# @stem_antics on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DQt35lIEbnw
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/76866161-stem-antics-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/3ba587abad.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-11-06T13:32:41.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Stem Antics (@stem_antics) — https://gondola.cc/stem_antics

## Caption

☕🚀 “Drinking in microgravity? Let’s talk capillary geometry.”
In the microgravity environment aboard the International Space Station (ISS), conventional contact-with-liquid dynamics break down: without gravity to pull the fluid into the lip of a cup, liquids behave as floating blobs, prone to detachment and uncontrolled drift. 

To solve this, astronaut Pettit employed the principle of capillary channel flow: a precisely folded sheet forming a teardrop-shaped cavity with a narrow channel along one edge. Surface-tension forces draw the liquid from the base toward the rim when you bring the lip of the cup to your mouth. 

Key technical features:
	•	The fold angle and contact-wetting geometry are selected to support spontaneous liquid transport in microgravity (i.e., without gravitational sag). 
	•	Materials were initially simple (Mylar sheet, Kapton tape) for prototyping aboard the ISS. 
	•	Subsequent versions used 3-D printed food-grade plastic and ceramic materials, enabling durability, reusability, and deployment of the patented design (first patent for an object invented in orbit) aboard the ISS. 

Why this matters:
	•	It restores a familiar “open-cup” drinking experience in microgravity (rather than the prevailing use of sealed pouches + straws) — aroma, sip dynamics, tactile feel are improved. 
	•	More broadly, the work demonstrates how fluid management in space shifts from gravity-dominated to surface-tension dominated regimes, which has implications beyond drinkware (fuel lines, life-support, fluid payloads).
	•	From a STEM/influencer angle: this is a neat example of how low-gravity environments force rethinking of everyday objects; simple design + fundamental physics = innovative solution.

“Ever wondered how you’d sip a latte in orbit? Tell us what object you’d redesign for space — comment below!”

⸻

#SpaceEngineering #Microgravity #FluidDynamics #CapillaryFlow #AstronautInvention #ISCespresso #STEMdesign #SpaceLife #InnovationInOrbit

## Stats

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- **Likes:** 97
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## Credits

No public credits are recorded here. This does not identify who made the post.

## Tags

stemdesign, innovationinorbit, iscespresso, spacelife, fluiddynamics, capillaryflow, astronautinvention, microgravity, spaceengineering

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