| 摘要 |
<p>A sodium sulfur electrical storage cell (10) includes means for avoiding bubbles in the sulfur cathode (36) during operation in a weightless environment. Formation of bubbles of sulfur or other gas in the cathode (36) is prevented by pressurizing the sulfur cathode (36) to a pressure greater than the vapor pressure of the sulfur at the operating temperature, typically about 350 DEG C. The applied pressure is preferably supplied by a chemical compound (40), such as sodium azide, that is placed into the chamber (26) holding the sulfur. At the operating temperature of the cell (10), the compound (40) decomposes to produce a gas, nitrogen in the case of the sodium azide, that is substantially insoluble in the sulfur yet produces a sufficiently high pressure over the liquid sulfur that bubbles of gaseous sulfur or other gases cannot form in the sulfur. If bubbles were permitted to form in a weightless environment, they would migrate to a location where they would interfere with the operation of the cell (10) (Fig. 1). <IMAGE></p> |
