977 research outputs found
Dissipative heat engine is thermodynamically inconsistent
A heat engine operating on the basis of the Carnot cycle is considered, where
the mechanical work performed is dissipated within the engine at the
temperature of the warmer isotherm and the resulting heat is added to the
engine together with an external heat input. The resulting work performed by
the engine per cycle is increased at the expense of dissipated work produced in
the previous cycle. It is shown that such a dissipative heat engine is
thermodynamically inconsistent violating the first and second laws of
thermodynamics. The existing physical models employing the dissipative heat
engine concept, in particular, the heat engine model of hurricane development,
are physically invalid.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure
Beam Wandering in the Atmosphere: The Effect of Partial Coherence
The effect of a random phase screen on laser beam wander in a turbulent
atmosphere is studied theoretically. The method of photon distribution function
is used to describe the photon kinetics of both weak and strong turbulence. By
bringing together analytical and numerical calculations, we have obtained the
variance of beam centroid deflections caused by scattering on turbulent eddies.
It is shown that an artificial distortion of the initial coherence of the
radiation can be used to decrease the wandering effect. The physical mechanism
responsible for this reduction and applicability of our approach are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
Faddeev-type calculations of few-body nuclear reactions including Coulomb interaction
The method of screening and renormalization is used to include the Coulomb
interaction between the charged particles in the description of few-body
nuclear reactions. Calculations are done in the framework of Faddeev-type
equations in momentum-space. The reliability of the method is demonstrated. The
Coulomb effect on observables is discussed.Comment: Proceedings of the 4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Few-Body Problems
in Physics (APFB08), Depok, Indonesia, August 19 - 23, 2008, to be published
in Mod. Phys. Lett.
Where do winds come from? A new theory on how water vapor condensation influences atmospheric pressure and dynamics
Phase transitions of atmospheric water play a ubiquitous role in the Earth's
climate system, but their direct impact on atmospheric dynamics has escaped
wide attention. Here we examine and advance a theory as to how condensation
influences atmospheric pressure through the mass removal of water from the gas
phase with a simultaneous account of the latent heat release. Building from the
fundamental physical principles we show that condensation is associated with a
decline in air pressure in the lower atmosphere. This decline occurs up to a
certain height, which ranges from 3 to 4 km for surface temperatures from 10 to
30 deg C. We then estimate the horizontal pressure differences associated with
water vapor condensation and find that these are comparable in magnitude with
the pressure differences driving observed circulation patterns. The water vapor
delivered to the atmosphere via evaporation represents a store of potential
energy available to accelerate air and thus drive winds. Our estimates suggest
that the global mean power at which this potential energy is released by
condensation is around one per cent of the global solar power -- this is
similar to the known stationary dissipative power of general atmospheric
circulation. We conclude that condensation and evaporation merit attention as
major, if previously overlooked, factors in driving atmospheric dynamics
Greenhouse effect dependence on atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse substances and the nature of climate stability on Earth
International audienceDue to the exponential positive feedback between sea surface temperature and saturated water vapour concentration, dependence of the planetary greenhouse effect on atmospheric water content is critical for stability of a climate with extensive liquid hydrosphere. In this paper on the basis of the law of energy conservation we develop a simple physically transparent approach to description of radiative transfer in an atmosphere containing greenhouse substances. It is shown that the analytical solution of the equation thus derived coincides with the exact solution of the well-known radiative transfer equation to the accuracy of 20% for all values of atmospheric optical depth. The derived equation makes it possible to easily take into account the non-radiative thermal fluxes (convection and latent heat) and obtain an analytical dependence of the greenhouse effect on atmospheric concentrations of a set of greenhouse substances with arbitrary absorption intervals. The established dependence is used to analyse stability of the modern climate of Earth. It is shown that the modern value of global mean surface temperature, which corresponds to the liquid state of the terrestrial hydrosphere, is physically unstable. The observed stability of modern climate over geological timescales is therefore likely to be due to dynamic singularities in the physical temperature-dependent behaviour of the greenhouse effect. We hypothesise that such singularities may appear due to controlling functioning of the natural global biota and discuss major arguments in support of this conclusion
Biotic pump of atmospheric moisture as driver of the hydrological cycle on land
In this paper the basic geophysical and ecological principles are jointly analyzed that allow the landmasses of Earth to remain moistened sufficiently for terrestrial life to be possible. 1. Under gravity, land inevitably loses water to the ocean. To keep land moistened, the gravitational water runoff must be continuously compensated by the atmospheric ocean-to-land moisture transport. Using data for five terrestrial transects of the International Geosphere Biosphere Program we show that the mean distance to which air fluxes can transport moisture over non-forested areas, does not exceed several hundred kilometers; precipitation decreases exponentially with distance from the ocean. 2. In contrast, precipitation over extensive natural forests does not depend on the distance from the ocean along several thousand kilometers, as illustrated for the Amazon and Yenisey river basins and Equatorial Africa. This points to the existence of an active biotic pump transporting atmospheric moisture inland from the ocean. 3. Physical principles of the biotic moisture pump are investigated based on the previously unstudied properties of atmospheric water vapor, which can be either in or out of aerostatic equilibrium depending on the lapse rate of air temperature. A novel physical principle is formulated according to which the low-level air moves from areas with weak evaporation to areas with more intensive evaporation. Due to the high leaf area index, natural forests maintain high evaporation fluxes, which support the ascending air motion over the forest and "suck in" moist air from the ocean, which is the essence of the biotic pump of atmospheric moisture. In the result, the gravitational runoff water losses from the optimally moistened forest soil can be fully compensated by the biotically enhanced precipitation at any distance from the ocean. 4. It is discussed how a continent-scale biotic water pump mechanism could be produced by natural selection acting on individual trees. 5. Replacement of the natural forest cover by a low leaf index vegetation leads to an up to tenfold reduction in the mean continental precipitation and runoff, in contrast to the previously available estimates made without accounting for the biotic moisture pump. The analyzed body of evidence testifies that the long-term stability of an intense terrestrial water cycle is unachievable without the recovery of natural, self-sustaining forests on continent-wide areas
Formation of ions by high energy photons
We calculate the electron energy spectrum of ionization by a high energy
photon, accompanied by creation of electron-positron pair. The total cross
section of the process is also obtained. The asymptotics of the cross section
does not depend on the photon energies. At the photon energies exceeding a
certain value this appeares to to be the dominant mechanism of
formation of the ions. The dependence of on the value of nuclear
charge is obtained. Our results are consistent with experimental data.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Production of a pion in association with a high-Q2 dilepton pair in antiproton-proton annihilation at GSI-FAIR
We evaluate the cross section for anti-p p -> l+ l- pi0 in the forward
direction and for large lepton pair invariant mass. In this kinematical region,
the leading-twist amplitude factorises into a short-distance matrix element,
long-distance dominated antiproton Distribution Amplitudes and proton to pion
Transition Distribution Amplitudes (TDA). Using a modelling inspired from the
chiral limit for these TDAs, we obtain a first estimate of this cross section,
thus demonstrating that this process can be measured at GSI-FAIR.Comment: Latex, 5 pages, 3 figure
Comment on "The Tropospheric Land-Sea Warming Contrast as the Driver of Tropical Sea Level Pressure Changes" by Bayr and Dommenget
T Bayr and D Dommenget [J. Climate 26 (2013) 1387] proposed a model of
temperature-driven air redistribution to quantify the ratio between changes of
sea level pressure and mean tropospheric temperature in the
tropics. This model assumes that the height of the tropical troposphere is
isobaric. Here problems with this model are identified. A revised relationship
between and is derived governed by two parameters -- the isobaric
and isothermal heights -- rather than just one. Further insight is provided by
the model of R S Lindzen and S Nigam [J. Atmos. Sci. 44 (1987) 2418], which was
the first to use the concept of isobaric height to relate tropical to air
temperature, and did this by assuming that isobaric height is always around 3
km and isothermal height is likewise near constant. Observational data,
presented here, show that neither of these heights is spatially universal nor
do their mean values match previous assumptions. Analyses show that the ratio
of the long-term changes in and associated with land-sea
temperature contrasts in a warming climate -- the focus of Bayr and Dommenget
[2013] -- is in fact determined by the corresponding ratio of spatial
differences in the annual mean and . The latter ratio, reflecting
lower pressure at higher temperature in the tropics, is dominated by meridional
pressure and temperature differences rather than by land-sea contrasts.
Considerations of isobaric heights are shown to be unable to predict either
spatial or temporal variation in . As noted by Bayr and Dommenget [2013],
the role of moisture dynamics in generating sea level pressure variation
remains in need of further theoretical investigations.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:1404.101
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