3,312 research outputs found
Hormones Speed Roots
Tests at Iowa Station show that certain chemicals greatly aid in root formation
Electron and ion density depletions measured in the STS-3 orbiter wake
The third Space Shuttle flight on Columbia carried instrumentation to measure thermal plasma density and temperature. Two separate investigations, the Plasma Diagnostics Package (PDP) and the Vehicle Charging and Potential Experiment (VCAP), carried a Langmuir Probe, and the VCAP also included a Spherical Retarding Potential Analyzer (SRPA). Only those measurements made while the PDP is in the payload bay are discussed here since the VCAP instrumentation remains in the payload bay at all times and the two measurements are compared. The wake behind a large structure (in this case the Space Shuttle Orbiter) flying through the ionospheric plasma is discussed. Much theoretical work was done regarding plasma wakes. The instrumentation on this mission gives the first data taken with a large vehicle in the ionospheric laboratory. First, the PDP Langmuir Probe and its data set will be presented, then the VCAP Langmuir Probe and SRPA with associated data. The agreement between the two data sets is discussed and then followed by some other PDP data which infers an even lower wake density
Suprathermal plasma observed on STS-3 Mission by plasma diagnostics package
Artificially produced electron beams were used extensively during the past decade as a means of probing the magnetosphere, and more recently as a means of actively controlling spacecraft potential. Experimentation in these areas has proven valuable, yet at times confusing, due to the interaction of the electron beam with the ambient plasma. The OSS-1/STS-3 Mission in March 1982 provided a unique opportunity to study beam-plasma interactions at an altitude of 240 km. On board for this mission was a Fast Pulse Electron Generator (FPEG). Measurements made by the Plasma Diagnostics Package (PDP) while extended on the Orbiter RMS show modifications of the ion and electron energy distributions during electron beam injection. Observations made by charged particle detectors are discussed and related to measurements of Orbiter potential. Several of the PDP instruments, the joint PDP/FPEG experiment, and observations made during electron beam injection are described
Effects of chemical releases by the STS-3 Orbiter on the ionosphere
The Plasma Diagnostics Package, flown aboard STS-3 as part of the first Shuttle payload (OSS-1), recorded the effects of various chemical releases from the Orbiter. Changes in the plasma environment was observed during flash evaporator system releases, water dumps and maneuvering thruster operations. During flash evaporator operations, broadband Orbiter-generated electrostatic noise was enhanced and plasma density irregularities were observed to increase by 3 to 30 times with a spectrum which rose steeply and peaked below 6 Hz. In the case of water dumps, background electrostatic noise was enhanced at frequencies below about 3 kHz and suppressed at frequencies above 2 kHz. Thruster activity also stimulated electrostatic noise with a spectrum which peaked at approximately 0.5 kHz. In addition, ions with energies up to 1 keV were seen during some thruster events
Prediction Model for the Life of Nickel-cadmium Batteries in Geosynchronous Orbit Satellites
A mathematical model is described which predicts the service life of nickel-cadmium batteries designed for geosynchronous orbit satellites. Regression analysis technique is used to analyze orbital data on second generation trickle charged batteries. The model gives average cell voltage as a function of design parameters, operating parameters and time. The voltage model has the properties of providing a good fit to the data, good predictive capability, and agreement with known battery performance characteristics. Average cell voltage can be predicted to within 0.02 volts for up to 8 years. This modeling shows that these batteries will operate reliably for 10 years. Third-generation batteries are expected to operate even longer
Pressure-Induced Simultaneous Metal-Insulator and Structural-Phase Transitions in LiH: a Quasiparticle Study
A pressure-induced simultaneous metal-insulator transition (MIT) and
structural-phase transformation in lithium hydride with about 1% volume
collapse has been predicted by means of the local density approximation (LDA)
in conjunction with an all-electron GW approximation method. The LDA wrongly
predicts that the MIT occurs before the structural phase transition. As a
byproduct, it is shown that only the use of the generalized-gradient
approximation together with the zero-point vibration produces an equilibrium
lattice parameter, bulk modulus, and an equation of state that are in excellent
agreement with experimental results.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Europhysics Letter
Anxious to see you: Neuroendocrine mechanisms of social vigilance and anxiety during adolescence.
Social vigilance is a behavioral strategy commonly used in adverse or changing social environments. In animals, a combination of avoidance and vigilance allows an individual to evade potentially dangerous confrontations while monitoring the social environment to identify favorable changes. However, prolonged use of this behavioral strategy in humans is associated with increased risk of anxiety disorders, a major burden for human health. Elucidating the mechanisms of social vigilance in animals could provide important clues for new treatment strategies for social anxiety. Importantly, during adolescence the prevalence of social anxiety increases significantly. We hypothesize that many of the actions typically characterized as anxiety behaviors begin to emerge during this time as strategies for navigating more complex social structures. Here, we consider how the social environment and the pubertal transition shape neural circuits that modulate social vigilance, focusing on the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and prefrontal cortex. The emergence of gonadal hormone secretion during adolescence has important effects on the function and structure of these circuits, and may play a role in the emergence of a notable sex difference in anxiety rates across adolescence. However, the significance of these changes in the context of anxiety is still uncertain, as not enough studies are sufficiently powered to evaluate sex as a biological variable. We conclude that greater integration between human and animal models will aid the development of more effective strategies for treating social anxiety
NaAlSi: a self-doped semimetallic superconductor with free electrons and covalent holes
The layered ternary sp conductor NaAlSi, possessing the iron-pnictide "111"
crystal structure, superconducts at 7 K. Using density functional methods, we
show that this compound is an intrinsic (self-doped) low-carrier-density
semimetal with a number of unusual features. Covalent Al-Si valence bands
provide the holes, and free-electron-like Al 3s bands, which propagate in the
channel between the neighboring Si layers, dip just below the Fermi level to
create the electron carriers. The Fermi level (and therefore the
superconducting carriers) lies in a narrow and sharp peak within a pseudogap in
the density of states. The small peak arises from valence bands which are
nearly of pure Si, quasi-two-dimensional, flat, and coupled to Al conduction
bands. Isostructural NaAlGe, which is not superconducting above 1.6 K, has
almost exactly the same band structure except for one missing piece of small
Fermi surface. Certain deformation potentials induced by Si and Na
displacements along the c-axis are calculated and discussed. It seems likely
that the mechanism of pairing is related to that of several other lightly doped
two-dimensional nonmagnetic semiconductors (TiNCl, ZrNCl, HfNCl), which is not
well understood but apparently not of phonon origin.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl
Fermi surface of the colossal magnetoresistance perovskite La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3}
Materials that exhibit colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) are currently the
focus of an intense research effort, driven by the technological applications
that their sensitivity lends them to. Using the angular correlation of photons
from electron-positron annihilation, we present a first glimpse of the Fermi
surface of a material that exhibits CMR, supported by ``virtual crystal''
electronic structure calculations. The Fermi surface is shown to be
sufficiently cubic in nature that it is likely to support nesting.Comment: 5 pages, 5 PS figure
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