The Not So Cozy Catastrophe: Reimagining the British Disaster Novel in J.G. Ballard's "The Drowned World" (1962) and Brian Aldiss's "Barefoot in the Head" (1969)

Emerging from the fin-de-siècle writings of H.G. Wells, British disaster fiction maintained a perpetual link, prior to the Second World War, with the distinctive sub-genre of scientific romance. Following the war, the genre was temporarily revived for a Cold War audience by John Wyndham through novels including "The Day of the Triffids" (1951) and "The Kraken Wakes" (1953). Wyndham’s fiction relies on tracing the struggles and subsequent successes of archetypal English suburbanites as they witness societal breakdown following ecological terror. What is noticeable about Wyndham’s narratives is the salvageable nature of the post-apocalyptic landscapes they depict, with Brian Aldiss famously labelling Wyndham as the “master of the cozy catastrophe”. This chapter will argue that the emergence of the New Wave in science fiction during the 1960s produced a stylistic and political challenge to this “cozy” formula. Focusing on J.G. Ballard’s "The Drowned World" (1962) and Brian Aldiss’s "Barefoot in the Head" (1969), this chapter will examine the ways in which such texts subvert traditional forms of catastrophe writing while also tracing the continuities between these later narratives and earlier works

'The landscape is coded': Visual Culture and the Alternative Worlds of J.G. Ballard's Early Fiction

This chapter focuses on three early narratives by J.G. Ballard and consider how Ballard’s near-future landscapes emerge from a collision of various artistic and literary forces. It argues that by fusing perspectives in visual art with science fictional motifs, Ballard's early narratives produced socio-political messages which challenged literary orthodoxies during the late 1950s and early 1960s

catena-Poly[[[bis­(N,N-dimethyl­formamide)iron(II)]-{μ-2,2′-bis­(diphenyl­phosphino­yl)-N,N′-[(1R,2R)-cyclo­hexane-1,2-di­yl]dibenzamide}] bis­(perchlorate) N,N-dimethyl­formamide disolvate]

The title extended solid coordination compound, {[Fe(C44H40N2O4P2)(C3H7NO)2](ClO4)2·2C3H7NO}n, was crystallized un­ex­pectedly from the reaction mixture containing the Trost ligand (1R,2R)-(+)-1,2-diamino­cyclo­hexane-N,N′-bis­(2′-di­phenyl­phosphinobenzo­yl) and Fe(ClO4)2·6H2O in a 1:1 ratio in dimethyl­formamide (DMF) under reflux conditions. The polymeric complex is characterized by FeII metal centers that are coordinated by two oxidized Trost ligands, each coordinated in a bidentate fashion in a square plane, along with two DMF mol­ecules above and below the plane [average Fe—ODMF = 2.086 (4) Å], forming an overall pseudo-octa­hedral geometry. The Trost ligand binds adjacent FeII centers, each FeII being bound through the O atom of one of the phosphine oxides [average Fe—OPPh2 = 2.115 (4) Å] and the carbonyl O atom of the adjacent amide [average Fe—Oamide = 2.192 (3) Å]. Disorder is observed in the co-solvated solvent: there are two DMF mol­ecules per FeII centre, which were modeled as one DMF mol­ecule with complete occupancy and the other being modeled in two positions with equal occupancy. Disorder was also observed with one of the perchlorate anions, which was modeled in two positions with 0.75:0.25 occupancy

3D MHD models of the centrifugal magnetosphere from a massive star with an oblique dipole field

This work is supported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant No. 80NSSC22K0628 issued through the Astrophysics Theory Program. AuD and MRG acknowledge support by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through Chandra Award Numbers TM-22001 and GO223003X, issued by the Chandra X-ray Center, which is operated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory for and on behalf of the National Aeronautics Space Administration under contract NAS8-03060. This work used the Bridges2 cluster at the Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center through allocation AST200002 from the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which was supported by National Science Foundation grant number 1548562.We present results from new self-consistent 3D MHD simulations of the magnetospheres from massive stars with a dipole magnetic axis that has a non-zero obliquity angle (β) to the star’s rotation axis. As an initial direct application, we compare the global structure of co-rotating disks for nearly aligned (β = 5o) versus half-oblique (β = 45o) models, both with moderately rapid rotation (∼ 0.5 critical). We find that accumulation surfaces broadly resemble the forms predicted by the analytic Rigidly Rotating Magnetosphere (RRM) model, but the mass buildup to near the critical level for centrifugal breakout against magnetic confinement distorts the field from the imposed initial dipole. This leads to an associated warping of the accumulation surface toward the rotational equator, with the highest density concentrated in wings centered on the intersection between the magnetic and rotational equators. These MHD models can be used to synthesize rotational modulation of photometric absorption and Hα emission for a direct comparison with observations.PostprintPeer reviewe

Fox Factory Bearing Assembly Rundown and Torque Automation Project

A machine design was created to partially automate the rundown and torque of a Fox Factory shock bearing housing. This machine is needed at the factory to keep line associates safe by reducing ergonomic strains associated with this stage in the shock assembly process. Due to the lack of applicable torque drivers for this operation, an open ended, geared drivetrain was designed to allow for engagement of the bearing housing while allowing clearance for the shock shaft that the bearing rides on. This open drivetrain is held by a structure of linear rails and bearings to allow the line associate to guide the open gear into place on the bearing. A pneumatic cylinder and several rail brakes will be used to press the bearing housing into the shock body tube while beginning the rundown process. A control system consisting of a PLC, HMI, and torque driver controller was designed in terms of wiring & programming to control torque and pneumatic outputs. At each stage in the design process, safety and ergonomics were considered so the machine would satisfy the first and second design principle for the Fox manufacturing engineering department: safety and quality, respectively. Basic analysis for component strength and stiffness was performed where any concerns were present, and a maintenance schedule was created for any potential wear items. While the original intent was to manufacture and assemble nearly all machine components in house, parts were instead outsourced by Fox due to various factors stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic