Of knitting needles and auroras

Check out this video shot on board the International Space Station. It shows a polyethylene knitting needle that has been given a net charge and what happens as water droplets are fired at it. This phenomenon is similar to the process that generates terrestrial auroras, as charged particles from the Sun swirl around the Earth’s magnetic poles and produce radiation.

3 thoughts on “Of knitting needles and auroras

  1. If you recall, Luke Skywalker was a moisture farmer on Tatooine. For all we know, that’s how they did it.

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