Ultrafine particle and fiber production in microgravity

A system for producing ultrafine particles of a given metallic material, comprising

• means defining a work chamber;
• means for providing within the work chamber a gas atmosphere that includes an inert gas;
• means for evaporating the given material in the gas atmosphere of the work chamber under conditions that cause the evaporated material to condense as ultrafine particles;
• and
• means for actively collecting the condensed particles by attracting the particles from the gas atmosphere to the collecting means.

A system for producing ultrafine fibers of a given nonferromagnetic metallic material, comprising

• means defining a work chamber;
• means for providing within the work chamber a gas atmosphere that includes inert gas;
• means for evaporating the given material in the gas atmosphere of the work chamber under conditions that cause the evaporated material to condense as ultrafine particles;
• and
• means for collecting the condensed particles in fused chain formations to produce fibers;
• wherein the collecting means include electrodes for providing an electrostatic field in the work chamber to attract the condensed particles to the electrodes, to particles attracted to the electrodes and to particles attracted to particles attracted to the electrodes to form the particle chains.

A process for producing ultrafine particles of a given metallic material, comprising the steps of

• (a) evaporating the given material in a work chamber having a gas atmosphere that includes inert gas under conditions that cause the evaporated material to condense as ultrafine particles;
• (b) locating the work chamber in a microgravity environment to reduce gravity-caused convection currents in the work chamber that otherwise would promote coalescence of the condensed particles;
• and
• (c) actively collecting the condensed particles by attracting the particles from the gas atmosphere to collecting means.