CaRu: AN INVESTIGATION OF CAPILLARY ACTION UNDER LOW GRAVITY CONDITIONS THROUGH RUNGE INSTABILITIES

摘要

The objective of the CaRu (Capillarity under low gravity shown with Runge pictures) experiment is to examine the effect of low gravity conditions on the capillary effect through investigation of "Runge instabilities". The formation of so-called "Runge" pictures under normal and low gravity conditions is studied. In the experiment, a reactant solution is applied onto chromatographic paper that has been impregnated with a different reactant solution, resulting in the first solution being absorbed into the paper and spreading through capillary action while a chemical reaction occurs, observed in the formation of circles with irregular borders on the surface of the paper. The experiment was launched as a payload on the REXUS-11 sounding rocket. In this paper, an overview of the CaRu experiment and its results are presented.