During the study, a spherical sample will be positioned in the facility, melted and then cooled. Results of this research may improve steel strip casting and welding processes. Early this morning, Thomas exchanged the sample in the furnace to begin another run of a study to gather fundamental measurements of an undercooled sample of cobalt-palladium. Undercooling is when a liquid remains fluid when cooled below its normal freezing point. During the experiment, an electromagnetic pulse is used to squeeze, then release the sample being levitated in the facility.
Instruments record the oscillations, or movement, of the sample.
This is the first time the viscosity of a cobalt-palladium alloy has ever been measured. They have done everything we hoped they'd do. Today, the Columbia crew is scheduled to perform another run of the Coarsening of Solid Liquid Mixtures experiment and Linteris will conduct another run of the flame ball experiment in the Combustion Module. The next scheduled Public Affairs status report will be issued at approximately 6 a.m., July 15.