Science/Space geeks: ISS microgravity

[O2HeN2]

We've all seen the demos of "weightlessness" inside the ISS with astronauts playing with water bubbles, etc. However, something stuck me as odd watching the astronauts inside SpaceX's Dragon capsule after docking. The "Gravity indicator" (a blue plush toy) that was in the capsule gets knocked around a couple of times and fairly quickly settles down instead of bouncing/floating around the interior of the capsule as I would expect. I know the ISS' orbit is based upon the CG of the ISS, so there should be some tiny ballistic trajectory issues above and below the CG of the station, but nothing that would amount to what we're seeing in the video - I would think.

Anyone have an explanation?

The following YouTube video starts at 5:05 - watch until 6:00 to see the toy tapped once, then settle down only to be launched by a second bump, yet it settles down quickly again. This isn't like anything like we've seen in the "weightless" demos that have come from the ISS in the past and franky I have no explanation.

O2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct80WPZl1h0&t=305s

[O2HeN2]

...and here I'll get "The world is flat" and "NASA is a hoax" reply out of the way...

O2

[BushMasterBoy]

Soft foam toy in a plastic lined crew capsule. Static electricity attraction!

[O2HeN2]

Static electricity attraction!

Even though the breathing gas isn't pure O2, static electricty is something that would be designed out.

O2

[ray1970]

Gravity isn't an on/off thing. There are varying levels. Looks like there isn't much gravity going on in there but it's likely not zero.

[O2HeN2]

Gravity isn't an on/off thing. There are varying levels. Looks like there isn't much gravity going on in there but it's likely not zero.

Yes I know it's not an on/off thing. What I tried to make clear is that other videos have clearly shown that for all intents and purposes gravity is zero on the ISS (water bubbles hang in mid-air, for exmaple). But this video appears to show some significant microgravity (sounds like an oxymoron ).

O2

[BushMasterBoy]

The space station has a very dry atmosphere. There is still a weak force attraction. Nice argument though.

[OtterbatHellcat]

The space station has a very dry atmosphere. There is still a weak force attraction. Nice argument though.

Making this completely clear out of the gate. I had an astronomy class in high school and I don't know shit about space exploration. I'm going for it, Irving.

Okay, so I figure the no static thing is a big deal for sure. Wouldn't stupid dry air invite static? Another thing I wondered, was it would seem everything electrical would be sealed panels and connections, yes one might have to work on something at some time, but it would get resealed. Wouldn't the human component require some percentage of humidity in the air being breathed?

[ray1970]

I'll go with the microgravity thing.

I googled it and it's real. Defined as "very weak gravity, as in an orbiting spacecraft."

[O2HeN2]

I'll phrase it a different way...

Yes, there's microgravity on the ISS. I'm wondering a why we see evidence of DIFFERENT microgravities on it. In one case (water bubble demos) it's virtually zero. In this case with the plush toy, it has a fairly significant effect.

O2