Video Review: 1.21 Legowatts
How do static electric forces behave in a weightless environment that does not involve the pull of gravity?
This is the question that NASA Astronaut Don Pettit tries to answer using a LEGO kit while aboard the International Space Station. The experiment is done by creatively using a LEGO structure with big rubber band, screen wire, aluminum foil and pulley to create a mini generator. Using the drill, Dr. Pettit produced a charge on the aluminum cylinder. He also used a plastic bag with flattened aluminum foil inside to store static electricity too.
When he rubbed a piece of foam against a bigger sheet of foam, it sticks to the aluminum cylinder and even orbits around it. However, when he rubbed the same piece of foam on skin, it repelled from the aluminum cylinder.
Definetly check out the challenge.
Photo credit: Photos.com
About DB Davis
D.B. Davis first ventured online in 1984 with his Apple IIe using a service named "The Source". With nearly 30 years of experience online, D.B. has seen it all, and is proud to share it with redOrbit's visitors. After graduating from Vanderbilt with his Bachelor's, D.B. obtained his Master's degree in Institutional Psychology from Oklahoma State University, and then graduated from the prestigious Culinary Institute at the University of South Carolina. While at OSU, D.B. and a classmate founded one of the first Internet marketing companies in the Southwest along with graduate students from the University of Texas at Austin. D.B. and his family reside in Columbia, South Carolina.