What happens when one uses a blender in zero gravity? I was recently told by a friend that using a blender type apparatus in a zero gravity environment will act like a centrifuge instead mixing properly. Is this the case? Furthermore, can anyone provide a proper citation for this?
I have tried to find papers/articles through Google (and Google Scholar), but can't seem to find any information about the effects of blending in zero gravity.
 A: If you envision the rotating blender to be in outer space will be the same as removing the downward gravity on it. For a blender to operate properly, gravity is needed to pull all the stuff inside towards the blending blades. Only stuff at the bottom will be blended. Not too well though because it ends up at the wall of the container (out of reach of the blades) after the blades are set in motion. The blended stuff below can set the rest of the stuff inside in motion too (by touching). So you'll end up with a small fraction of improperly blended stuff and a majority of non-blended stuff which will find a way out of the container eventually because it gets also a motion parallel to the walls of the container. It's kind of a centrifuge because if water were present, this would finally be thrown out of the container. But also the stuff to be centrifuged would be thrown out.
A: Well for one you would have a problem with the craft you are in staying still. They are most likely correct though it would probably act like a centrifuge because there is nothing to pull the reactant down off the wall.
