Science Wendsday

If you have ever looked over at my links, you notice a group of science links. So if you have put 2 and 2 together, you have figured out that I am a Science Buff. I think it emanates from my love of ripping things apart to see how they work..

One of my favorite myths in science is that of the Million Dollar pen.. It is a classic tale of bureaucratic buffoonery, with a science twist.

The story goes that back in the 60's, NASA realized that gravity fed ball point pens would not function correctly in zero-gravity space. So they went about spending a million dollars to develop an ink pen that would write in zero gravity.

Meanwhile, our counterparts over in Russia had the same problem. Their solution, as the myth goes, was to hand their cosmonauts a pencil...

As with most myths, this one is not true, but it is easy to believe because..well..because we're talking about the government and bureaucrats.

If you think about it for a minute, you can see the holes in the myth. No space agency would advocate the use of a pencil in their capsules for several reasons:

• Not 100% reliable. Need sharpened. All garbage (shavings) must be stowed, lest it becomes projectiles when you start slowing down when landing..

• Wood is a potential fire hazzard.

It is kinda sad that one of our greatest triumphs, one that put America on the map as a super power, has stories floaing around like this. But alas, it rings too true to be dismissed.

Here is a story about it in todays Scientific America.



That is all...