9411756 Vikram This is a SGER proposal submitted in the Ceramic Program. The PI aims to introduce a fundamentally new optical approach to measure ultralow thermal expansion coefficients of irregular shapes and sizes of samples. The method is self calibrating and has not been tested before. The scattered light from the sample (where I = intensity of light, A = area of the sample, l = linear dimension of the sample) will be used as an approach to measure precisely the thermal expansion coefficient. This is a preliminary work on a untested, novel and fundamentally sound idea. %%%% The proposed work aims to introduce a new approach for measuring thermal expansion coefficients of irregular shaped bodies by using a new untested optical method. The technique is self-calibrating and has potential in the area of high temperature structural ceramics, engine components etc. ***
