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almostvoid
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The best story from space I remember is how NASA spent a huge pile of money trying to get a pen to work in so little to no gravity in space. They worked and worked away and the Soviets found the solution: using a pencil.
almostvoid said:The best story from space I remember is how NASA spent a huge pile of money trying to get a pen to work in so little to no gravity in space. They worked and worked away and the Soviets found the solution: using a pencil.
mfb said:It is also made up.
It's a very common myth, I hear it all the time in real life.Vanadium 50 said:No need to let that stand in the way of a good story,
Dr Transport said:try writing upside down, pens only work so long then they stop. gravity is necessary to keep ink in position so that capillary action can happen.
In space, there is little to no gravity, which means that objects do not have weight or experience the force of gravity. This can make it challenging to use a pen as there is no force pushing the ink out of the pen's tip.
Yes, a regular pen can be used in space, but it may not function as well as it does on Earth. The lack of gravity can make it difficult for the ink to flow out of the pen, and the pen may need to be held at a specific angle for it to work.
Astronauts often use special space pens that are designed to work in microgravity. These pens use pressurized ink cartridges and a special mechanism to push the ink out of the pen's tip without the need for gravity.
Pencils are not commonly used in space as they can create a mess due to the small particles of graphite that can float around in microgravity. Additionally, the sharp tips of pencils can break off and cause damage to the spacecraft or get in the astronaut's eyes.
Astronauts often use clips or Velcro to secure their pens to their suits or other surfaces in the spacecraft. This helps to prevent the pen from floating away and getting lost in the microgravity environment of space.