Name: Su
Status: educator
Grade: 9-12
Location: Czeck Republic
Question:
I was asked by a student, why a space
suit does not get stiff in space from freezing
temperatures (the movie Sunshine has raised many
questions related to temperatures in vacuums, etc.
and while I can answer the others I am not 100% on
this one).
Replies:
Hi Su,
Many materials remain pliable in the cold. An everyday example of one
is silicone which is unaffected by extremely low temperatures. There
are many examples of cold-tolerant materials as well. So the answer to
your question is simply that space suit materials are carefully chosen
to be of a type not affected by extremes of temperatures (both cold
and hot).
Regards,
Bob Wilson.
Su,
There are many reasons why space suits do not get stiff in space. Some
things that come immediately to mind are: (1) The material is calibrated
for the expected working temperature such that they remain above their
glass transition temperature - the temperature at which polymeric materials
stiffen. (2) The space suits are heated and insulated - this keeps the person
using it from freezing and keeps the heat generated from escaping rapidly
into space. (3) A suit exposed to the sun's radiation is actually exposed
to quite a bit of UV radiation and this could be used to keep the suit warm
(in fact, there is so much radiation that the face shields have to have an
extra shielding.
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