Music in George Eliot\u27s Life and Works

In the following thesis the author has attempted to show the importance of music to George Eliot personally, and her response to it as portrayed by the various characters in her books. In this study it was necessary to point out the various phases of music with which George Eliot was familiar and the interesting way in which she incorporated them in her stories

Aspects of brane-antibrane inflation

I describe a dynamical mechanism for solving the fine-tuning problem of brane-antibrane inflation. By inflating with stacks of branes and antibranes, the branes can naturally be trapped at a metastable minimum of the potential. As branes tunnel out of this minimum, the shape of the potential changes to make the minimum shallower. Eventually the minimum disappears and the remaining branes roll slowly because the potential is nearly flat. I show that even with a small number of branes, there is a good chance of getting enough inflation. Running of the spectral index is correlated with the tilt in such a way as to provide a test of the model by future CMB experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures; proceedings of Theory Canada 1 conference, 2-5 June 2005, UBC, Vancouve

One hundred angstrom niobium wire

Composite of fine niobium wires in copper is used to study the size and proximity effects of a superconductor in a normal matrix. The niobium rod was drawn to a 100 angstrom diameter wire on a copper tubing

No new limit on the size distribution of gamma-ray bursts

The results of a study (Carter et. al.) of gamma ray bursts using long duration balloon exposure are analyzed. Arguments are presented against the conclusion that the size spectrum extrapolates to a power law with index from -1.0 to -0.5, and that therefore the gamma ray bursts are of galactic origin. It is claimed that the data are consistent with an upper limit over 100 times that proposed, and that therefore no conclusion can be drawn from the measurements regarding the nature or origin of gamma ray bursts. The resulting upper limit to the rate of occurrence of small bursts lies above the -1.5 index power law extrapolation of the size spectrum of known events, i.e., greater than the rate expected from an infinitely extended source region

A summary of recent NASA/Army contributions to rotorcraft vibrations and structural dynamics technology

The requirement for low vibrations has achieved the status of a critical design consideration in modern helicopters. There is now a recognized need to account for vibrations during both the analytical and experimental phases of design. Research activities in this area were both broad and varied and notable advances were made in recent years in the critical elements of the technology base needed to achieve the goal of a jet smooth ride. The purpose is to present an overview of accomplishments and current activities of govern and government-sponsored research in the area of rotorcraft vibrations and structural dynamics, focusing on NASA and Army contributions over the last decade or so. Specific topics addressed include: airframe finite-element modeling for static and dynamic analyses, analysis of coupled rotor-airframe vibrations, optimization of airframes subject to vibration constraints, active and passive control of vibrations in both the rotating and fixed systems, and integration of testing and analysis in such guises as modal analysis, system identification, structural modification, and vibratory loads measurement