this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2024
44 points (97.8% liked)

Ask Science

8499 readers
8 users here now

Ask a science question, get a science answer.


Community Rules


Rule 1: Be respectful and inclusive.Treat others with respect, and maintain a positive atmosphere.


Rule 2: No harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or trolling.Avoid any form of harassment, hate speech, bigotry, or offensive behavior.


Rule 3: Engage in constructive discussions.Contribute to meaningful and constructive discussions that enhance scientific understanding.


Rule 4: No AI-generated answers.Strictly prohibit the use of AI-generated answers. Providing answers generated by AI systems is not allowed and may result in a ban.


Rule 5: Follow guidelines and moderators' instructions.Adhere to community guidelines and comply with instructions given by moderators.


Rule 6: Use appropriate language and tone.Communicate using suitable language and maintain a professional and respectful tone.


Rule 7: Report violations.Report any violations of the community rules to the moderators for appropriate action.


Rule 8: Foster a continuous learning environment.Encourage a continuous learning environment where members can share knowledge and engage in scientific discussions.


Rule 9: Source required for answers.Provide credible sources for answers. Failure to include a source may result in the removal of the answer to ensure information reliability.


By adhering to these rules, we create a welcoming and informative environment where science-related questions receive accurate and credible answers. Thank you for your cooperation in making the Ask Science community a valuable resource for scientific knowledge.

We retain the discretion to modify the rules as we deem necessary.


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

What might prevent metal "blowing" and other forms of shaping from working if gravity was not a factor? Let's handwave-ignore the extremes of temperature as it relates to techniques and the present primitive space habitats and craft.

Is it possible to suspend a pool of molten metal, with a tube inside, spin while adding a gas to shape a container, and form more complex shapes through additional heat cycles in a repeatable process?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It would take substantially less energy to make metal molten in space. As air pressure drops, the temperature needed for materials to change states becomes lower. That's why water boils much faster on a mountaintop than it does at sea level.

The metal would be manually workable at relatively low temperatures. Without air, you would need a tank of a gaseous substance to “blow” into the metal.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Melting point doesn't work like boiling point. Otherwise, what would we make rockets out of? They get really hot in a vacuum, but need to (and do) stay solid.

If you go to really high pressures like in an ocean trench or deeper, melting points will raise too (or lower, in water or silicon's case), but 1 vs. 0 atmospheres is negligible. I haven't seen it even mentioned in any vacuum engineering stuff.

[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

While it’s true that the relationship between melting point and boiling point differ from material to material, the melting point always remains below the boiling point until the triple point.

The triple point is when the ambient pressure is low enough that a substance can be solid, liquid, and vapor in equilibrium at the same time.

As for engines, they burn at temperatures hot enough to melt the steel they are made of, even while on Earth. Engineers employ regenerative cooling to prevent the housing from melting at such high temperatures.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

They still get very hot, though.

Another example: Every incandescent lighbulb. The filament is stupid hot in there, under a rough vacuum, and doesn't melt. I would be surprised if 1 bar even amounted to a full degree of change in melting/freezing point.

Water is volatile, and so it's a better example of variability at familiar scales. You'll notice the freezing point is pretty much vertical at 0C on the phase chart until 100s of bars. (And then gets lower because pressure pushes matter towards denser states, and ice I is, unusually, less dense than the liquid)

The triple point shows up when the boiling point lowers to meet the melting point, and liquid water ceases to exist as a stable substance. It's at ~0C.