Flag waving on the moon...

Perhaps this has already been mentioned on ATS, but the "search" function is not working properly for me (it's stuck on finding "Atlantis"). Can anyone explain why the flag on the moon appears to be waving, or at least why it isn't trying to float upwards? Again, maybe I have seen a falsified video, but I can't find it anywhere right now (I know, I'm not much help).

Anyone that can contribute would be much appreciated...

The flag has metal strings in it. The strings give the illusion that it is waving.

Also only waves while it is being touched by the astronauts or just after. As cpr12r said it has metal threads in it which help sustain vibration and movement.

Why would it try to float upwards?

didn't know about the metal strings...thanks

about the non-attached ends floating upwards, I came to this conclusion because the astronauts have a somewhat hard time staying to the ground, so why wouldn't cloth go up?

The moons gravity keeps it from floating up.

The moon doesn't have an atmosphere, there are no pressure difference between "our atmosphere" and it's surface. The reason we have wind is because of the pressure differences throughout our atmosphere. Therefore, it can be concluded the flag should not wave at all. The most logical explanation would be that already stated - it has metal rods to keep it upright. The only reason it doesn't seem to float away is that the moon does still have gravity and with the case of the astronauts jumping around, they are exorting a force on the surface of the moon. The moon's gravity is less than earth's that's why they seem to float.

I found a link (not the one I've seen before):

www.hq.nasa.gov...

perhaps a little bit better explained now...

That's exactly how metal strings/rods would conduct.


www.unmuseum.org...

Nothing would float at all on the Moon. It's just that the astronauts weighed 6 times less than here on Earth so they were not used to just walking very lightly. That's why they bounced around so much, but I prefer that term used, rather than "floated".

Originally posted by petey_pongo23 Can anyone explain why the flag on the moon appears to be waving, or at least why it isn't trying to float upwards?

It's on thin and flexible wires, so whenever someone touches it or moves it (or if the rocket's exhaust hits it), it waves (wiggles) for a little bit. If you watch, you'll see it quit waving pretty quickly and then not wave until it gets bumped again.

Things on the moon don't float up. They do float down, though much more slowly since the Moon doesn't have as much gravity as Earth.

Well the moon's gravitational pull is about 6 times less than on Earth. NASA designed a telescoping horizontal support that would hinge to the top of the pole. The flag itself was a commercially available nylon flag. A hem was sewn into the top edge into which the horizontal crossbar could be slid. The astronaut deployed the flag by driving the steel-tipped aluminum pole into the surface, then raising the crossbar on its hinge until it locked into the horizontal position. He could then extend the telescoping segment of the crossbar to support the entire width of the flag.

The flag was held oustretched by the crossbar through the top hem. The inner bottom corner was fastened to the pole. The outer bottom corner is free to move which causes the same effect as a pendulum. The top crossbar would bend and when the flag pole was released the bar would snap back causing the bottom part of the flag to sway back and forth. No wires were in the flag. The reason it looks like it is waving is because the pendulum kept swinging back and forth and there is no atmosphere on the moon to stop it. You cant do this on Earth because air would exert pressure on the flag slowing it like a parachute slows a skydiver. The flag could have been smoothed perfectly flat. Again, it would have stayed that way because of the top bar not alowing the flag to fall against the pole.

When they tried to walk NASA originally proposed a "kangaroo hop" whereby the astronauts would hop with both feet and then land with both feet. Aldrin found this to be very awkward and unnatural. The "lope" (as Armstrong named it) turned out to be a good compromise. This is the characteristic Apollo stride whereby the astronaut puts one foot in front of the other, pushing off with one foot and landing on the other foot, but not separating the feet as in a normal walking stride.

Many people confuse weight with mass. The former is affected by gravity and the latter is not. But things like momentum and inertia are a function of mass. Consider a 175-pound (80-kg)astronaut wearing 120 pounds (55 kg)of equipment for a total of some 300 pounds (136 kg) on earth. On the moon he would weigh only one-sixth that amount, 50 pounds (23 kg). But he would still have 300 pounds (136 kg) of mass.

In order to get moving you have to overcome inertia, and you have the same intertia on the moon as you do on earth. And in order to stop you have to overcome momentum, which also is the same on earth as on the moon.

On the moon your ability to stop and start is impaired by your relatively light weight. Your grip on the lunar surface would be a matter of friction, and friction depends on how hard you're being pulled down against the surface. Low gravity means a weak force pulling you against the surface, and that means less friction, and that means less grip. So if you tried to run you'd just slip and slide. And if you tried to stop you'd skid.

at first it may seem starnge, but the metal string theory may be correct. there are many other anomolies that aren't as easily explained, use the search function, they have been discussed many times.

The funny thing about the Flag is that it was knocked over right when the astronauts left the moon.

We figured out how to get man to the moon and nobody though to put the flag more then ten feet away from where the lander rockets would launch