Ever Wondered What Happens To Foam In Space? Here’s The Answer

The European Space Agency (ESA) regularly shares stunning images and informative videos of our universe, leaving space lovers mesmerised. The social media handle of the European Space Agency is a treasure trove for those who love to watch educational videos and fascinating images showcasing Earth and space. Now, in its recent Instagram post, ESA shared a video explaining how foams behave in space. Notably, foams are materials formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid. While on Earth, foam quickly starts to change, in space, foams are more stable, the space agency explained. 

“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,” the space agency explained in the caption of the post. 

“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 added. 

Take a look at the video below: 

According to the space agency, ESA astronaut Frank De Winne performed a 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.

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The European Space Agency shared the post just a day back. Since then, it has accumulated more than 232,000 views. 

Reacting to the post, one user wrote, “Very interesting research.” “That’s really interesting. Moreover from the affects of microgravity of foam, could you make a video explaining the effects of fire in microgravity?” asked another. “Wow! I’d like to see some beer at the space station. would be great,” jokingly said a third user.