Efficiency calculation and comparison of fluidic and solid-body power sources using corpuscular radiation

Research done on a set of simple fl uidic (with the fluid used as the ionized medium being air under atmospheric pressure) alphavoltaic cells – small ionizing reactors or “nuclear batteries”, designed in the Faculty of Power and Aerospace Engineering of Warsaw University of Technology, Poland – has shown the possibility of accumulation of usable amount of electric charge. Two simple methods are proposed to describe the fluidic alphavoltaic cells in terms of their efficiency. The results of these methods are presented and compared with the efficiencies of other contemporary types of solid-body (semiconductor junction-based) alpha- and betavoltaic cells. The comparison showed that despite the far-reaching simplicity in design, the designed fl uidic cells are still more efficient than some of the solid-body devices that use the alpha type of decay

Pressure Broadening of J=1 ← 0 Rotational Line of Fluoroform Caused by Spherical Perturbers

The foreign-gas broadening parameter was measured for CHF$\text{}_{3}$ molecule interacting with spherical (SF$\text{}_{6}$, CF$\text{}_{4}$, CH$\text{}_{4}$, CCl$\text{}_{4}$) perturbers and the pressure shift parameter of rotational transition J=1 ← 0 in the CHF$\text{}_{3}$ molecule was obtained. For the systems of trifluoromethane molecule and four spherical molecules as perturbers the collision cross-sections were determined. Experimental line width parameters are interpreted using Anderson-Tsao-Curnutte as well as Murphy-Boggs theories. Accounting for the dispersive and inductive interactions the cross-section was determined. The theoretical values are in qualitative agreement with the experimental results, but the absolute values of the measured cross-section were larger than these calculated

Changes in pasta properties during cooking and short-time storage

The fundamental aim of this research was to study changes in the physical properties of spaghetti during cooking and after the first hour of storage. In addition, the research evaluated the cooking properties of pasta. For testing purposes, eight samples of spaghetti, produced using semolina and common wheat flour, were used. After cooking, the samples of spaghetti were stored for 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min. After storage, the samples of cooked spaghetti were cut, and both the cutting force (hardness) and the cutting energy (firmness) of the samples were determined. It was found that, after storage, the cutting force and energy of cooked pasta decreased, in average terms, from 1.0 to 0.44 N and from 0.84 to 0.43 mJ, respectively. The statistical analysis showed a significant correlation between the storage time and the textural parameters of pasta. The hardness and firmness of pasta, which was al dente after cooking, were found to decrease about twice during storage, as a result of water migration. The hardness of pasta stabilised after 50 min of the storage of cooked spaghetti. Moreover, the obtained data revealed that the diameter increase index of spaghetti could indicate the quality of pasta