Search for gravitational effects in diffusion

J. C. Clunie; M. L. Lewis; D. T. Albright; James K. Baird

doi:10.1117/12.244336

12 July 1996 Search for gravitational effects in diffusion

J. C. Clunie, M. L. Lewis, D. T. Albright, James K. Baird

Proceedings Volume 2809, Space Processing of Materials; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.244336
Event: SPIE's 1996 International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1996, Denver, CO, United States

Abstract

We have measured the rate of diffusion of aqueous CuSO₄ into pure water across a free liquid interface both on the ground and in 'microgravity' aboard the STS-43 mission of the Space Shuttle. Because both experiments were carried out under isothermal conditions with the CuSO₄ solution on the bottom and the pure water on the top, there was no obvious source of buoyancy. Moreover, the expected decrease in the diffusion coefficient due to hydrostatic pressure diffusion of CuSO₄ was two orders of magnitude less than the experimental error, which was 3-4 percent. Thus, within this error, our experiments show that there is not effect of gravity on diffusion in the case of a gravitationally stabilized, isothermal liquid. This is in contrast to the results obtained by others using melts under non-isothermal conditions where effects as large as 10 percent have been reported.

Citation Download Citation

J. C. Clunie, M. L. Lewis, D. T. Albright, and James K. Baird "Search for gravitational effects in diffusion", Proc. SPIE 2809, Space Processing of Materials, (12 July 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.244336

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