ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS FOR 1000-2000 DEGREES K OPERATION

BETTER HIGH TEMPERATURE (1000-2000K) ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS ARE NEEDED TO MINIMIZE THE TRANSMISSION (I2R) LOSSES ASSOCIATED WITH SPACE-BASED POWER SUPPLIES AND RAIL GUNS FOR BOTH SPACE AND TERRESTRIAL APPLICATIONS. WITH THE AVAILABILITY OF MORE CONDUCTIVE LIGHT-WEIGHT MATEIALS, A SYSTEM'S WEIGHT CAN BE REDUCED AND MORE EFFICIENT DESIGNS CAN BE PURSUED. IN THIS INVESTIGATION, BORIDE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS ARE BEING DEVELOPED THAT ARE EXPECTED TO BE EQUAL TO OR BETTER THAN MOLYBDENUM. BORIDES OF CERTAIN METALS SUCH AS TITANIUM AND LANTHANUM ARE A UNIQUE GROUP OF COMPOUNDS: THEY ARE MUCH BETTER CONDUCTORS THANTHE METALS THEMSELVES. ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITIES OF THE BORIDE COMPOUNDS POTENTIALLY CAN BE FURTHER IMPROVED THROUGH ALLOY MODIFICATION.HIGH-TEMPERATURE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY AND OTHER RELATED PROPERTIES OF HOT PRESSED BORIDE COMPOUNDS ARE BEING DETERMINED. ELECTRICAL CON-DUCTIVITY IS BEING DETERMINED OF SELECTED BORIDES THAT EXHIBIT AN ANISTROPIC CRYSTAL STRUCTURE. A MODEL IS BEING DEVELOPED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE CHEMICAL AND ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF THESE BORIDES. ALLOY ADDITIONS (DOPANTS) ARE BEING INDENTIFIED FOR SELECTED BORIDE COMPOUNDS THAT WILL IMPROVE THEIR CONDUCTIVITY AND SUCH BORIDES ARE BEING PREPARED AND EVALUATED. BORIDE CONDUCTORS COULD BE USEFUL IN MANY COMMERCIAL AREAS SUCH AS IN HIGH-TEMPERATURE ELECTROLYTIC REFINING OF METALS SUCH AS ALUMINUM.