Chinese astronauts on board China’s Tiangong space station lit a candle with a match during a live broadcast, which was previously thought to be impossible and unsafe.
On September 21, two astronauts, Gui Haichao and Zhu Yangzhu, lit a candle to demonstrate how flames burn in microgravity during a live lecture broadcast from the space station.
To everyone’s surprise, the flames appear nearly spherical, rather than the teardrop-shaped flames seen on Earth.
According to the video supplied by China Central Television (CCTV), Gui stated, “You can see that the flame of a candle in the space station burns in a spherical shape, while the flame of a candle on Earth burns in a cone shape.”
Last month, Chinese astronauts gave a few live lectures from space, giving young viewers a glimpse into their existence in space.
According to the Chinese space agency, the astronauts presented an overview of their working and living conditions in the Mengtian lab module of the space station.
The astronauts also asked their audience to participate in experiments to investigate the secrets of the cosmos and distinguish between tests conducted on Earth and those conducted in space.
A spherical flame experiment, a water droplet “table tennis” experiment, a momentum conservation experiment, and a gyroscope experiment were also carried out aboard the Tiangong space station. But the one where they lit a candle was the most memorable.
During the lecture, astronauts interacted in real-time with teachers and students on Earth.
“I am so proud to see our professor Gui giving a lecture in the space station,” said Zhao Ziyi, a student at Beihang University. As one of the first students in Beihang University’s special plan on aerospace mechanics, I will strive harder to devote myself to the development of fundamental disciplines, follow in the footsteps of astronauts, and accomplish our aim of giving back to our motherland through aerospace development.”
