Prep for post-annealing

6/24
Today was a slow day in terms of actual lab work. The slurry that had dried overnight was taken out of the oven, re-ground using a mortar and pestle until homogeneous. It had changed from a dark black mud to a gray paste. Strangely, though, when it was re-ground with a mortar and pestle, the color became black again.

Fortunately, we remembered how to press pellets from a few days earlier, so we were able to work somewhat independently to press the pellets for post-annealing. Until now, our inexperience with Materials Lab research techniques, procedures etc had rendered us dependent upon our mentors to tell us what to do. There was a nice sense of accomplishment at being able to work alone. I suppose its like that at most new jobs. Once the training phase is over, people settle in and can work for themselves. I don't think we are quite there yet, but it was nice to get a taste. Five total pellets were made pressed (four with a mass of 1.0 g, and a last with 0.50 g)

Once the pellets were pressed, our day in the lab was pretty much done. The oxygen tank necessary for the post-annealing was not available, so the last phase of YBCO prep will have to wait. The rest of the day was spent brainstorming ideas and looking online for some examples of what we were trying to engineer.