286 research outputs found
Metallic nanograins: spatially nonuniform pairing induced by quantum confinement
It is well-known that the formation of discrete electron levels strongly
influences the pairing in metallic nanograins. Here we focus on another effect
of quantum confinement in superconducting grains that was not studied
previously, i.e., spatially nonuniform pairing. This effect is very significant
when single-electron levels form bunches and/or a kind of shell structure: in
highly symmetric grains the order parameter can exhibit variations with
position by an order of magnitude. Nonuniform pairing is closely related to a
quantum-confinement induced modification of the pairing-interaction matrix
elements and size-dependent pinning of the chemical potential to groups of
degenerate or nearly degenerate levels. For illustration we consider spherical
metallic nanograins. We show that the relevant matrix elements are as a rule
enhanced in the presence of quantum confinement, which favors spatial
variations of the order parameter, compensating the corresponding energy cost.
The size-dependent pinning of the chemical potential further increases the
spatial variation of the pair condensate. The role of nonuniform pairing is
smaller in less symmetric confining geometries and/or in the presence of
disorder. However, it always remains of importance when the energy spacing
between discrete electron levels is approaching the scale of the bulk
gap , i.e., -
First-principles calculation on the transport properties of molecular wires between Au clusters under equilibrium
Based on the matrix Green's function method combined with hybrid
tight-binding / density functional theory, we calculate the conductances of a
series of gold-dithiol molecule-gold junctions including benzenedithiol (BDT),
benzenedimethanethiol (BDMT), hexanedithiol (HDT), octanedithiol (ODT) and
decanedithiol (DDT). An atomically-contacted extended molecule model is used in
our calculation. As an important procedure, we determine the position of the
Fermi level by the energy reference according to the results from ultraviolet
photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) experiments. After considering the
experimental uncertainty in UPS measurement, the calculated results of
molecular conductances near the Fermi level qualitatively agree with the
experimental values measured by Tao et. al. [{\it Science} 301, 1221 (2003);
{\it J. Am. Chem. Soc.} 125, 16164 (2003); {\it Nano. Lett.} 4, 267 (2004).]Comment: 12 pages,8 figure
Automated Intelligent Monitoring and the Controlling Software System for Solar Panels
The inspection of the solar panels on a periodic basis is important to improve longevity and ensure performance of the solar system. To get the most solar potential of the photovoltaic (PV) system is possible through an intelligent monitoring & controlling system. The monitoring & controlling system has rapidly increased its popularity because of its user-friendly graphical interface for data acquisition, monitoring, controlling and measurements. In order to monitor the performance of the system especially for renewable energy source application such as solar photovoltaic (PV), data-acquisition systems had been used to collect all the data regarding the installed system. In this paper the development of a smart automated monitoring & controlling system for the solar panel is described, the core idea is based on IoT (the Internet of Things). The measurements of data are made using sensors, block management data acquisition modules, and a software system. Then, all the real-time data collection of the electrical output parameters of the PV plant such as voltage, current and generated electricity is displayed and stored in the block management. The proposed system is smart enough to make suggestions if the panel is not working properly, to display errors, to remind about maintenance of the system through email or SMS, and to rotate panels according to a sun position using the Ephemeral table that stored in the system. The advantages of the system are the performance of the solar panel system which can be monitored and analyzed
Comparative analysis of traditional power supply and operation of solar panels in protected ground systems
This article discusses the issues of autonomous power supply of the greenhouse. The types of greenhouses and their main microclimate parameters are considered. The article calculates the payback of installing solar panels on a greenhouse and the usual power supply of a greenhouse, depending on its type. As a result, it was revealed that the installation of solar panels has advantageous advantages in comparison with traditional mains powe
Digital activism: After the hype
Research on digital activism has gained traction in recent years. At the same time, it remains a diverse and open field that lacks a coherent mode of inquiry. For the better or worse, digital activism remains a fuzzy term. In this introduction to a special issue on digital activism, we review current attempts to periodize and historicize digital activism. Although there is growing body of research on digitial activism, many contributions remain limited through their ahistorical approach and the digital universalism that they imply. Based on the contributions to the special issue, we argue for studying digital activisms in a way that traverses a two-dimensional axis of digital technologies and activist practices, striking the balance between context and media-specificity
Memory, post-socialism and the media: nostalgia and beyond
While research on the mediation of post-socialist memory has gained momentum in recent years, the field remains fragmented and limited to small-scale case studies, with little attempt to develop a more general reflection on the nature of the processes investigated. Engagement with the wider literature on the mediatisation of memory has been limited as well, with research typically applying established conceptual frameworks rather than using post-socialist materials to generate new theoretical insights. Given the state of the field, this article has a double aim. First, it offers a critical review of the main trends in existing research, focussing on four key issues: the fascination with nostalgic modes of remembering, the dominance of national frames of analysis, the lack of research on the mediation of personal and vernacular remembering, and the privileging of descriptive over explanatory modes of analysis. Second, the article outlines a new agenda for the field, and proposes three main research trajectories. The first pays attention to how mediated memories at local and national levels interact with transnational processes of remembering the Cold War, the second focusses on to the intersections between personal and public modes of mediated remembering, and the last moves the discussion from description to explanation, using comparative approaches to advance explanations of different modes of mediated post-socialist memories
Quantum transport through STM-lifted single PTCDA molecules
Using a scanning tunneling microscope we have measured the quantum
conductance through a PTCDA molecule for different configurations of the
tip-molecule-surface junction. A peculiar conductance resonance arises at the
Fermi level for certain tip to surface distances. We have relaxed the molecular
junction coordinates and calculated transport by means of the Landauer/Keldysh
approach. The zero bias transmission calculated for fixed tip positions in
lateral dimensions but different tip substrate distances show a clear shift and
sharpening of the molecular chemisorption level on increasing the STM-surface
distance, in agreement with experiment.Comment: accepted for publication in Applied Physics
Efficiency of Energy Conversion in Thermoelectric Nanojunctions
Using first-principles approaches, this study investigated the efficiency of
energy conversion in nanojunctions, described by the thermoelectric figure of
merit . We obtained the qualitative and quantitative descriptions for the
dependence of on temperatures and lengths. A characteristic temperature:
was observed. When , . When , tends to a saturation value. The dependence of
on the wire length for the metallic atomic chains is opposite to that for
the insulating molecules: for aluminum atomic (conducting) wires, the
saturation value of increases as the length increases; while for
alkanethiol (insulating) chains, the saturation value of decreases as the
length increases. can also be enhanced by choosing low-elasticity bridging
materials or creating poor thermal contacts in nanojunctions. The results of
this study may be of interest to research attempting to increase the efficiency
of energy conversion in nano thermoelectric devices.Comment: 2 figure
Correlation of interfacial bonding mechanism and equilibrium conductance of molecular junctions
We report theoretical investigations on the role of interfacial bonding
mechanism and its resulting structures to quantum transport in molecular wires.
Two bonding mechanisms for the Au-S bond in an
Au(111)/1,4-benzenedithiol(BDT)/Au(111) junction were identified by ab initio
calculation, confirmed by a recent experiment, which, we showed, critically
control charge conduction. It was found, for Au/ BDT/Au junctions, the hydrogen
atom, bound by a dative bond to the Sulfur, is energetically non-dissociative
after the interface formation. The calculated conductance and junction
breakdown forces of H-non-dissociative Au/BDT/Au devices are consistent with
the experimental values, while the H-dissociated devices, with the interface
governed by typical covalent bonding, give conductance more than an order of
magnitude larger. By examining the scattering states that traverse the
junctions, we have revealed that mechanical and electric properties of a
junction have strong correlation with the bonding configuration. This work
clearly demonstrates that the interfacial details, rather than previously
believed many-body effects, is of vital importance for correctly predicting
equilibrium conductance of molecular junctions; and manifests that the
interfacial contact must be carefully understood for investigating quantum
transport properties of molecular nanoelectronics.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, to be appeared in Frontiers of Physics
9(6), 780 (2014
The Indignados protests in the Spanish and Greek press: Moving beyond the ‘protest paradigm’?
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