I mean, obviously the vat must be made of a metal with a higher melting point. But then how did they cast the metal to make that vat?
In: Chemistry
When heating and working with molten metal, such as when casting it, the crucible will usually be made of a ceramic with a much higher melting temperature than the metal being worked on. Graphite, silicone carbide, and several metal nitrides are ones I’m most familiar with.
Metallic crucibles are possible, they will also usually use a material with a higher melting point, it won’t have been cast to shape however. It would usually have been sintered; metal powder pressed in a mold at high pressure and elevated temperature to form a cohesive solid, then subsequently treated and coated to give it the properties to hold the liquid metal it’s made to handle. Tantalum and Tungsten alloys are examples I’ve worked with of sintered metal crucible’s.
It is possible for a crucible to safely hold a metal who’s temperature is above the crucible’s melting point. The furnace design, specifically the insulation, will have been specially put together to ensure energy flow through the crucible is sufficient that it never melts. This may be because of the furnace heating method needing a metallic crucible to work etc. usually someone doesn’t want to replace a furnace when a crucible and insulation pack are much, much cheaper.
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