Giant steps are what you take....

[Usarka]

"over time" can be pretty quick, depending on the actual pressures (absolute) and temperatures. Flash drying either using going from high pressure to ambient at high temperatures (e.g. milk powder production) or from ambient pressure to vacuum at ambient temperature is reasonably common.

In the experiment, if the sand was introduced into the vacuum chamber, and then the chamber evacuated, then the time it took for the chamber to pump down could be enough to removed the moisture. I never saw the program, so can't really comment on the actual experiment or if they appeared to edit anything out.

Interesting stuff (sorry cut the rest out for space reasons excuse the pun). So are you saying that you could dry sand out in a vacuum chamber through the process of lowering the pressure at a rate that doesn't suck the sand out also?

They are gonna film another one shorthly. This time with CGI.

Comming soon to DVD and Blu Ray.

Bang on! That's why they haven't "been back". Special effects improved heaps since the original - a scratchy half arsed b&w job won't cut the mustard anymore, but SF isn't quite good enough to be 100% believable yet. I heard they are going to hire Peter Jackson.

[dipshit]

fair point .. but I still don't buy it .. I don't believe money would be an issue .. old boys club and all .. those in that position of power can get their hands on anything.

The space race was largely a pissing match with the former USSR. Once the political desire dropped away... so did the $$$.

Interestingly China will be having manned missions into orbit in a couple of years at a time when the US will have none as it is phasing out the space shuttle programme.

And this is a good site explaining all the BS of the moon conspiracy nonsense.
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html

[Fooman]

Interesting stuff (sorry cut the rest out for space reasons excuse the pun). So are you saying that you could dry sand out in a vacuum chamber through the process of lowering the pressure at a rate that doesn't suck the sand out also?

Pretty much, yeah. Vacuum pumps tend not to have a particularly high flow rate, rather, they have rather good seals! If the vacuum chamber was chocka full of sand, then some may get sucked up - bad for pump unless it had a filter.

There may also be a bit of bubbling - they sand may be a fluidised bed for a bit as the moisture boils off, but if I was to put a layer of wet sand in one of the vacuum chambers we have in out labs downstairs, I would not expect it to be sucked out (The liquids we de-gas in them aren't sucked out). It's not a vacuum cleaner! You have to remember that there is no flow into the vacuum chamber (it is sealed), so once the initial atmosphere is removed, there are no aerodynamic forces on the particles inside (other than from boiling as mentioned above) .

Cheers,
FM

[Oscar]

Oscar's Standard Moon Landing Conspiracy Answer:

Are you telling me that a Government that couldn't keep a secret about a blow-job in the Oval Office has managed to fool the entire world for 40 years with a faked moon landing?


Yeah right...

[Big Dave]

Maybe, just maybe the Astronauts had a good dry cleaner.