Spirit levels... in space

[Dibble]

Would a spirit level (bubble in fluid type, not some electronic thing) "work" in space (ie almost zero gravity), or do they require gravity to work?







I have no idea why I was thinking about this when I was out walking the dogs earlier.

[groucho]

Last time I levelled up my shelves on Jupiter they seemed to work.

[grumbledoak]

In almost zero gravity they would almost work.


Well away from the planet, not at all. Though I'm not sure what the bubble would do; probably float about seemingly randomly, depending more on how you move the 'container'.

Edited by grumbledoak on Sunday 29th March 18:53

[thinfourth2]

Well they would tell you exactly where up is however in space up is very much open to debate so the spirit level which works through consulting the spirits would have no idea

[Eric Mc]

groucho said:

Last time I levelled up my shelves on Jupiter they seemed to work.

What did you stand the shelves on?

It is gravity that makes the bubble shift - so on a Zero-G environment the bubble wouldn't move properly.
What would you want a spirit level in space for anyway? I wouldn't see a set of open book-shelves being useful on the Space Station.

[Silverbullet767]

Building an extension??

[Dibble]

Eric Mc said:

What would you want a spirit level in space for anyway?

It was just one of those random thoughts that I sometimes get when I'm winding down on a walk with the dogs.

I sort of thought a spirit level would need gravity to work, but wasn't sure.

I probably need a hobby or something.

[remedy]

Silverbullet767 said:

Building an extension??

I'd love to see the planning application

[Eric Mc]

Maybe you should read up on "Living in Space". There are quite a few books out there on the problems and idiosyncratic aspects of living in Zero-G.

One of the best is called "A House in Space" by Henry S F Cooper. It tells the story of the NASA Skylab missions carried out in 1973/74.

[TheEnd]

If you need to find up in space, look into a round mirror. left and right will be reversed/ swapped over, but up and down doesn't change

[Simpo Two]

You could always create some artifical gravity. If whilst in space you lived in a large centrifuge, then you could put up some shelves in that.

If you live in ordinary weightless space it doesn't matter. You don't need a spirit level because even if you put your shelves up wonky, nothing will roll off... so your problem is self-solving

[stuthemong]

in zero gravity the bubble would probably move away from the walls of the enclosure to form a perfect sphere in teh middle of the fliud. Touching any edges increases the interficial area, which is energetically unfavourable.

[groucho]

Eric Mc said:

groucho said:

Last time I levelled up my shelves on Jupiter they seemed to work.

What did you stand the shelves on?

Some rough wall left by a bricklayer before.

[Eric Mc]

Simpo Two said:

You could always create some artifical gravity. If whilst in space you lived in a large centrifuge, then you could put up some shelves in that.

If you live in ordinary weightless space it doesn't matter. You don't need a spirit level because even if you put your shelves up wonky, nothing will roll off... so your problem is self-solving

Depending on how big the habitation module is, you could end up with curved shelves - which would be interesting.

[FunkyNige]

Simpo Two said:

You could always create some artifical gravity. If whilst in space you lived in a large centrifuge, then you could put up some shelves in that.

If you live in ordinary weightless space it doesn't matter. You don't need a spirit level because even if you put your shelves up wonky, nothing will roll off... so your problem is self-solving

Or, just put the books where you want the shelf to go, it's not like they'll fall down

[Eric Mc]

FunkyNige said:

Simpo Two said:

You could always create some artifical gravity. If whilst in space you lived in a large centrifuge, then you could put up some shelves in that.

If you live in ordinary weightless space it doesn't matter. You don't need a spirit level because even if you put your shelves up wonky, nothing will roll off... so your problem is self-solving

Or, just put the books where you want the shelf to go, it's not like they'll fall down

Given my appalling DIY skills, I reckon my bookshelves would fall down - even in Zero-G.

[Simpo Two]

stuthemong said:

Touching any edges increases the interficial area, which is energetically unfavourable.

I first thought that was BS, but all matter has gravity... hence the liquid would be attracted to the spirit level around it and so the bubble would end up in the middle, as you say...

Eric Mc said:

Depending on how big the habitation module is, you could end up with curved shelves - which would be interesting.

I like the idea of a spiral shelf so a ball would roll round and down and round and down...

Thought - if you stop the spinning, would the ball eventually find a neutral position in the centre of the module, or be attracted to a wall?

[Eric Mc]

In a space station, small objects are affected by all sorts of small extraeneous forces - the prominent one being the air supply system. This creates tiny air currents and eddies which tend to carry small objects towards ventilation grilles. Astronauts on Skylab used to find stuff they'd lost days earlier nestling up against these grilles.

[Simpo Two]

Eric Mc said:

In a space station, small objects are affected by all sorts of small extraeneous forces - the prominent one being the air supply system. This creates tiny air currents and eddies which tend to carry small objects towards ventilation grilles. Astronauts on Skylab used to find stuff they'd lost days earlier nestling up against these grilles.

Good point. So an air supply system is actually a form of artificial gravity!


I think I'm going to go and lie down now before I over-reach myself...

[stuthemong]

Simpo Two said:

stuthemong said:

Touching any edges increases the interficial area, which is energetically unfavourable.

I first thought that was BS, but all matter has gravity... hence the liquid would be attracted to the spirit level around it and so the bubble would end up in the middle, as you say...

I doubt the mass of the container itself would have much effect. The first order effect would definitely be interficial area. It's the same reason that raindrops are perfectly spherical, and early ball bearings/shot used to made the same way, by dropping molten lead into a vat of cold water to cool ( http://www.baltimore.to/ShotTower/ )

Edited by stuthemong on Sunday 29th March 19:22