RadioBanter - NASA Soldering Surprise

"Thought CrÎmÎnal" wrote:

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2...aug_solder.htm

watch the smaller animated gif on the right

"The scene: Astronaut Mike Fincke
touches the tip of a soldering iron to
a wire wrapped with rosin-core
solder. The solder, heated, became
a molten blob with a droplet of rosin
clinging tight to the outside. Solder
melts: that's not too surprising. It's the
behavior of the rosin that amazed. As
the temperature increased, the droplet
began to spin, round and round, faster
and faster, like a miniature carnival
ride." -- quoted from page above.

Based on that picture alone, there is there is nothing at all mysterious
about the spin of the rosin - just as there is nothing surprising about
liquified rosin forming a droplet in a reduced-gravity environment. Notice
that the soldering iron and wire are clearly moving back and forth, causing
the rosin to spin - just as a child wiggling back and forth causes a
hula-hoop to spin. Note the wire not moving next to it. Since such a small
amount of rosin could not possibly move a soldering iron held by a full size
man, Fincke is obviously not holding the soldering iron still. If he did,
the spinning would likely stop.

Stewart