CHALLENGER'S LOST LESSONS - ER - NASA

16Left picture of Christa inserting the tablet into cap-slotRight photo is of Christa screwing on lid while tablet effervescesThe last component of this activity to be discussed is theeffervescent tablet. A commonly available tablet will be used, but itwill be crushed and the powder enclosed in water soluble gelatincapsules that may be purchased at a pharmacy. The capsule isperforated by 60 holes.Several concerns led to this arrangement. The first wassafety. It is not as simple to insert an unprotected tablet through theslit in the diaphragm as one might believe. The small amount ofwater that will be present on top of the diaphragm when the lid isremoved begins to dissolve the tablet immediately allowing water toescape, and preventing observation and filming of the object. Thatportion of the tablet that enters the bottle then reacts quickly so thatobservation and study are hindered. It is hoped that the perforatedcapsule will allow the desired results to be achieved while slowingdown the reaction time of the chemicals.CHROMATOGRAPHYThe objectives of this activity were to demonstratechromatographic separation of pigments and capillary action inmicrogravity. This activity was originally part of the hydroponicsdemonstration, though in that case, capillary action and osmosis