From time to time, we all gaze up at the stars and wonder about outer space. It can be an incredibly mind-blowing, beautiful, fascinating, exciting and even scary place to think about, as it is so incomprehensibly vast and unexplored and it contains so many secrets. We seemingly discover new things about outer space each year and there have been some astonishing accomplishments in recent times, yet we have barely dipped our toes in the water. These out-of-this-world 10 facts are sure to make your next stargazing experience a truly mind-bending one.
8. If Two Pieces of the Same Metal Touch in Space, They Will Become Stuck Together
On Earth, if you were to touch two pieces of the same metal together you would simply be able to pull them apart, but this is not the case in outer space (provided they are perfectly smooth). On Earth there is oxygen in the atmosphere, which creates a very thin layer of oxidized metal, and this acts as a barrier between the two metals. There is no atmospheric oxygen in space, and consequently there is no barrier, so the two metals form a bond and become one. This is known as cold welding. This may sound like a complete nightmare in terms of spaceship construction and working on the International Space Station, but because the metals and tools will have come from Earth, it means that they will retain the coated layer and not become stuck together.