In space, gravitational forces are very different. There’s not an absence of gravity, but instead, there’s something called microgravity. In microgravity, forces help attract objects to one another, which is why in the case of water, water molecules all attract to one another to form a water sphere.
In a new video shared by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly aboard the International Space Station on his 300th day in space, Kelly demonstrates a small game of Ping Pong with a water ball and two hydrophobic polycarbonate paddles.
The video was shared across social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, first by Scott Kelly, and then by the many viewers who were in awe by the footage.
Try this, Mary Poppins! Super-hydrophobic polycarbonate ping pong paddles and a water ball in space! #YearInSpace https://t.co/BB0Z35jbVa
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) January 21, 2016
Karl Cardin, a Portland State University engineering student who designed the paddles, was ultra excited when he found Scott Kelly had launched a video online that quickly went viral.
"It's one of those things that you don't really believe it until you see it,” Cardin said. "It was really exciting."
The video, which can be watched below, was captured with one of the International Space Station’s ultra-HD 4K video cameras, which means you can turn up your YouTube settings to the highest detail possible and watch the water ball bounce back and forth from paddle to paddle.
The paddles, which are called hydrophobic paddles, repel water, which means the water doesn’t stick to the paddle’s surface, and it’s able to bounce from surface to surface.
Source: Scott Kelly