Skull crucible

  The Skull Crucible process was developed at the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow to manufacture Zirconium oxide powder is heated then gradually allowed to cool. Heating is accomplished by radio frequency induction using a coil wrapped around the apparatus. The outside of the device is water cooled in order to keep the RF coil from melting and also to cool the outside of the zirconium oxide and thus maintain the shape of the zirconium powder.