Automated Experimental Assembly for Studying the Reaction-Diffusion Behavior of Belousov-Zhabotinsky Reactions under Microgravity

Abstract

For investigating the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reactions in free-fall experiments under microgravity, conducted at Japan Microgravity Center (JAMIC) in Hokkaido, the automated setup of batch-type, which was constructed in this work, had to be placed in the limited space and to have functions to prepare the reaction solution; it was also required to send it to the vessels after the necessary induction period and to collect image data via CCD cameras, including the process of integrating the capsule. These operation sequences of each device involved simple solid state relays. The initial start of the relay sequences was performed by a start command from the operation room of JAMIC. The propagation profile of the chemical patterns under microgravity of 10^-5 g was collected as image data for ca. 9 s. They were not disturbed by the release of carbon dioxide, which often deforms the chemical patterns in the aging of BZ reactions.