Watch: UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi answers own question from space

UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi has posted a new video from the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, answering the physics question he posted early this week.

AlNeyadi said it’s “simple axis theorem’ as the explanation to his earlier video why an object rotates in different directions. In the previous video posted on Monday, AlNeyadi used a tablet to pose the question: He spun the tablet and the first two motions saw the tablet rotating in a single direction each time. On the third spin, however, the tablet started rotating in a diamond pattern.

Showing the same tablet, AlNeyadi explained the orientation or direction how the object moved determines its short, long and middle axes

He said, "Anything that rotates, whether on Earth or in space, has several axis. A circle has no specific axis so its rotation is equal in all directions.”

“If there is a body like this rectangular (tablet) and it is rotated this way (clockwise), it means it rotates in the short axis or the first axis. If it is rotates this way (landscape mode), it rotate on the long axis. But if it rotates in this way (vertical mode), it rotates on the middle axis, causing an imbalance in the movement.”

“It is located between the long and short axis, so the result is a mis-alignment of its own. First with the long axis and then with the short axis,” he added.

AlNeyadi also thanked everyone who responded to his last question. “Your insightful responses always give me confidence in the abundance of creative and passionate minds for science in our Arab world,” he continued.

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