Pattern Evolution during Double Liquid-Vapor Phase Transitions under Weightlessness

Phase transition in fluids is ubiquitous in nature and has important applications in areas such as the food industry for volatile oils’ extraction or in nuclear plants for heat transfer. Fundamentals are hampered by gravity effects on Earth. We used direct imaging to record snapshots of phase separation that takes place in sulfur hexafluoride, SF6, under weightlessness conditions on the International Space Station (ISS). The system was already...