Shell forming apparatus

Abstract

A nozzle assembly is described for use in a system that forms small gas-filled shells, which avoids the need for holding a miniature inner nozzle precisely concentric with a miniature outer nozzle. The outer nozzle has a diameter which is less than about 0.7 millimeter, which results in fluid passing through the nozzle having a progressively greater velocity at locations progressively further from the walls of the outer nozzle across most of the nozzle. This highly variable velocity profile automatically forces gas to the center of the outer nozzle. The end of the inner nozzle, which emits gas, is spaced upstream from the tip of the outer nozzle, to provide a distance along which to center the gas. This self-centering characteristic permits the inner nozzle to be positioned so its axis is not concentric with the axis of the outer nozzle.