This demonstration shows what happens to fluid droplets when dropped in free fall. Surface tension pulls each little droplet into a round, spherical shape. In free fall, this toy feels like it's in microgravity on the Int'l Space Station. It momentarily (until it hits the floor) feels that it is weightless or that it is zero gravity. It is NOT zero gravity because it was dropped here on Earth.
You can get one of these drop towers for your classroom.
Check here:
http://www.tinyurl.com/mrmicrogravity-v
Just to clarify, the ISS and its crew are also not in a zero-g environment; they are immersed in Earth's gravitational field, which is very nearly as strong in the Station's vicinity as down here at or near sea-level. The frame of reference demonstrated in this vid is falling freely just as is the ISS. Another interesting thing is that, as the falling frame of reference gets increasingly localized, it gets more approximately like real zero-g, such as Earth's field at infinity.
qed100 6 months ago