A unique levitation furnace that flew on the Space Shuttle in 1998 is being eyed for upgrades to fly on future Shuttle and International Space Station missions. I am really surprised at how much scientific data we are still squeezing out of it. Scientist don't want either to happen when they are trying to make precise measurements of fundamental properties that can help them refine manufacturing processes on Earth. Data are still being analyzed, but Egry gave a preview Tuesday, including benchmark data that will let scientists correct the surface tension measurements for one type of metal, and make the first-ever reliable viscosity measurements. Among them were the first experimental measurements of the electrical conductivity of cobalt-palladium in both its liquid and solid states.
Consistency is crucial when one is trying to establish basic physical properties.
For example, one line of experiments involved cooling metals, such as zirconium, far below their normal freezing point and then recording the point where they froze, how much heat they gave off, and other details. All told, the MSL-1 mission hosted 22 experiments comprising 197 hours of test run and 437 melting cycles. Microgravity Materials Science Conference is described in a July 9 story. The top-level agenda lists the opening speakers and the parallel sessions. Individual oral presenters and poster presenters , many with abstracts available as Acrobat PDF copies, are listed by session.