When astronauts landed on the moon and planted the American flag, it fluttered. Conspiracy theorists cried foul. Here comes the science.
source/image: The Action Lab
In this video I put a flag in my vacuum chamber to see if flags can flutter or wave in a vacuum. I talk about the moon landing and show the footage of the astronauts putting the flag up.
The flag appears to move and flutter seemingly in the wind. Can a flag wave in a vacuum? Watch this video to figure out why or why a flag waves in a vacuum like space.
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If you watch the Apollo footage you find that when the flag “flutters” and it continues to oscillate stiffly and unnaturally for quite a while, differently from a flag on Earth, which changes shape and comes to a standstill almost immediately. This unusual and persistent oscillation is possible because the flag is moving in an airless environment, without encountering any air resistance.
