Uncontained Water in space

[PATODD]

Are there any videos of a water balloon (or like container of water) being burst in outer space? I have seen the "zero gravity" video of a water ballon being burst, but not one in outer space. I think that a super slow speed video would be really neat to see.

[neufer]

Are there any videos of a water balloon (or like container of water) being burst in outer space?
I have seen the "zero gravity" video of a water ballon being burst, but not one in outer space.
I think that a super slow speed video would be really neat to see.

A SUPER slow speed video is pretty much the same with or without gravity.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[jman]

I suspect that water wouldn't take liquid form in outer space, it'd be an ice balloon.
Fascinating videos Art.

[Chris Peterson]

I suspect that water wouldn't take liquid form in outer space, it'd be an ice balloon.
Fascinating videos Art.

It depends on where you are in space. In the general vicinity of the Earth, objects heat up to similar temperatures as they do on the ground. A water balloon would freeze if it was shadowed from the Sun for some time, but would be liquid if sunlight hit it.

[jman]

Wow, ok. What about on the moon - same deal?

[Chris Peterson]

Wow, ok. What about on the moon - same deal?

More or less. The surface of the Moon has a low albedo, meaning it absorbs a fair bit of the energy from the Sun. So daytime surface temperatures are somewhat higher than you see with rocks on the Earth- something around 110°C. Nighttime surface temperatures are around -150°C. But a water balloon will probably not get above boiling. Figuring out exactly how hot or cold something gets in space is fairly straightforward, and depends on knowing the local solar radiation environment and the emissivity of the body. In a vacuum, a body normally heat and cools only by radiative processes.

[PATODD]

The uncontained sphere of water was very interesting as were others, but the question remains as to what would happen in free space where there is virtually no gravity or atmosphere. Would the water turn into a gas(s) and dissipate, turn into frozen water, or remain a liquid if it were in sun light?

[Chris Peterson]

The uncontained sphere of water was very interesting as were others, but the question remains as to what would happen in free space where there is virtually no gravity or atmosphere. Would the water turn into a gas(s) and dissipate, turn into frozen water, or remain a liquid if it were in sun light?

Liquid water can't exist at the low pressures found in space. So depending on the amount of energy in the environment contributing to heating, and the volume of water present, it would be a race between the water boiling off into vapor and the remaining material (possibly) freezing to solid ice, which obviously can exist in space.

Almost certainly, a small volume as found in a toy balloon, at Earth's distance from the Sun, would simply boil off quickly.

[PATODD]

So, if a way could be found to "regulate" the temperature in a rather large environment of zero gravity and a vacuum, what behavior would the toy balloon exhibit? Would it expand until it burst and if so, what would happen to the water? To take this a step further, say we had several thousand gallons of water in free space where it would not freeze. Would it vaporize and if so, how far would it expand? All of which is leading up to a really dumb question: Is it possible there are places in space that consist of a large areas of water vapor?

[Chris Peterson]

So, if a way could be found to "regulate" the temperature in a rather large environment of zero gravity and a vacuum, what behavior would the toy balloon exhibit? Would it expand until it burst and if so, what would happen to the water? To take this a step further, say we had several thousand gallons of water in free space where it would not freeze. Would it vaporize and if so, how far would it expand? All of which is leading up to a really dumb question: Is it possible there are places in space that consist of a large areas of water vapor?

Once you have vapor, it will expand forever. The only thing that could limit its expansion would be sufficient gravity. And you do find water vapor (in trace amounts) in nebular areas where there is enough self gravity to at least slow down expansion. And it's a component of new stellar systems, where material is in the process of coming together. But any water you release in space will quickly dissipate beyond detection.

The walls of a toy balloon don't exert enough pressure to shift the phase of water significantly, so yes, water in the balloon will boil, the balloon will break, and the liquid water will become vapor that dissipates (unless you control things in such a way that it freezes first).