Captions by: J. M. Hill, Photos by R. Bertram
|
On April 3-4, 2002, the spinning furnace reached the
maximum temperature of 1150 degrees C and the 11 tons of E6
borosilicate glass melted into the 6.5 meter diameter honeycomb mold.
While the temperature is 1150 degrees C inside, the surface temperature
of the spinning furnace approaches 100 degrees C.
Fans on the lid of the furnace blow room air along the wire ducts
in order to keep the insulation on the wires from melting.
The aluminum ducts running up the side of the furnace blow cool(er) air
on the CCD video cameras that view the melting process inside the
furnace.
The 7.40 rpm speed must be accurate and stable to within 0.1%
in order to form the correct parabola.
|
|
Quicktime Movie #7
|
|
|
Quicktime Movie #11
|
|
Last modified: Thu Sep 7 17:45:16 2000