8 February 2010

Why Space Pen is invented? Why Pencil Not used in Space royalarun.blogspot.com

Space Pen
The Space Pen (also known as the Zero Gravity Pen), marketed by Fisher Space Pen Company, is a pen that uses pressurized ink cartridges and is claimed to write in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, over wet and greasy paper, at any angle, and in extreme temperature ranges.

Why Pencil is not used in Space?

There exists a common urban legend claiming that the Americans spent millions of dollars developing the Space Pen, and the Russians used a pencil.In fact, NASA programs have used pencils (for example a 1965 order of mechanical pencils) but because of the danger that a broken-off pencil tip poses in zero gravity and the flammable nature of the wood present in pencils a better solution was needed.

NASA never approached Paul Fisher to develop a pen, nor did Fisher receive any government funding for the pen's development. Fisher invented it independently, and then asked NASA to try it. After the introduction of the AG7 Space Pen, both the American and Soviet (later Russian) space agencies adopted it. Previously both the Russian and American astronauts used grease pencils and plastic slates.


3Idiots

In the 2009 Bollywood movie, 3 Idiots, Aamir Khan (as the rebellious Rancho) momentarily flummoxes the college Dean with the pencil conundrum, which the Dean finally sets right towards the end (by explaining how a broken pencil tip would harm people in space, and clog the instruments). However, the Dean awarded that pen to Rancho (Aamir Khan) in order to acknowledge his presence of mind and also to approve him as an "extraordinary student".

3 comments:

  1. A common urban legend states that, faced with the fact that ball-point pens will not write in zero-gravity, NASA spent a large amount of money to develop a pen that would write in the conditions experienced during spaceflight (the result purportedly being the Fisher Space Pen), while the Soviet Union took the simpler (and cheaper) route of just using pencils.[1] This story is in fact false, as the development of the Fisher Space Pen was done independently of NASA, using private funds, and only sold to NASA (and the Soviet Union) after it was completed.
    Russian cosmonauts used pencils, and grease pencils on plastic slates until also adopting a space pen in 1969 with a purchase of 100 units for use on all future missions.[2] NASA programs previously used pencils (for example a 1965 order of mechanical pencils[3]) but because of the danger that a broken-off pencil tip poses in zero gravity and the flammable nature of the wood present in pencils[3] a better solution was needed. NASA never approached Paul Fisher to develop a pen, nor did Fisher receive any government funding for the pen's development. Fisher invented it independently, and then asked NASA to try it. After the introduction of the AG7 Space Pen, both the American and Soviet (later Russian) space agencies adopted it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. sir,how a pencil tip can harm people in space?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We already know ,Zero gravity in Space . If the pencil tip broken , it won't fall in ground like in earth. It float in air and chance to hurt eyes .

      Delete

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