Electrostatic Levitator

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This book presents inductive and hybrid levitation micro-systems and their applications in micro-sensors and –actuators. It proposes and discusses analytical and quasi-finite element techniques for modeling levitation micro-systems based on the Lagrangian formalism. In particular, micro-bearings, -actuators, -accelerators and –accelerometers based on inductive levitation are comprehensively described with accompanying experimental measurements.

One of the major experimental difficulties in studying materials at extreme temperatures is unwanted contamination of the sample through contact with the container. This can be avoided by suspending the sample through levitation. This technique also makes metastable states of matter accessible, opening up new avenues of scientific enquiry, as well as possible new materials for technological applications. This book describes several methods of levitation, the most important being aerodynamic, electromagnetic and electrostatic. It summarizes the state-of-the-art of the measurement of structural, dynamic and physical properties with levitation techniques, the considerable progress made in this field in the past two decades, and prospects for the future. It also explores the concepts behind the experiments and associated theoretical ideas. Aimed at researchers in physics, physical chemistry and materials science, the book is also of interest to professionals working in high-temperature materials processing and the aerospace industry.

This book presents experimental work conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) in order to characterize metals and alloys in the liquid state. The internationally recognized authors present and discuss experiments performed in microgravity that enabled the study of the relevant volume and surface related properties free of the restrictions of a gravity-based environment. The collection serves also as a handbook of space experiments using electromagnetic levitation techniques. A summary of recent results provides an overview of the wealth of space experiment data, which will ignite further research activities and inspire academics and industrial research departments for their continuous development.