Thanks to human ingenuity and zero gravity, we reap important benefits from science in space. Consider smart phones with built-in navigation systems and cameras.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A team of scientists from nine institutions in government, academia and industry discovered that many kinds of glass have similar atomic structure and can successfully be made in space. A bead of space glass is shown in the image. Credit: Phoenix Pleasant/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy Such transformational technologies seem to blend into the rhythm of our everyday lives overnight. But they emerged from years of discoveries and developments of materials that can withstand harsh environments outside our atmosphere. They evolve from decades of laying foundations in basic science to understand how atoms behave in different materials under different conditions. Building on this past, a global team of researchers has set a new benchmark for future experiments making materials in space rather than for space. The team included members from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories, Materials Development, Inc., NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Alfred University and the University of New Mexico. Together, they discovered that many kinds of glass, including ones that could be developed for next-generation optical devices, have similar atomic structure and arrangements and can successfully be made in space. The team's paper is published in the journal npj Microgravity. "The idea is to feel out the mechanisms behind space-based manufacturing, which can lead to materials that are not necessarily available on Earth," said Jörg Neuefeind, who joined ORNL in 2004 to build an instrument called NOMAD at the lab's Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). NOMAD, the fastest neutron diffractometer in the world, helps scientists measure the arrangement of atoms by seeing how neutrons bounce off them. NOMAD is one of 20 instruments at…