecules more than they like to disperse into the air,” commented Jordan Bimm, a researcher and space historian at the University of Chicago, on the video. “Therefore, if there is no external force, water remains in the form of “clumps” in a weightless environment, and in this case — inside a glass.” The scientist also said that surface tension (a property of a liquid’s surface that helps determine its shape and lets it resist outside forces) helped keep the shape static and made it look like water would on Earth.
It is worth noting that there is another video posted in June 2022 on the Chinese social network Weibo. It demonstrates the process of preparing for a live broadcast of a lesson. We can see how the crew of Shenzhou-13 carefully fills a glass with water through a straw so that it stays in place. The video also clearly shows the strips that attach the glass to the table.
In addition, there are many videos on the internet made by astronauts aboard the ISS showing how liquids behave in space, including how they make coffee or what happens when they wring out a wet towel.
Moreover, in the same video that conspiracy theorists focused on, there is another visual experiment with water. The crew of the Chinese station first forms the water ball, then creates an air bubble inside it, adds dye, and places an effervescent tablet inside. However, it seems that none of the conspiracy theorists watched the video to the end.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that this entire situation serves as a reminder of how easily misinformation spreads on social media, the importance of basic scientific knowledge, and the fact that there is no need to rely excessively on chatbots and AI.
According to APnews
