The fidget spinner craze is all but over, but astronauts aboard the International Space Station are only now experiencing the joys of the toy.
A video posted on Friday by astronaut Randy Bresnik demonstrates how much fun fidget spinners can be in a low-gravity environment.
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“A fidget spinner in space! How long does it spin? I’m not sure, but it’s a great way to experiment with Newton’s laws of motion!” tweeted Bresnik.
Not bound by Earth’s atmosphere or air resistance that comes with it, the spinners just go on spinning, and spinning, suspended in the low-gravity environment of the ISS. The astronauts also use the toy to explain a few Newtonian laws.
“Allowing the fidget spinner to float reduces the bearing friction by permitting the rate of the central ring and outer spinner to equalize, and the whole thing spins as a unit,” Bresnik adds. When the astronauts grabbed onto the spinner, they in turn begin to spin.
While Twitter users debated whether the astronauts would spin as quickly when grabbing onto the spinner, it’s a no less interesting way of explaining the concept.
Have a look at the clip below.
A fidget spinner in space! How long does it spin? I’m not sure, but it’s a great way to experiment with Newton’s laws of motion! pic.twitter.com/5xIJDs2544
— Randy Bresnik (@AstroKomrade) October 13, 2017
