"Rice seeds from China and Arabidopsis seeds have germinated and are growing vigorously..." On October 12, a unique " Tiangong Classroom " once again came into people's vision. In the space space experiment cabin of the China Space Station, 400 kilometers away from the earth, astronauts of the Shenzhou 14 flight crew Chen Dong, Liu Yang , and Cai Xuzhe gave space teaching to young people.
In space, the capillary effect in the microgravity environment is very different from that shown on the earth. After adding steel ball to the water ball, the fluid slows down; the seeds take root and sprout in the Wentian Experimental Cabin, and they can be brought back to the earth soon...
Why do the same scientific experiments show completely different phenomena in the earth and space? What will plant plants in space bring to humans? Tianmu News interviews many experts in related fields to reveal the mystery of "Tiangong Classroom" for you.
Physical phenomena in the space capsule
contains what principles?
In this "Tiangong Classroom", three astronauts demonstrated capillary effect experiments, water polo becoming "lazy" experiments, fun drinking water in space, and wrench that can turn around in a microgravity environment.
In the capillary effect experiment demonstrated by the "Wentian Experimental Cabin", three plastic tubes of different thicknesses were placed in an petri dish filled with water. In the thinnest plastic pipe, the water immediately climbed onto the top of the pipe, and then the water level of the thickest plastic pipe gradually rose. After tens of seconds, the water climbed onto the top of the pipe. What’s amazing is that the water level rises in medium-sized plastic pipes is not obvious.
Professor of the Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Li Hongnian, Analysis to Tianmu News that the capillary effect phenomenon involves three forces. The first is the attraction between water molecules, making water a fluid that binds together; the second is the adhesion between water molecules and plastic tubes, which causes water molecules to spread along the wall, that is, move upward along the plastic tube; the third is a weak gravity, which almost does not exist. Relatively speaking, the second force is most effective in driving water upward movement, so no matter how long the plastic tube is, water can rise to the highest point in space. As for why the water level rises the slowest in medium-coat plastic pipes, Professor Li explained that the second force is related to the bending degree of plastic pipes. Very thin and thick plastic pipes have stronger effects on water, and medium-coat plastic pipes have weaker effects, so the capillary movement is slower. In reality, the principle of capillary effect is currently used in fuel storage tanks of aircraft engines.
In the experiment of "becoming lazy" of water balls, after an steel ball enters the water ball, the steel ball will not fall from the water ball. The water ball will not break under the same wind blow, but it will significantly reduce the shaking and "becoming lazy". Professor Li Hongnian introduced that water has a viscous force on the steel ball. After the steel ball rushes in, it will not fall from the water ball due to its weak gravity. The principle behind the "lazy" of a water balloon is that the amplitude of shaking or vibration is inversely proportional to the mass of an object, and the frequency of vibration also decreases as the mass increases (Note: There is no weight in space, but the mass is not at all).
In addition, fun drinking water in space is also very interesting. Liu Yang used a two-meter-long drinking water pipe to easily drink mango juice. In daily life, due to gravity, the higher the drinking water pipe, the more effort it is to suck. However, in the microgravity environment of space station , you can drink mango juice in the drinking water bag two meters away by relying on the sucking power.
Arabidopsis and rice entering space
What kind of scientific research mission should we undertake?
More than two months ago, an experimental unit containing experimental samples Arabidopsis seeds and rice seeds officially started the experiment in the Wentian Experimental Cabin of the China Space Station. This is also the first international study on the cultivation of rice in the entire life cycle of the space station “from seed to seed”. This also means that in space experiments, our country has gone from initially focusing on how to feed plants, to now focusing on the entire process of plant germination, growth, flowering and seed production.
In today's "Tiangong Classroom", people were delighted to find that the rice seeds in the Wentian Experimental Cabin have grown into rice plants after more than 70 days of "space growth".
In the culture of Arabidopsis, astronauts found that the space environment has a significant impact on the growth direction and development process of plants. For example, under microgravity, the growth direction of plant roots, stems and leaves is no longer divided into the upper and lower.
Tianmu News reporter learned that the experimental task undertaken by the astronauts of the Shenzhou 14 flight crew is to cultivate Arabidopsis thaliana with different flowering times, and take samples back to the earth to allow scientists to discover the key links of plant growth and development from the genetic level, in order to solve the problems that affect plant reproduction such as late flowering time and low seed yield in space plants.
Why choose Arabidopsis and rice for space cultivation? Guo Rui, director of the Germplasm Resource Research Center of Aerospace Breeding (Yangling) and head of the Aerospace Breeding Germplasm Resources Research Research Group of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration Three North Shelterbelt System Construction Project, has rich practice and experience on space breeding . He said in an interview with Tianmu News, "Planting simultaneously in the ground and space environment, the impact of gravity on crop growth and development can be explored through mutual comparison."
"When mastering the impact of gravity on plant growth and development, it may improve our agricultural production level." Guo Rui also looks forward to the gradual solution of problems such as few seeds and delayed growth in space plants, China can establish a life-sustaining production system in space, realize food self-sufficiency, and make technical reserves for the aerospace industry to move towards the stars and seas.
The starry sky is vast and
Exploration never ending
Tianmu News learned that this is the third lesson of my country's "Tiangong Classroom". Before this, my country conducted space teaching at China Space Station on December 9, 2021 and March 23, 2022.
The "Lecture" of this "Tiangong Classroom" has set up the classroom in the "Qingtian Experimental Cabin" for the first time based on the previous Tianhe core cabin. In this way, the "Wentian Experimental Cabin" can also carry out large-scale extra-cabin experiments, and the "space teacher" has a larger range of activities, just like moving a large science laboratory to space.
is equipped here with advanced scientific experimental cabinets, including life ecology experimental cabinets, biotechnology experimental cabinets, variable gravity experimental cabinets, scientific glove boxes and low-temperature storage cabinets, which are mainly used to conduct research in the fields of space life sciences and biotechnology, gravity fluid physics, and space materials science.
Scientists moved the laboratory to space because there are many special environmental conditions different from the ground, such as microgravity, strong radiation, high vacuum, etc. in space. The most significant of them is the microgravity environment - the gravity that can be clearly felt on the ground has become very tiny when it comes to the "Ask the Sky Cabin".
"Tiangong Classroom" teaching expert group and Associate Professor of Beijing Jiaotong University Chen Zheng introduced that experts from multiple fields, including experts in aerospace systems, university teachers and scientific researchers, primary and secondary school teachers, etc. participated in the preparation of "Tiangong Classroom" with the purpose of spreading and popularizing manned space knowledge and stimulating the interest of young people in science. For the field of science, space experiments are of great significance to real scientific research.
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(Source: Tianmu News)
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