A furnace for a dental prosthesis or a partial dental prosthesis, in particular for dental ceramic, comprising a firing chamber which can be heated and in particular can also be evacuated, a control device for controlling the operation of the furnace on the basis of a firing program, which is based on a set of parameter values, and an operator control unit, which is assigned to the control device and is designed to display a representation of the firing program in the form of a firing process curve, wherein the operator control unit can be used in a simplified operating mode in which it displays together with the firing process curve at least one operator control area for adjusting a selected parameter value of the set of parameter values that relates to a prescribed program phase of the firing program, wherein the at least one operator control area is permanently arranged in the area of the displayed firing process curve that corresponds to the prescribed program phase.

A substrate in which a high-dielectric-constant gate insulator is formed on a silicon substrate with an interface layer film sandwiched in between is housed in a chamber. The method of the invention including: (a) housing the substrate in a chamber; (b) supplying ammonia to the chamber to foam an ammonia atmosphere; and (c) applying flash light to a surface of the substrate housed in the chamber to heat the high dielectric constant film, wherein the flash light applied in said step (c) has a spectral distribution that has a peak in a wavelength range of 200 to 300 nm.

Embodiments described herein relate to a refrigerator including a defrost chamber for defrosting food. The defrost chamber is fluidly coupled to the ambient air surrounding the refrigerator so that the chamber can be selectively returned to ambient temperature during a defrost cycle in order to defrost food. A control module can be included to activate a defrost cycle after a predetermined amount of time, or in advance of a desired meal time. The control module can automatically determine an anticipated defrost duration, given an input weight and type of stored food. Therefrom, the control module can activate the defrost cycle sufficiently in advance of the desired meal time to ensure that food has adequately defrosted for use. Further, after the defrost cycle has elapsed, cooling can be automatically reactivated in order to avoid food spoilage.

The timing for removing granular SiOx deposits on an inner wall of a lamp sleeve is easily obtained to prevent a decrease in production efficiency and suppress an increase in power consumption for heat treatment. A heat treatment apparatus includes a plurality of lamps that heats a semiconductor substrate, a lamp sleeve that reflects irradiation light of the plurality of lamps; a power supply that applies a lamp voltage to the plurality of lamps; a temperature detector that detects a temperature of the semiconductor substrate, a controller that controls the lamp voltage or lamp current applied to the plurality of lamps, and a warning unit that makes a warning on timing for cleaning the lamp sleeve through a display or a voice. The controller causes the warning unit to issue a warning when the lamp voltage or lamp current applied to the plurality of lamps exceeds a predetermined threshold.

The timing for removing granular SiOx deposits on an inner wall of a lamp sleeve is easily obtained to prevent a decrease in production efficiency and suppress an increase in power consumption for heat treatment. A heat treatment apparatus includes a plurality of lamps that heats a semiconductor substrate, a lamp sleeve that reflects irradiation light of the plurality of lamps; a power supply that applies a lamp voltage to the plurality of lamps; a temperature detector that detects a temperature of the semiconductor substrate, a controller that controls the lamp voltage or lamp current applied to the plurality of lamps, and a warning unit that makes a warning on timing for cleaning the lamp sleeve through a display or a voice. The controller causes the warning unit to issue a warning when the lamp voltage or lamp current applied to the plurality of lamps exceeds a predetermined threshold.

Methods and systems are described for evaluating the coverage of cooling water that is sprayed onto the surface of a graphite furnace electrode. The surface of the electrode can be sprayed with cooling water that includes an additive, and the sprayed surface can be visually inspected or imaged to assess the cooling water coverage of the electrode surface. One or more corrective measures can be taken to improve the spray coverage if it is deemed to be inadequate.

Methods and systems are described for evaluating the coverage of cooling water that is sprayed onto the surface of a graphite furnace electrode. The surface of the electrode can be sprayed with cooling water that includes an additive, and the sprayed surface can be visually inspected or imaged to assess the cooling water coverage of the electrode surface. One or more corrective measures can be taken to improve the spray coverage if it is deemed to be inadequate.

A method of driving conductive molten metal and a melting furnace, the method including making direct current flow vertically between a first electrode, and applying a magnetic field radially toward the center of a melting chamber from the outside of the melting furnace or toward the outside of the melting furnace from the center of the melting chamber to apply torque. The method further includes rotating the molten metal by the torque to discharge the molten metal to a holding furnace, which is provided on the melting chamber, from an outlet opening of a partition plate provided between the melting chamber and the holding furnace and to suck the molten metal, which is present in the holding furnace, from an inlet opening of the partition plate.

A metallurgical system for producing metals and metal alloys includes a fluid cooled mixing cold hearth having a melting cavity configured to hold a raw material for melting into a molten metal, and a mechanical drive configured to mount and move the mixing cold hearth for mixing the raw material. The system also includes a heat source configured to heat the raw material in the melting cavity, and a heat removal system configured to provide adjustable insulation for the molten metal. The mixing cold hearth can be configured as a removal element of an assembly of interchangeable mixing cold hearths, with each mixing cold hearth of the assembly configured for melting a specific category of raw materials. A process includes the steps of providing the mixing cold hearth, feeding the raw material into the melting cavity, heating the raw material, and moving the mixing cold hearth during the heating step.

A metallurgical system for producing metals and metal alloys includes a fluid cooled mixing cold hearth having a melting cavity configured to hold a raw material for melting into a molten metal, and a mechanical drive configured to mount and move the mixing cold hearth for mixing the raw material. The system also includes a heat source configured to heat the raw material in the melting cavity, and a heat removal system configured to provide adjustable insulation for the molten metal. The mixing cold hearth can be configured as a removal element of an assembly of interchangeable mixing cold hearths, with each mixing cold hearth of the assembly configured for melting a specific category of raw materials. A process includes the steps of providing the mixing cold hearth, feeding the raw material into the melting cavity, heating the raw material, and moving the mixing cold hearth during the heating step.