Microgravity eliminating

These results prompted a number of experiments in subsequent missions designed to measure diffusion coefficients of liquid metals. Some of these experiments found a power law dependence on temperature, with the exponent varying around 2 for different materials, while others found a better fit with an Arrhenius model. However, all of the microgravity experiments consistently measured diffusion coefficients that were 30-50% lower than the accepted values, suggesting that all existing transport data for liquid metals may be contaminated by unwanted convection. A recent analysis demonstrated the difficulty of eliminating convective transport in such measurements in normal gravity.f ... 

Microgravity is being explored as a means for improving crystal size, habit and perfection (DeLucas et al 1989). The major motivation behind these experiments is to eliminate density-driven convective flow that... 

A second useful feature of microgravity is that pressure head effects are virtually eliminated. This is important in phase change studies where small gradients in pressure cause significant changes in the behavior of the phases. 

Third, microgravity virtually eliminates sedimentation. In emulsion polymerization and dispersion polymerization polymer particles are formed with a higher density than the surrounding medium and tend to settle. The same sedimentation issues arise with polymer production in living cells. Microgravity allows a researcher to create colloids and dispersions with stabilities not normally achievable on the ground. 

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