dietz%usc-cse%USC-ECL@sri-unix.UUCP (07/13/83)
OMNI magazine recently had a contest in which contestants were asked to submit plans for experiments to be orbited in a "get-away special", payed for by the magazine. The winner was an experiment to form foamed metal beams in zero-g. The experiment will involve heating metal hydrides to form a molten metal/hydrogen gas mizture. This mixture will then be extruded through an I shaped opening. The foamed metal should have a much higher strength-to-mass ratio than solid metal. Two hydrides will be used: titanium and calcium. Calcium is ubiquitous on Earth, but it (and all known alloys) quickly corrode in air. Calcium (and calcium alloys) may be very useful in the vacuum of space, though, because they are very light.