HSC@MIT-MC@sri-unix (12/12/82)
From: Stewart Cobb <HSC at MIT-MC> One of my professors here, who is into materials processing in space (he flew a crystallization experiment aboard Skylab) discussed foamed metals with me recently. Apparently, the problem is that most metals have surface tensions that are too high for foaming to work. When you try to make such a foam, you get loosely connected globs of metal. High surface tension has never been a problem on Earth -- it is masked by our one-gee field -- so there has never really been any research on making metals with lower surface tensions. What you need is a detergent-analog that won't break down at the melting point of whatever metal you're using (probably lunar aluminum or asteroidal steel). This constraint rules out organic detergents, leaving alloying as the only apparent means of reducing surface tension. Apparently, there is no one currently doing research into such alloys. The aforementioned professor offered to help me set up such a research project, and I may take him up on it. Stewart Cobb hsc @ mit-mc