٠٠:٠٢:٠٦Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov demonstrated the Dzhanibekov effect, also known as 'tennis racket theorem' or 'intermediate axis theorem' on the International Space Station (ISS).
The exclusive footage filmed on Monday shows him spinning a wrench, scissors and a multi-tool.
The phenomenon of classical mechanics is related to a rigid body with three principal moments of inertia, which exhibits stable rotation around its first and third principal axes but unstable rotation around its second - flipping back and forth.
"Any object can be rotated around three axes. And if you just rotate around one axis, the rotation is stable. Around another axis, it's stable. But when we rotate around this axis, we'll see a second rotation of 180 degrees. This was first discovered by the French mechanic Louis Poinsot, and he published a paper describing this effect in 1834," explained Borisov.
Looking at his view of Earth from the ISS, the cosmonaut explained why it would not exhibit the effect.
"Also, many people are wondering - can our Earth not make such a somersault? After all, it also rotates, what if it too will suddenly turn 180 degrees. But no, the Earth has been in a stable position with a maximum moment of inertia for billions of years. In addition, like other bodies in the solar system, it is subject to tidal forces," he noted.
Borisov arrived at the ISS aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft with the Crew-7 expedition on August 27, 2023.
The crew also included NASA astronaut and Crew-7 commander Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa.
Borisov is the third Russian cosmonaut to travel to the ISS aboard a SpaceX rocket, after Anna Kikina and Andrey Fedyaev, who arrived at the station in October 2022 and March 2023, respectively.
Weird science - in space! Cosmonaut Borisov demonstrates Dzhanibekov effect in zero gravity *EXCLUSIVE*
Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov demonstrated the Dzhanibekov effect, also known as 'tennis racket theorem' or 'intermediate axis theorem' on the International Space Station (ISS).
The exclusive footage filmed on Monday shows him spinning a wrench, scissors and a multi-tool.
The phenomenon of classical mechanics is related to a rigid body with three principal moments of inertia, which exhibits stable rotation around its first and third principal axes but unstable rotation around its second - flipping back and forth.
"Any object can be rotated around three axes. And if you just rotate around one axis, the rotation is stable. Around another axis, it's stable. But when we rotate around this axis, we'll see a second rotation of 180 degrees. This was first discovered by the French mechanic Louis Poinsot, and he published a paper describing this effect in 1834," explained Borisov.
Looking at his view of Earth from the ISS, the cosmonaut explained why it would not exhibit the effect.
"Also, many people are wondering - can our Earth not make such a somersault? After all, it also rotates, what if it too will suddenly turn 180 degrees. But no, the Earth has been in a stable position with a maximum moment of inertia for billions of years. In addition, like other bodies in the solar system, it is subject to tidal forces," he noted.
Borisov arrived at the ISS aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft with the Crew-7 expedition on August 27, 2023.
The crew also included NASA astronaut and Crew-7 commander Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa.
Borisov is the third Russian cosmonaut to travel to the ISS aboard a SpaceX rocket, after Anna Kikina and Andrey Fedyaev, who arrived at the station in October 2022 and March 2023, respectively.
Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov demonstrated the Dzhanibekov effect, also known as 'tennis racket theorem' or 'intermediate axis theorem' on the International Space Station (ISS).
The exclusive footage filmed on Monday shows him spinning a wrench, scissors and a multi-tool.
The phenomenon of classical mechanics is related to a rigid body with three principal moments of inertia, which exhibits stable rotation around its first and third principal axes but unstable rotation around its second - flipping back and forth.
"Any object can be rotated around three axes. And if you just rotate around one axis, the rotation is stable. Around another axis, it's stable. But when we rotate around this axis, we'll see a second rotation of 180 degrees. This was first discovered by the French mechanic Louis Poinsot, and he published a paper describing this effect in 1834," explained Borisov.
Looking at his view of Earth from the ISS, the cosmonaut explained why it would not exhibit the effect.
"Also, many people are wondering - can our Earth not make such a somersault? After all, it also rotates, what if it too will suddenly turn 180 degrees. But no, the Earth has been in a stable position with a maximum moment of inertia for billions of years. In addition, like other bodies in the solar system, it is subject to tidal forces," he noted.
Borisov arrived at the ISS aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft with the Crew-7 expedition on August 27, 2023.
The crew also included NASA astronaut and Crew-7 commander Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa.
Borisov is the third Russian cosmonaut to travel to the ISS aboard a SpaceX rocket, after Anna Kikina and Andrey Fedyaev, who arrived at the station in October 2022 and March 2023, respectively.