779 research outputs found
Infrared spectroscopy of solid CO-CO2 mixtures and layers
The spectra of pure, mixed and layered CO and CO2 ices have been studied
systematically under laboratory conditions using infrared spectroscopy. This
work provides improved resolution spectra (0.5 cm-1) of the CO2 bending and
asymmetric stretching mode, as well as the CO stretching mode, extending the
existing Leiden database of laboratory spectra to match the spectral resolution
reached by modern telescopes and to support the interpretation of the most
recent data from Spitzer. It is shown that mixed and layered CO and CO2 ices
exhibit very different spectral characteristics, which depend critically on
thermal annealing and can be used to distinguish between mixed, layered and
thermally annealed CO-CO2 ices. CO only affects the CO2 bending mode spectra in
mixed ices below 50K under the current experimental conditions, where it
exhibits a single asymmetric band profile in intimate mixtures. In all other
ice morphologies the CO2 bending mode shows a double peaked profile, similar to
that observed for pure solid CO2. Conversely, CO2 induces a blue-shift in the
peak-position of the CO stretching vibration, to a maximum of 2142 cm-1 in
mixed ices, and 2140-2146 cm-1 in layered ices. As such, the CO2 bending mode
puts clear constraints on the ice morphology below 50K, whereas beyond this
temperature the CO2 stretching vibration can distinguish between initially
mixed and layered ices. This is illustrated for the low-mass YSO HH46, where
the laboratory spectra are used to analyse the observed CO and CO2 band
profiles and try to constrain the formation scenarios of CO2.Comment: Accepted in A&
Fabrication and Superconductivity of Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2/Ag Wires and Tapes Using Mechanical Alloyed Precursor
Conventional methods of Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 precursor preparation are complicated and expensive. In this paper, we describe the mechanical alloying of precursor by high-energy ball milling and its processing to wires and tapes. Our approach is to high-energy ball-mill a starting mixture of Ba and K pieces with Fe and As powders. The resultant powders are packed into an Ag sheath and reduced by groove rolling or flat rolling. Critical current density measurements were performed on un-sintered wire and tape, and compared to the results of measurements on wire and tape sintered at 750 oC for 12 h. We achieved 6.98×104 A/cm2 at 4.2 K and self-field in the sintered tape. Our results indicate that the mechanical alloyed precursor and the resulting Ag-sheathed Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 wires and tapes are promising but require further development.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. NSFC-U1432135), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and the Scientific Innovation Research Foundation of College Graduates in Jiangsu Province (KYZZ15_0053).We report the preparation of the mechanical alloyed Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 precursor by high-energy ball milling. The mechanical alloyed precursor was successfully processed to Ag-sheathed wires and tapes by the ex-situ PIT method for the first time. The Tc based on magnetization measurements for the sintered wire (1.7 mm2) and tape was about 31 K. The largest transport Jc observed on the sintered tape was about 6.98×104 A/cm2 at 4.2 K and self-field. Both the sintered wire and tape still carried supercurrent in field of up to 10 T. The mechanical alloyed precursor is promising for 122-type wire/tape development
Prospects for Improving the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Properties of Magnesium Diboride Superconducting Strands
The magnetic and transport properties of magnesium diboride films represent
performance goals yet to be attained by powder-processed bulk samples and
conductors. Such performance limits are still out of the reach of even the best
magnesium diboride magnet wire. In discussing the present status and prospects
for improving the performance of powder-based wire we focus attention on (1)
the intrinsic (intragrain) superconducting properties of magnesium diboride,
Hc2 and flux pinning, (2) factors that control the efficiency with which
current is transported from grain-to-grain in the conductor, an extrinsic
(intergrain) property. With regard to Item-(1), the role of dopants in Hc2
enhancement is discussed and examples presented. On the other hand their roles
in increasing Jc, both via Hc2 enhancement as well as direct
fluxoid/pining-center interaction, are discussed and a comprehensive survey of
Hc2 dopants and flux-pinning additives is presented. Current transport through
the powder-processed wire (an extrinsic property) is partially blocked by the
inherent granularity of the material itself and the chemical or other
properties of the intergrain surfaces. These and other such results indicate
that in many cases less than 15% of the conductor's cross sectional area is
able to carry transport current. It is pointed out that densification in
association with the elimination of grain-boundary blocking phases would yield
five-to ten-fold increases in Jc in relevant regimes, enabling the performance
of magnesium diboride in selected applications to compete with that of Nb-Sn
Anisotropic Connectivity and its Influence on Critical Current Densities, Irreversibility Fields, and Flux Creep in In-Situ-Processed MgB2 Strands
The anisotropy of the critical current density (Jc) and its influence on
measurement of irreversibility field (Birr) has been investigated for high
quality, in-situ MgB2 strands. Comparison of transport and magnetization
measurements has revealed the onset of a regime where large differences exist
between transport and magnetically measured values of the critical current
density and Birr. These effects, initially unexpected due to the lack of
crystalline texture in these in-situ processed strands, appear to be due to a
fibrous microstructure, connected with the details of the wire fabrication and
MgB2 formation reactions. Scanning electron micrographs of in-situ-processed
MgB2 monocore strands have revealed a fibrous microstructure. Grains (~100 nm)
are randomly oriented, and there is no apparent local texture of the grains.
However, this randomly oriented polycrystalline material has a fibrous texture
at a larger length scale, with stringers of MgB2 (~ 60 {\mu}m long and ~5
{\mu}m in diameter) partially separated by elongated pores -- the spaces
previously occupied by stringers of elemental Mg. This leads to an
interpretation of the differences observed in transport and magnetically
determined critical currents, in particular a large deviation between the two
at higher fields, in terms of different transverse and longitudinal
connectivities within the strand. The different values of connectivity also
lead to different resistive transition widths, and thus irreversibility field
values, as measured by transport and magnetic techniques. Finally, these
considerations are seen to influence estimated pinning potentials for the
strands.Comment: 43 Pages, 11 Figures, accepted by Supercon. Sci. Tec
Close Packing of Atoms, Geometric Frustration and the Formation of Heterogeneous States in Crystals
To describe structural peculiarities in inhomogeneous media caused by the
tendency to the close packing of atoms a formalism based on the using of the
Riemann geometry methods (which were successfully applied lately to the
description of structures of quasicrystals and glasses) is developed. Basing on
this formalism we find in particular the criterion of stability of precipitates
of the Frank-Kasper phases in metallic systems. The nature of the ''rhenium
effect'' in W-Re alloys is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, RevTex, 2 PostScript figure
Dielectric anisotropy of nematic liquid crystals loaded with carbon nanotubes in microwave range
Liquid crystals are attractive materials for microwave applications as tunable dielectrics owing to low losses and high anisotropy of dielectric properties. The possibility of further enhancing their dielectric anisotropy is studied by loading with highly polarisable and anisotropic rods–carbon nanotubes at various concentrations. The studies are performed using two different methods, one in the range 1–4 GHz and the other at 30 GHz. More than two times increase of microwave dielectric anisotropy in liquid crystals is reported when loaded with 0.01%wt of carbon nanotubes, which is a metastable suspension and 28% increase in an equilibrated suspension. The stability of the LC-CNT composites is discussed
Field-Dependent Tilt and Birefringence of Electroclinic Liquid Crystals: Theory and Experiment
An unresolved issue in the theory of liquid crystals is the molecular basis
of the electroclinic effect in the smectic-A phase. Recent x-ray scattering
experiments suggest that, in a class of siloxane-containing liquid crystals, an
electric field changes a state of disordered molecular tilt in random
directions into a state of ordered tilt in one direction. To investigate this
issue, we measure the optical tilt and birefringence of these liquid crystals
as functions of field and temperature, and we develop a theory for the
distribution of molecular orientations under a field. Comparison of theory and
experiment confirms that these materials have a disordered distribution of
molecular tilt directions that is aligned by an electric field, giving a large
electroclinic effect. It also shows that the net dipole moment of a correlated
volume of molecules, a key parameter in the theory, scales as a power law near
the smectic-A--smectic-C transition.Comment: 18 pages, including 9 postscript figures, uses REVTeX 3.0 and
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