We investigate the newly discovered, superconducting metal-mixed polymers made by embedding a surface layer of metal (a tin-antimony alloy) into a plastic substrate (polyetheretherketone - PEEK). Focusing initially on pre-implanted systems, we show that while the substrate morphology does affect the distribution of metal deposited on the surface, the morphology has no affect on the film's electrical properties. We find that the metal content can be characterised via the film's optical absorption, which along with the conductivity, scales with thickness. By conducting low temperature resistivity measurements we observe that the superconducting critical temperature, $T_c$, remains at that of bulk Sn but the transition broadens with decreasing film thickness. Studying N-implanted metal-mixed polymers, we find that the implant temperature can influence the electrical properties of these systems, as higher implant temperatures result in greater disorder, which in turn causes higher residual resistances and broader superconducting transitions. We observe peaks in the magnetoresistance of superconducting/insulating systems, which we attribute to the competition between superconductivity and weak localisation in a granular network. We determine that the substrate morphology does not influence the electrical properties of implanted systems. We investigate the role sputtering plays by implanting heavier ions (Sn) and show that this technique can be used to overcome the issue of inhomogeneity inherent with using thinner initial films. We study the effect the fabrication parameters of implant dose, beam energy and film thickness have on Sn-implanted metal-mixed polymers and find that with only minor changes in the fabrication conditions, it is possible to tune the conductivities of these materials between a zero-resistance superconducting state, through a metal-insulator transition, to a severely insulating state ($R_s > 10^{10}~\Omega/\Box$). We find that the electrical properties can be further controlled by annealing the samples, and that it is possible to induce optical changes at temperatures approaching the glass transition temperature of PEEK. We demonstrate that metal-mixed polymers are suitable for use in resistance-based temperature sensors by comparing their performance directly against commercially available products and find that the metal-mixed polymers perform at least as well as the commercial models and, indeed, pass the highest industry standards.

Despite the rapid development in technology that enables metal music producers today to create “perfect” sound mixes, many bands, artists and producers choose to make their creations sound old or “retro”. A song is created for this study and mixed in two different ways, one with a more“retro” direction and the other with a more “modern” direction. Five respondents were then made to listen to both mixes and were interviewed on what they thought of each respective mix and why they think retro culture is so prevalent today. The data gathered from the interviews show that the respondents describe retro mixes as dirty, saturated and raw while they described modern mixes as clean, hi-fi and overly compressed. The respondents associate old sounding mixes to authenticity, genuinity and honesty but don’t describe modern mixes as fake or dishonest. The respondents comment that the streamlined nature of music production today leads to very uniform sounding mixes and the abundance of similar sounding mixes creates a demand for more honest, authentic and genuine music. The respondents claim that retro culture would not be possible without the aid of modern technology.

"New, economical semi-solid metal (SSM) processes rely on forced convection during solidification to influence non-dendritic growth. The fundamental mechanisms that produce SSM microstructures in the presence of forced convection (due to fluid flow) are not fully understood. The objective of this work is to elucidate these mechanisms through the use of a new semi-solid slurry-making technique. Employing an apparatus developed at WPI, two alloy melts are mixed within a static reactor that induces convection and rapid cooling. Experiments carried out with this apparatus, named the “Continuous Rheoconversion Process” (CRP), result in globular semi-solid microstructures throughout a wide range of processing conditions. These conditions include the superheat in the melts before mixing, cooling rate of the slurry through the SSM range, and the presence or absence of inoculants in the melts. The results comprise repeatable sets of semi-solid microstructures having fine particle size and shape factors approaching unity. Even in the absence of melt inoculants, uniform distributions of α-Al particle sizes of about 60µm are attainable. Entrapped liquid is not present in the majority of the samples obtained with the CRP, and irregular particles that form in the process are of a limited distribution. Variation of slurry analysis methods indicates that these structures can be obtained consistently for both thixocasting and rheocasting applications. The design of the mixing reactor leads to turbulent fluid flow just as solidification commences. The results suggest that the following factors must be considered in identifying the mechanisms operating under the above conditions: copious nucleation of the primary phase; dispersion of nuclei throughout the bulk liquid; and inhibited remelting of nuclei due to temperature uniformity. In the CRP, these factors consistently lead to suppression of dendritic growth, significant grain refinement, and globular slurries. The exact fundamental mechanism leading to this effect is yet to be uncovered; however it is clear that temperature gradients ahead of the liquid are such that a cellular, non-dendritic morphology is the most stable growth form. Through further exploration of the process and identification of the operating mechanisms, future development of economical, continuous rheocasting methods will be facilitated."