Reply To: turn heat into electricity

[benf]

Not a mechanical engineer but this material caught my eye….Corning offers up Macor which seems to have a lot of useful properties and is machinable. Here’s a link to a New Jersey distributor that shows pricing on the website that seems within reach, although you’d still have to fabricate. Can it be made from a tube or hollowed out rod and a plate joined together, or does it need to be cast as one piece? Maybe the rubber o-ring isn’t sufficient to absorbing the shock and the insulator “crashes” against the steel plate or anode during the shots? I’m picturing the image of the broken view port from an earlier newsletter. How was that issue addressed?

Edit: Adding this spec sheet from another supplier comparing the material to aluminum silicate. If this material is too expensive maybe look for used pyrex or zerodur telescope mirror blanks? Probably hard to fabricate….