Ever wondered how you'd melt metal in space? 🌌 The space station from the Chinese mainland has just broken a world record by heating tungsten alloy to over 3,100°C – nearly half the surface temperature of the sun! ☀️🔥
This fiery feat took place inside the container-free material science laboratory cabinet aboard the Tianhe core module. With an electrostatic levitation device, samples floated in midair, so scientists could heat metal without any container touching it.
As Professor Hu Liang from Northwestern Polytechnical University explains, microgravity is the secret sauce. It lets molten tungsten form a perfect sphere, revealing its physical and chemical properties in pure form. On Earth, gravity can cause heavy elements to separate unevenly in alloys, but up in orbit, the mix stays uniform and performance gets a major boost. ✨
Tungsten is famous for having the highest melting point of any metal – 3,412°C – making it a superstar material for extreme environments like rocket engines and nuclear fusion reactors. Yet, studying its behavior at such staggering temperatures has been a real challenge… until now.
Collaboration between the orbiting crew and the ground-based research team led by Northwestern Polytechnical University made this record possible. Before sending the experiment to space, they ran countless tests on Earth to perfect the research plan.
This milestone not only proves the Chinese mainland's self-designed space lab is up to the task, but also delivers a treasure trove of original data on ultra-high temperature experiments in orbit.
With these insights, scientists can forge new tungsten alloys with even better performance, boosting future innovations in aerospace and the nuclear industry. The sky isn't the limit – it's just the beginning! 🚀🌟
Reference(s):
China sets record with 3,100°C tungsten alloy heating in space
cgtn.com
