Question

In a satellite moving round any planet, the gravitational force is effectively balanced. If an ice cube exists there, and it melts with passage of time, its shape will (a) remain unchanged (b) change to spherical (c) become oval-shaped with long-axis along the orbit plane (d) become oval-shaped with long axis perpendicular to orbit plane

Answer 1

Answer:

The reason any droplet is spherical is due to the surface area to volume ratio. A sphere is the shape with the smallest surface area to volume ratio, as opposed to a square or triangle. Larger ones are affected by the weight and normal forces which exceed the ability of the surface tension to keep the drop in spherical shape. In a zero gravity environment all droplets would be spherical.