Measurement of Resonant Frequency and Quality Factor of Microwave Resonators: Comparison of Methods

Precise microwave measurements of sample conductivity, dielectric, and magnetic properties are routinely performed with cavity perturbation measurements. These methods require the accurate determination of quality factor and resonant frequency of microwave resonators. Seven different methods to determine the resonant frequency and quality factor from complex transmission coefficient data are discussed and compared to find which is most accurate and precise when tested using identical data. We find that the nonlinear least-squares fit to the phase vs. frequency is the most accurate and precise when the signal-to-noise ratio is greater than 65. For noisier data, the nonlinear least squares fit to a Lorentzian curve is more accurate and precise. The results are general and can be applied to the analysis of many kinds of resonant phenomena.Comment: 29 pages, 11 figure

Causal pathways of flood related river drowning deaths in Australia

Introduction: Globally, flooding is the most common of all natural disasters and drowning is the leading cause of death during floods. In Australia, rivers are the most common location of drowning and experience flooding on a regular basis. Methods: A cross-sectional, total population audit of all known unintentional river flood related fatal drownings in Australia between 1-July-2002 and 30-June-2012 was conducted to identify trends and causal factors. Results: There were 129 (16.8%) deaths involving river flooding, representing a crude drowning rate of 0.06 per 100,000 people per annum. Half (55.8%) were due to slow onset flooding, 27.1% flash flooding and the type of flooding was unknown in 17.1% of cases. Those at an increased risk were males, children, driving (non-aquatic transport) and victims who were swept away (p<0.01). When compared to drownings in major cities, people in remote and very remote locations were 79.6 and 229.1 times respectively more likely to drown in river floods. Common causal factors for falls into flooded rivers included being alone and a blood alcohol content ≥0.05% (for adults). Non-aquatic transport incident victims were commonly the drivers of four wheel drive vehicles and were alone in the car, whilst attempting to reach their own home or a friend’s. Discussion: Flood related river drownings are preventable. Strategies for prevention must target causal factors such as being alone, influence of alcohol, type/size of vehicle, and intended destination. Strategies to be explored and evaluated include effective signage, early warning systems, alternate routes and public awareness for drivers

Measurement of the permeability of tungsten to hydrogen and to oxygen Final report

Permeation rate measurements of hydrogen and oxygen through tungsten at elevated temperature

Silicate absorption in heavily obscured galaxy nuclei

Spectroscopy at 8-13 microns with T-ReCS on Gemini-S is presented for 3 galaxies with substantial silicate absorption features, NGC 3094, NGC 7172 and NGC 5506. In the galaxies with the deepest absorption bands, the silicate profile towards the nuclei is well represented by the emissivity function derived from the circumstellar emission from the red supergiant, mu Cephei which is also representative of the mid-infrared absorption in the diffuse interstellar medium in the Galaxy. There is spectral structure near 11.2 microns in NGC 3094 which may be due to a component of crystalline silicates. In NGC 5506, the depth of the silicate absorption increases from north to south across the nucleus, suggestive of a dusty structure on scales of 10s of parsecs. We discuss the profile of the silicate absorption band towards galaxy nuclei and the relationship between the 9.7 micron silicate and 3.4 micron hydrocarbon absorption bands.Comment: 7 pages, accepted for publication in MNRA

Fast computation by block permanents of cumulative distribution functions of order statistics from several populations

The joint cumulative distribution function for order statistics arising from several different populations is given in terms of the distribution function of the populations. The computational cost of the formula in the case of two populations is still exponential in the worst case, but it is a dramatic improvement compared to the general formula by Bapat and Beg. In the case when only the joint distribution function of a subset of the order statistics of fixed size is needed, the complexity is polynomial, for the case of two populations.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figure

Control theory for principled heap sizing

We propose a new, principled approach to adaptive heap sizing based on control theory. We review current state-of-the-art heap sizing mechanisms, as deployed in Jikes RVM and HotSpot. We then formulate heap sizing as a control problem, apply and tune a standard controller algorithm, and evaluate its performance on a set of well-known benchmarks. We find our controller adapts the heap size more responsively than existing mechanisms. This responsiveness allows tighter virtual machine memory footprints while preserving target application throughput, which is ideal for both embedded and utility computing domains. In short, we argue that formal, systematic approaches to memory management should be replacing ad-hoc heuristics as the discipline matures. Control-theoretic heap sizing is one such systematic approach

Pattern Synonyms

Pattern matching has proven to be a convenient, expressive way of inspecting data. Yet this language feature, in its traditional form, is limited: patterns must be data constructors of concrete data types. No computation or abstraction is allowed. The data type in question must be concrete, with no ability to enforce any invariants. Any change in this data type requires all clients to update their code. This paper introduces pattern synonyms, which allow programmers to abstract over patterns, painting over all the shortcomings listed above. Pattern synonyms are assigned types, enabling a compiler to check the validity of a synonym independent of its definition. These types are intricate; detailing how to assign a type to a pattern synonym is a key contribution of this work. We have implemented pattern synonyms in the Glasgow Haskell Compiler, where they have enjoyed immediate popularity, but we believe this feature could easily be exported to other languages that support pattern matching

The Inner Rings of Beta Pictoris

We present Keck images of the dust disk around Beta Pictoris at 17.9 microns that reveal new structure in its morphology. Within 1" (19 AU) of the star, the long axis of the dust emission is rotated by more than 10 degrees with respect to that of the overall disk. This angular offset is more pronounced than the warp detected at 3.5" by HST, and in the opposite direction. By contrast, the long axis of the emission contours at ~ 1.5" from the star is aligned with the HST warp. Emission peaks between 1.5" and 4" from the star hint at the presence of rings similar to those observed in the outer disk at ~ 25" with HST/STIS. A deconvolved image strongly suggests that the newly detected features arise from a system of four non-coplanar rings. Bayesian estimates based on the primary image lead to ring radii of 14+/-1 AU, 28+/-3 AU, 52+/-2 AU and 82+/-2 AU, with orbital inclinations that alternate in orientation relative to the overall disk and decrease in magnitude with increasing radius. We believe these new results make a strong case for the existence of a nascent planetary system around Beta Pic.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, PDF format. Published in ApJL, December 20,200

Childhood and the politics of scale: Descaling children's geographies?

This is the post-print version of the final published paper that is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2008 SAGE Publications.The past decade has witnessed a resurgence of interest in the geographies of children's lives, and particularly in engaging the voices and activities of young people in geographical research. Much of this growing body of scholarship is characterized by a very parochial locus of interest — the neighbourhood, playground, shopping mall or journey to school. In this paper I explore some of the roots of children's geographies' preoccupation with the micro-scale and argue that it limits the relevance of research, both politically and to other areas of geography. In order to widen the scope of children's geographies, some scholars have engaged with developments in the theorization of scale. I present these arguments but also point to their limitations. As an alternative, I propose that the notion of a flat ontology might help overcome some difficulties around scalar thinking, and provide a useful means of conceptualizing sociospatiality in material and non-hierarchical terms. Bringing together flat ontology and work in children's geographies on embodied subjectivity, I argue that it is important to examine the nature and limits of children's spaces of perception and action. While these spaces are not simply `local', they seldom afford children opportunities to comment on, or intervene in, the events, processes and decisions that shape their own lives. The implications for the substance and method of children's geographies and for geographical work on scale are considered

Enhance Bravery and Self Esteem: A study on Brave Enterprise through advanced data analysis

BRAVE Enterprises is an organization that aims to equip and provide guidance to individuals, which usually targets female athletes. This is done through a series of motivational shows and talks. In order to measure the bravery level of the crowd, a survey is given to analyze any correlations made between the data received. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students were given the opportunity to work in partnership with BRAVE Enterprises to analyze a dataset of over 900 participants. The goal of the BRAVE Research Project is to find a quantified value based on the participants answers that will provide BRAVE Enterprises with information that will aid in increasing bravery levels in people. This analysis would provide numerical data which depicts the similarities found in the participants bravery levels. Excel, Python, and Tableu will be used to make the analysis of the dataset