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Pens in Space

Legend has it that NASA spent a million dollars developing a pressurized ballpoint pen that astronauts could use in space, while the Russians merely opted to use a pencil. Embarrassing, right? Luckily, though, this is nothing more than a myth.

Hold on. How come astronauts can’t use regular ballpoint pens?

Because ordinary pens rely on gravity, while you write, gravity forces the ink down onto the ball, which rolls inside its socket and spreads the ink on your writing surface. In space, of course, there isn’t enough gravity to force the ink out, so the pen’s reservoir needs to be pressurized.

If that’s the case, why not use pencil?

Paul Fisher, the guy who produced the space pen, noted that when astronauts used lead pencils, and the pencils broke, the lead floating around became a safety hazard. Plus, both pencil lead and wood burn rapidly in pure oxygen environments.

After the Apollo 1 disaster, NASA required writing instruments that wouldn’t burn in these conditions. This space pen is made of metal, and the ink has a much higher ignition point than regular ink.

So you have convinced me space pens have got the right staff, but they still much of cost bundle to develop.

Maybe so, Paul Fisher financed their development entirely on his own.

In fact, after sinking a million dollars into all that research, the first order was for 400 pens that he sold for $2.95 each. On the bright side, today all astronauts use these pens, and plenty of ordinary people do too.

太空笔的发明是一个传奇：美国宇航局耗资百万美元，研发宇航员可以在太空使用的“封闭式气压”圆珠笔;而面临着同样难题的苏联，则选择了一支铅笔。情何以堪?好在这只是谣言。

等等，为什么宇航员不用普通圆珠笔呢?

因为普通圆珠笔在有重力的情况下方可工作。主要是重力作用油墨，使圆珠在球座内滚动，带出笔芯内的油墨或墨水，以达到书写的目的。而在太空上，没有足够的重力带出油墨，需要气体压力把油墨推向笔尖。

如果是这样，为什么不用铅笔呢?

Paul Fisher指出宇航员使用铅笔十分不安全，使用中产生的铅笔屑会四处漂浮。此外，铅笔的笔芯和木屑在纯氧环境中还易快速燃烧。Paul Fisher后来生产了太空笔。

在阿波罗一号的惨剧发生后，美国航天局规定书写工具不得在无氧环境中燃烧。所以太空笔由金属制造，油墨的燃烧点也高于普通油墨。

你成功说服我，太空笔选材正确，但是，太空笔的花销确实不菲。

也许正因为如此，Paul Fisher自己承担了太空笔研制的费用。

事实上，在百万美元投入这项研究后，首批订单是400支太空笔，每支售价2.95美元。值得庆幸的是，如今所有宇航员在用太空笔，不少普通人也在使用。