Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 February 2011
Containerless techniques (levitation) completely eliminate contact with the sample. This unique sample environment allows deep supercooling of many liquids and avoids contamination of high-temperature melts. Recent experiments at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) high-energy beamline 11 ID-C used aerodynamic levitation with laser beam heating and acoustic levitation with cryogenic cooling. By using these two methods, liquids were studied over much of the temperature range from −40 to +2500°C. This paper briefly describes the instrumentation and its use and is illustrated with examples of measurements on molten oxides and low-temperature liquids.