Re: What would happen to oceans if there was no gravit

Hi Andrew,

Where would we be without our kids to keep us on our toes?

You can find some information about how liquids behave in micro-gravity at http:// science.msfc.nasa.gov/ppod/y2003/07apr_hightea.htm.

On Earth, gravity pulls the water, and of course everything else, towards the center, with the result that the water lies on top of the more dense rock. Without gravity, there would be nothing to hold the water in that position.

Other forces are, however, at work. Water molecules feel an attraction for each other, with the hydrogen atoms being weakly pulled towards the oxygen atoms on neighboring molecules. At the surface of the water, there are some atoms which have no neighbors. These unbonded atoms cause the surface tension in water. With no gravity, the water finds a shape that minimizes the number of unbonded atoms, namely a sphere. And so, yes, the water would form a big, spherical blob in the absence of gravity.

There is one other complication. In space, with no atmosphere around it, the water would be sitting in a vacuum, and liquid water cannot exist in that situation. Much of the water would therefore almost immediately evaporate, leaving behind some of the molecules, ones which happened to have less energy, as ice.