Nebula

The internally heated pressure vessel (IHPV) has generally fallen out of widespread use in the United States, but FORCE is taking advantage of new, safer technology to bring it back to the forefront of high pressure research. Nebula is FORCE’s internally heated pressure vessel. With capabilities reaching up to 0.6 GPa and 1250°C, Nebula offers a unique capability among the FORCE apparatuses: direct pressure control without solid pressure media. In an IHPV, argon gas is used to apply pressure to the sample, providing an extremely even transmission of force. Nebula will be used to simulate the pressures and temperatures found in the Earth’s crust. 

This piece of equipment is useful for geologists in a variety of ways. Like the other apparatuses within FORCE, Nebula can be effectively used for sample synthesis. With sample volumes as large as almost 10 mm x 50 mm, not only can larger samples be used, but also multiple samples may be run under in the same pressure-temperature conditions. When comparing different compositions across the same conditions, this is invaluable.

Nebula is perfectly suited for studying volatiles in magmas, and will help increase our knowledge of magma storage conditions and the interactions between hydrologic and magmatic systems beneath the surface of the Earth.