If you push two metal plates together on Earth, nothing happens. But if you take those same plates into the vacuum of space, they can fuse into a single piece of metal.
This phenomenon, called cold welding, has been a known hazard for spacecraft engineers for a long time. So what’s actually happening at the atomic level, and why does space make it so much easier?
The answer comes down to a lack of oxygen in space, experts told Live Science. Metals are made of lattices — structures where atoms are bonded to one another. But atoms near the surface of a metal aren’t bonded to anything on the outward-facing side. If given the chance, they’ll “reach out” and share electrons with the surface of another piece of metal.
“Writer Fuel” is a series of cool real-world stories that might inspire your little writer heart. Check out our Writer Fuel page on the LimFic blog for more inspiration.
