Space Show Ball Skills! Watching a Different Chinese Space Station Table Tennis Competition Together
This afternoon, the fourth lesson of "Tiangong Classroom" officially began. Astronauts Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu, and Gui Haichao from Shenzhou-16 will provide space science popularization lectures to young people across the country.
What equipment is required for a "Space Station Table Tennis Friendship Tournament"? Using a regular racket, the water polo "ping pong ball" firmly adheres to the racket; A racket made from towels not only fails to absorb the water ball, but also bounces open! Let's take a look together →
![Space Show Ball Skills! Watching a Different Chinese Space Station Table Tennis Competition Together](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/e537d67b3c8b6e81670f907aa48bb51d.jpg)
Astronaut Zhu Yangzhu: Today, let's continue to do an experiment with water to see if there will be any new magical discoveries. Alright, now I will use a drinking water bag to make a small water ball. It is relatively easy to make a water ball in the space station, but it is difficult to achieve on the ground.
Astronaut Gui Haichao: Classmates, I have an ordinary ping pong racket in my hand. Next, I plan to use the racket to hit this water ball. Let's see what happens. Classmates, if the water directly touches the surface of the racket, can we make the water ball bounce off like a ping pong ball?
![Space Show Ball Skills! Watching a Different Chinese Space Station Table Tennis Competition Together](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/65d076ea0a96a68633a98af394665577.jpg)
Astronaut Zhu Yangzhu: Let me give it a try. Classmates, please take a look. My racket is different. It has a secret weapon, which is wrapped around the surface of my racket with a dry towel we use to wipe sweat during sports. Let's try it out. Now, please ask Teacher Gui to help us make a new water ball.
Astronaut Zhu Yangzhu: Attention students, the ball did not break when it touched my racket, nor did it touch the surface of the towel. Instead, it bounced off like a table tennis ball. Now Teacher Gui is ready, let's try and see if we can fight each other.
![Space Show Ball Skills! Watching a Different Chinese Space Station Table Tennis Competition Together](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/d2fcc2ad50d7e3c262614dad41628a91.jpg)
Astronaut Zhu Yangzhu: Can't beat you on the ground? Let's see if I can beat you in space. It's quite interesting for students to hold table tennis competitions in space. Let's see if we succeed. In the future, we can use water polo to hold table tennis competitions.
Astronaut Gui Haichao: Why can the sports wipes we use to wipe sweat bounce the water ball away?
![Space Show Ball Skills! Watching a Different Chinese Space Station Table Tennis Competition Together](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/1a0792f83e52926fee286b7f5cf45a08.jpg)
Astronaut Zhu Yangzhu: This is because, in addition to surface tension that makes water balls less prone to breakage, the surface of our towels is also covered with hydrophobic microvilli, which have good hydrophobic properties. This hydrophobic structure treatment process is very common in our textile industry, and everyone uses this treatment process for their assault suits and quick drying clothes. Let's see how technology brings great convenience to our lives!