ACEIZE Tracking the current state of Science and Technology

Mirrors made from liquid materials are much cheaper to make and transport than their glass counter parts. For example, the 6-meter Large Zenith LMT at the University of British Columbia, which has a liquid mercury metal lens, cost $1 million to build. A comparable glass mirror telescope would cost an estimated $100 million. Add to the cost of construction the cost of transporting a fixed size glass mirror into space versus transporting a jug of fluid that can be poured into a mirror, and the cost of putting a liquid lens mirror into space is less than 1% of the cost of a glass mirror.

The trouble with putting liquid mirrors into space is that liquids tend to freeze. A mirror in space must remain fluid a temperatures as low as 140° C (-220° F). This is where ionic fluids such as ECOENG 220 are useful. The ionization of the material means that it will not form neatly into crystalline structures at low temperatures. This lack of crystalline structure lowers the freezing point of the liquid.

In the case of the mirrored lens for telescopes the ionic fluid is then covered in silver. This is accomplished through an electroplating process. A small electrical current is run through silver that is introduced to the ionic fluid in a vacuum. Some of the silver evaporates, while some coats the ionic liquid with a thin layer.