These properties are very difficult to model, so we are conducting this study to better understand fluid physics in general and improve theoretical models. Findings from this investigation may also have applications for improving industrial processes. For instance, the combustion of fuels, the same processes being studied in other experiments aboard Spacelab, depends on the kinds of fluid physics we are investigating in the Middeck Glovebox. The system is one of four on board the Shuttle which detects and records the small, unavoidable disturbances in the near-zero gravity of the environment of the Spacelab. In the Large Isothermal Furnace last night, Crouch began the fourth of six planned runs of an experiment to study the diffusion process of tracers, or impurities, in molten semiconductors.
Diffusion is the process by which liquid metals mix without stirring.
The experiment is a fundamental scientific study to measure the thermophysical properties of germanium, an element widely used as a semiconductor. Findings from the study may have applications for improving the performance of electronic components made from semiconductor materials, such as transistors and integrated circuits. During the experiment, heptane fuel droplets are burned at different pressures and oxygen concentrations. Runs conducted this morning were at one-half atmospheric pressure, half of what it is one Earth, in oxygen concentrations varying from 25 to 40 percent. Results of each test may be different depending on the pressure, oxygen and size of the droplet.