Cross-post from the other thread: "Diborides and carbides of...

Cross-post from the other thread:

"Diborides and carbides of zirconium, hafnium, and tantalum (ZrB 2, ZrC, HfB 2, HfC, TaC, etc., melting points well above 3200 K), are referred as ultra-high-temperature-ceramics (UHTCs) and are considered the best-emerging materials for applications in aerospace and advanced energy systems (turbine blades, combustors, scramjet engines, nuclear fusion reactors). The increasing interest in these materials is due to their unique combination of properties including the highest melting points of any group of materials, high strength, high thermal and electrical conductivities and chemical stability. Recently, it has been found that most of these compounds also have the characteristic of being intrinsic solar spectrally selective materials, but the knowledge on the optical properties of these materials is still very poor ..."
http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jrse/3/6/10.1063/1.3662099

Considering that we will produce zirconia ceramics and are considering adding hafnium and tantalum circuits to the DZP, this is an area Alk should really look into imO.

@Leapzig, next time you talk to management, you might want to mention it. Oh, and when your at it, could you ask whether the FEED has already been paid for (completely)?