638 research outputs found
An Assessment of Potential Detectors to Monitor the Man-made Orbital Debris Environment
Observations using NORAD radar showed that man made debris exceeds the natural environment for large objects. For short times (a few days to a few weeks) after solid rocket motor (SRM) firings in LEO, man made debris in the microparticle size range also appears to exceed the meteoroid environment. The properties of the debris population between these size regimes is currently unknown as there has been no detector system able to perform the required observations. The alternatives for obtaining data on this currently unobserved segment of the population are assessed
Winter storm risk of residential structures ? model development and application to the German state of Baden-Württemberg
International audienceThe derivation of probabilities of high wind speeds and the establishment of risk curves for storm damage is of prime importance in natural hazard risk analysis. Risk curves allow the assessment of damage being exceeded at a given level of probability. In this paper, a method for the assessment of winter storm damage risk is described in detail and applied to the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Based on meteorological observations of the years 1971?2000 and on damage information of 4 severe storm events, storm hazard and damage risk of residential buildings is calculated on the level of communities. For this purpose, highly resolved simulations of storm wind fields with the Karlsruher Atmospheric Mesoscale Model (KAMM) are performed and a storm damage model is developed. Risk curves including the quantification of the uncertainties are calculated for every community. Local differences of hazard and risk are presented in state-wide maps. An average annual winter storm damage to residential buildings of minimum 15 million Euro (reference year 2000) for Baden-Württemberg is expected
Spin/orbit moment imbalance in the near-zero moment ferromagnetic semiconductor SmN
SmN is ferromagnetic below 27 K, and its net magnetic moment of 0.03 Bohr
magnetons per formula unit is one of the smallest magnetisations found in any
ferromagnetic material. The near-zero moment is a result of the nearly equal
and opposing spin and orbital moments in the 6H5/2 ground state of the Sm3+
ion, which leads finally to a nearly complete cancellation for an ion in the
SmN ferromagnetic state. Here we explore the spin alignment in this compound
with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Sm L2,3 edges. The spectral
shapes are in qualitative agreement with computed spectra based on an LSDA+U
(local spin density approximation with Hubbard-U corrections) band structure,
though there remain differences in detail which we associate with the anomalous
branching ratio in rare-earth L edges. The sign of the spectra determine that
in a magnetic field the Sm 4f spin moment aligns antiparallel to the field; the
very small residual moment in ferromagnetic SmN aligns with the 4f orbital
moment and antiparallel to the spin moment. Further measurements on very thin
(1.5 nm) SmN layers embedded in GdN show the opposite alignment due to a strong
Gd-Sm exchange, suggesting that the SmN moment might be further reduced by
about 0.5 % Gd substitution
Europium nitride: A novel diluted magnetic semiconductor
Europium nitride is semiconducting and contains non-magnetic \3+, but
sub-stoichiometric EuN has Eu in a mix of 2+ and 3+ charge states. We show that
at \2+ ~concentrations near 15-20% EuN is ferromagnetic with a Curie
temperature as high as 120 K. The \3+ ~polarization follows that of the \2+,
confirming that the ferromagnetism is intrinsic to the EuN which is thus a
novel diluted magnetic semiconductor. Transport measurements shed light on the
likely exchange mechanisms.Comment: 5 page
Ferromagnetic redshift of the optical gap in GdN
We report measurements of the optical gap in a GdN film at temperatures from
300 to 6K, covering both the paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases. The gap is
1.31eV in the paramagnetic phase and red-shifts to 0.9eV in the spin-split
bands below the Curie temperature. The paramagnetic gap is larger than was
suggested by very early experiments, and has permitted us to refine a
(LSDA+U)-computed band structure. The band structure was computed in the full
translation symmetry of the ferromagnetic ground state, assigning the
paramagnetic-state gap as the average of the majority- and minority-spin gaps
in the ferromagnetic state. That procedure has been further tested by a band
structure in a 32-atom supercell with randomly-oriented spins. After fitting
only the paramagnetic gap the refined band structure then reproduces our
measured gaps in both phases by direct transitions at the X point.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
International Educators’ Perspectives on the Purpose of Science Education and the Relationship between School Science and Creativity
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.Background: Creativity across all disciplines is increasingly viewed as a fundamental
educational capability. Science can play a potentially important role in the nurturing of
creativity. Research also suggests that creative pedagogy, including interdisciplinary
teaching with Science and the Arts, can engage students with science. Previous studies
into teachers’ attitudes to the relationship between science and creativity have been
largely situated within national educational contexts.
Purpose: This study, part of the large EU funded CREATIONs project, explores
educators’ perspectives on the relationship between Science and Creativity across
national contexts drawn from Europe and beyond.
Sample and Methods: 270 educators, broadly defined to include primary (age 4-11) and
secondary (age 11-18) teachers and trainee teachers, informal educators and teacher
educators, responded to a survey designed to explore perceptions of the relationship
between science and creativity. Respondents were a convenience sample recruited by
project partners and through online media. The elements of the survey reported here
included Likert-scale questions, open response questions, and ranking questions in the
form of an electronic self-administered questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis was
used to develop a combined attitude scale labelled ‘science is creative’, with results
compared across nationalities and phases of education. Open question responses were
analysed thematically to allow more nuanced interpretation of the descriptive statistical
findings.
Results: The findings show broad agreement internationally and across phases that
science is a creative endeavour, with a small number of educators disagreeing about the
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relationship between science and creativity in the context of school science. Those who
disagreed were usually secondary science teachers, from England, Malta or outside
Europe (primarily from the United States). The role of scientific knowledge within
creativity in science education was found to be contentious.
Conclusions: That educators broadly see science as creative is unsurprising, but initial
exploration of educators’ perspectives internationally shows some areas of difference.
These were especially apparent for educators working in formal education, particularly
relating to the role of knowledge with respect to creativity in science. With current
interest in STEAM education, further investigation to understand potential mediating
factors of national educational contexts on teachers’ perspectives with respect to the
role of disciplinary knowledge(s) in creativity and their interaction in interdisciplinary
teaching and learning, is recommended.European Commissio
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Influence of chemical interactions on the electronic properties of BiOI/organic semiconductor heterojunctions for application in solution-processed electronics
Bismuth oxide iodide (BiOI) has been viewed as a suitable environmentally-friendly alternative to lead-halide perovskites for low-cost (opto-)electronic applications such as photodetectors, phototransistors and sensors. To enable its incorporation in these devices in a convenient, scalable, and economical way, BiOI thin films were investigated as part of heterojunctions with various p-type organic semiconductors (OSCs) and tested in a field-effect transistor (FET) configuration. The hybrid heterojunctions, which combine the respective functionalities of BiOI and the OSCs were processed from solution under ambient atmosphere. The characteristics of each of these hybrid systems were correlated with the physical and chemical properties of the respective materials using a concept based on heteropolar chemical interactions at the interface. Systems suitable for application in lateral transport devices were identified and it was demonstrated how materials in the hybrids interact to provide improved and synergistic properties. These indentified heterojunction FETs are a first instance of successful incorporation of solution-processed BiOI thin films in a three-terminal device. They show a significant threshold voltage shift and retained carrier mobility compared to pristine OSC devices and open up possibilities for future optoelectronic applications
Surface states and Rashba-type spin polarization in antiferromagnetic MnBiTe
The layered van der Waals antiferromagnet MnBiTe has been predicted
to combine the band ordering of archetypical topological insulators such as
BiTe with the magnetism of Mn, making this material a viable candidate
for the realization of various magnetic topological states. We have
systematically investigated the surface electronic structure of
MnBiTe(0001) single crystals by use of spin- and angle-resolved
photoelectron spectroscopy experiments. In line with theoretical predictions,
the results reveal a surface state in the bulk band gap and they provide
evidence for the influence of exchange interaction and spin-orbit coupling on
the surface electronic structure.Comment: Revised versio
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