NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Manns image is refracted through a sphere of water flying weightlessly in microgravity. Credit: NASA
This extraordinary image was recorded on the International Space Station (ISS) on February 12, 2023. In it, NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Manns image is refracted through a sphere of water flying weightlessly in microgravity.
Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one transparent medium to another, such as when light passes from air to water or from air to a glass lens. When light goes into a new medium, such as water or glass, it alters speed and instructions, which causes it to flex or alter its course. The amount of flexing that occurs depends upon the angle at which the light hits the surface of the medium and the distinction in the refractive indices (a procedure of how much the speed of light changes in the medium) of the two media.
The phenomenon of refraction has numerous useful applications, such as in lenses utilized in cameras or glasses, in the style of optical instruments, and in the research study of the properties of materials. Refraction likewise plays an essential role in the development of optical illusions and mirages.
Nicole Mann is one of the Crew-5 astronauts that showed up on station on October 6, 2022, after launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on October 5. She carried out spacewalks on January 20 and February 2, accompanied by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, in building work related to the setup of the International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs).
By SciTechDaily
February 17, 2023