Coefficients and terms of the liquid drop model and mass formula

The coefficients of different combinations of terms of the liquid drop model have been determined by a least square fitting procedure to the experimental atomic masses. The nuclear masses can also be reproduced using a Coulomb radius taking into account the increase of the ratio $R\_0/A^{1/3}$ with increasing mass, the fitted surface energy coefficient remaining around 18 MeV

Spatial variation of the thermal structure of Jupiter's atmosphere

The radiative seasonal model described by Bezard and Gautier for the case of Saturn was adapted to Jupiter. That the atmosphere is radiatively controlled above the 500 mb pressure level and that the temperature at the radiative-convective boundary level is constant for all latitudes is assumed. An internal heat source and absorption by methane and aerosols contribute to atmospheric heating. Absorption by aerosols was adjusted to give a planetary Bond albedo equal to 0.343. Despite Jupiter's low obliquity, the model predicts seasonal variations of temperature of several degrees for the 1 mb pressure level at mid-latitude regions

Pattern recognition of satellite cloud imagery for improved weather prediction

The major accomplishment was the successful development of a method for extracting time derivative information from geostationary meteorological satellite imagery. This research is a proof-of-concept study which demonstrates the feasibility of using pattern recognition techniques and a statistical cloud classification method to estimate time rate of change of large-scale meteorological fields from remote sensing data. The cloud classification methodology is based on typical shape function analysis of parameter sets characterizing the cloud fields. The three specific technical objectives, all of which were successfully achieved, are as follows: develop and test a cloud classification technique based on pattern recognition methods, suitable for the analysis of visible and infrared geostationary satellite VISSR imagery; develop and test a methodology for intercomparing successive images using the cloud classification technique, so as to obtain estimates of the time rate of change of meteorological fields; and implement this technique in a testbed system incorporating an interactive graphics terminal to determine the feasibility of extracting time derivative information suitable for comparison with numerical weather prediction products

The Nurceryes for Church and Common-wealth : A Reconstruction of Childhood, Children, and the Family in Seventeenth-Century Puritan New England

The changes in the understanding of childhood and children in colonial New England marked a swift and profound departure from English family norms prior to 1630. Casting off the intellectual baggage of childhood and the family mores that had accompanied the Puritans across the Atlantic, New Englanders reconceptualized children as central to the mission in the wilderness. In this thesis, I argue that New Englanders connected, both implicitly and explicitly, the well being of the colony\u27s children directly with the future health of New England and sought to capitalize on this connection in unique, at times self-serving, ways. To best serve their own visions of the future New England commonwealth, religious authorities, secular authorities, and parents and the \u27common folk\u27 throughout Massachusetts constructed contested meanings and goals that each group attached to and associated variously with children. Though each group agreed on a new understanding of childhood, their differing interpretations and goals, and the contested ground on which these groups interacted, introduced into New England society intense and ultimately irreconcilable tensions between the community and the family. The interactions between religious authorities, secular authorities, and the \u27common folk\u27 introduced fundamental inconsistencies, incompatibilities, and irreconcilable tensions into New England society from an early period

The Nurceryes for Church and Common-wealth : A Reconstruction of Childhood, Children, and the Family in Seventeenth-Century Puritan New England

The changes in the understanding of childhood and children in colonial New England marked a swift and profound departure from English family norms prior to 1630. Casting off the intellectual baggage of childhood and the family mores that had accompanied the Puritans across the Atlantic, New Englanders reconceptualized children as central to the mission in the wilderness. In this thesis, I argue that New Englanders connected, both implicitly and explicitly, the well being of the colony\u27s children directly with the future health of New England and sought to capitalize on this connection in unique, at times self-serving, ways. To best serve their own visions of the future New England commonwealth, religious authorities, secular authorities, and parents and the \u27common folk\u27 throughout Massachusetts constructed contested meanings and goals that each group attached to and associated variously with children. Though each group agreed on a new understanding of childhood, their differing interpretations and goals, and the contested ground on which these groups interacted, introduced into New England society intense and ultimately irreconcilable tensions between the community and the family. The interactions between religious authorities, secular authorities, and the \u27common folk\u27 introduced fundamental inconsistencies, incompatibilities, and irreconcilable tensions into New England society from an early period

3D printing of gas jet nozzles for laser-plasma accelerators

Recent results on laser wakefield acceleration in tailored plasma channels have underlined the importance of controlling the density profile of the gas target. In particular it was reported that appropriate density tailoring can result in improved injection, acceleration and collimation of laser-accelerated electron beams. To achieve such profiles innovative target designs are required. For this purpose we have reviewed the usage of additive layer manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, in order to produce gas jet nozzles. Notably we have compared the performance of two industry standard techniques, namely selective laser sintering (SLS) and stereolithography (SLA). Furthermore we have used the common fused deposition modeling (FDM) to reproduce basic gas jet designs and used SLA and SLS for more sophisticated nozzle designs. The nozzles are characterized interferometrically and used for electron acceleration experiments with the Salle Jaune terawatt laser at Laboratoire d'Optique Appliqu\'ee