Curable polyphosphazenes

Class of polyphosphazene polymers can be cured at moderate temperatures by action of moisture. In addition, polymers maintain flexibility when exposed to low temperatures

Reversal of the extraordinary Hall effect polarity in thin Co/Pd multilayers

Thin Co/Pd multilayers, with room temperature perpendicular anisotropy and an enhanced surface scattering, were studied for the possible use in the extraordinary Hall effect (EHE) - based magnetic memory devices. Polarity of the EHE signal was found to change from negative in thick samples to positive in thin ones. Reversal of EHE sign was also observed in thick samples with aging. The effect is argued to be related to the dominance of surface scattering having the EHE polarity opposite to that of the bulk

Recovery of “Intrinsic Value” Damages in Case of Negligently Killed Pet Dog

The North Carolina Court of Appeals, in a case where negligent killing of a pet dog with no market value was admitted, has denied recovery of “intrinsic” damages (also called “actual” damages). Shera v. NC State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, 723 S.E.2d 352 (N.C. App. 2012). Because the holding is narrow and the type of damages denied are not the same as emotional damages, a close look at the decision is warranted

Inhomogeneity and transverse voltage in superconductors

Voltages parallel and transverse to electric current in slightly inhomogeneous superconductors can contain components proportional to the field and temperature derivatives of the longitudinal and Hall resistivities. We show that these anomalous contributions can be the origin of the zero field and even-in-field transverse voltage occasionally observed at the superconductor to normal state transition. The same mechanism can also cause an anomaly in the odd-in-field transverse voltage interfering the Hall effect signal.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

He Scattering from Compact Clusters and from Diffusion-Limited Aggregates on Surfaces: Observable Signatures of Structure

The angular intensity distribution of He beams scattered from compact clusters and from diffusion limited aggregates, epitaxially grown on metal surfaces, is investigated theoretically. The purpose is twofold: to distinguish compact cluster structures from diffusion limited aggregates, and to find observable {\em signatures} that can characterize the compact clusters at the atomic level of detail. To simplify the collision dynamics, the study is carried out in the framework of the sudden approximation, which assumes that momentum changes perpendicular to the surface are large compared with momentum transfer due to surface corrugation. The diffusion limited aggregates on which the scattering calculations were done, were generated by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. It is demonstrated, by focusing on the example of compact Pt Heptamers, that signatures of structure of compact clusters may indeed be extracted from the scattering distribution. These signatures enable both an experimental distinction between diffusion limited aggregates and compact clusters, and a determination of the cluster structure. The characteristics comprising the signatures are, to varying degrees, the Rainbow, Fraunhofer, specular and constructive interference peaks, all seen in the intensity distribution. It is also shown, how the distribution of adsorbate heights above the metal surface can be obtained by an analysis of the specular peak attenuation. The results contribute to establishing He scattering as a powerful tool in the investigation of surface disorder and epitaxial growth on surfaces, alongside with STM.Comment: 41 pages, 16 postscript figures. For more details see http://www.fh.huji.ac.il/~dan

Mixing and merging for spoken document retrieval

This paper describes a number of experiments that explo- red the issues surrounding the retrieval of spoken documents. Two such issues were examined. First, attempting to find the best use of speech recogniser output to produce the highest retrieval effectiveness. Second, investigating the potential problems of retrieving from a so-called "mi- xed collection", i.e. one that contains documents from both a speech recognition system (producing many errors) and from hand transcription (producing presumably near perfect documents). The result of the first part of the work found that merging the transcripts of multiple recognisers showed most promise. The investigation in the second part showed how the term weighting scheme used in a retrieval system was important in determining whether the system was affected detrimentally when retrieving from a mixed collection

The Weyl-Lanczos Equations and the Lanczos Wave Equation in 4 Dimensions as Systems in Involution

Using the work by Bampi and Caviglia, we write the Weyl-Lanczos equations as an exterior differential system. Using Janet-Riquier theory, we compute the Cartan characters for all spacetimes with a diagonal metric and for the plane wave spacetime since all spacetimes have a plane wave limit. We write the Lanczos wave equation as an exterior differential system and, with assistance from Janet-Riquier theory, we find that it forms a system in involution. This result can be derived from the scalar wave equation itself. We compute its Cartan characters and compare them with those of the Weyl-Lanczos equations.Comment: 18 pages, latex, no figures, references correcte