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| Case | Location | "Slag" | "Light Silvery Alloy" | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Primary | Secondary | Primary | Secondary | ||
| 1 | Ubatuba | none | Mg | Al, Ca, Fe | ||
| 2 | Maury Is. | Ca, Fe, Zn, Ti | Si, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr, Al, Mg, Mn, Sr | Ag, Sn, Cd | ||
| 3 | Washington | none | Mg, Si | |||
| 4 | Campinas | none | Sn? (90%) | |||
| 5 | Sweden | W (94.9%) | Co(4.1%) Zr(0.6%), Fe(0.3%) | none | ||
| 6 | Maumee | none | Mg(92%) | |||
| 7 | Kiana | none | YES | |||
| 8 | Bogota | none | Al(94%) | P(5%), Fe(1%) | ||
| 9 | Council Bluffs | Fe | Ni, Cr, Mn, Si, Ti | none | ||
| 10 | Jopala | Fe | Si(1%), Mn(0.8%), Cr(0.8%), C(0.3%) | none | ||
| as a disc, occasionally as a vehicle flying in an unstable condition. The material, in liquid form, falls over a fairly wide area where it takes minutes to hours to cool down. When analyzed, it turns out to be made up of common terrestrial elements, often in a form resembling ordinary industrial byproducts. |
Given this scenario, it is appropriate to ask under what conditions one might want to use liquid metal in a flying vehicle. In the words of J. R. Bumby of the University of Durham, "the high conductivity of liquid metals makes them an attractive means of current collection for homopolar machines" (Bumby, 1983). Bumby goes on to cite a number of such machines, both superconducting and non-superconducting, that have been built (Watt, 1958; Doyle, 1974; Chabrerie, et al, 1972) and one that is commercially available (Lewis, 1971). Similarly, liquid metal designs have been proposed for magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) generators, for the decomposition of toxic wastes and for superconducting airborne platforms (Southall & Oberly, 1979). However the composition of the liquids used in such machines is radically different from the list of elements found in Table 3. As noted by Bumby, "At room temperature the only pure liquid metal is mercury, although at slightly higher temperatures gallium (29.8 degrees C) and sodium (97.8 degrees C) become liquid." Actual machines are using sodium-potassium and gallium-indium mixtures as current conductors, thus minimizing wear and friction. The lat- |
