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Credit & Copyright: NASA
Explanation:
What does fire look like in space?
In the
gravity on Earth,
heated air rises and expands, causing flames to be
teardrop shaped.
In the
microgravity
of the
air-filled
International Space Station
(ISS), however,
flames are spheres.
Fire is the rapid acquisition of oxygen, and
space flames meet new
oxygen
molecules when they float by randomly from all directions --
creating the enveloping sphere.
In the
featured
image taken in the
ISS's Combustion Integration Rack, a
spherical
flame envelopes clusters of hot glowing
soot.
Without oxygen, say in the
vacuum of empty space,
a fire
would go out immediately.
The many chemical reactions involved with
fire are complex, and
testing them in microgravity is
helping
humanity not only to better understand fire -- but how to
put out fire, too.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Fire
Publications with words: Fire
See also: