Public domain
Microgravity
From the collection of NASA Image and Video Library. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A 3 mm drop of nickel-zirconium, heated to incandescence, hovers between electrically charged plates inside the Electrostatic Levitator (ESL). The ESL uses static electricity to suspend an object (about 2-3 mm in diameter) inside a vacuum chamber while a laser heats the sample until it melts. This lets scientists record a wide range of physical properties without the sample contacting the container or any instruments, conditions that would alter the readings.
NASA Image and Video Library’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineMicrogravity. NASA/MSFC, 2000-09-30. Public domain. ID: 0004411.
