Critical parameters for coarse coal underground slurry haulage systems

Factors are identified which must be considered in meeting the requirements of a transportation system for conveying, in a pipeline, the coal mined by a continuous mining machine to a storage location neat the mine entrance or to a coal preparation plant located near the surface. For successful operation, the slurry haulage the system should be designed to operated in the turbulent flow regime at a flow rate at least 30% greater than the deposition velocity (slurry flow rate at which the solid particles tend to settle in the pipe). The capacity of the haulage system should be compatible with the projected coal output. Partical size, solid concentration, density, and viscosity of the suspension are if importance as well as the selection of the pumps, pipes, and valves. The parameters with the greatest effect on system performance ar flow velocity, pressure coal particle size, and solids concentration

The Need for an Independent Federal Judiciary: Prison Reform Litigation Spurs Structural Change – The California Penal Crisis

This Article examines Madrid V. Gomez, 889 F.Supp. 1146, the last case before the passage of the PLRA in which a federal court broadly intervened in a state prison system through structural reform litigation. Part II outlines the historical and jurisprudential foundations that legitimate federal judicial intervention in state prisons. Part III examines the California prison system through the lens of the Madrid litigation and the ongoing social and political problems caused by the prison crisis. Part IV concludes that judicial intervention remains the only viable tool to remedy constitutional deficiencies in state prisons when majoritarian political processes fail to produce serious reform. Therefore, it is essential that the power and independence of the federal judiciary be preserved to ensure the rights of the politically powerless and mitigate Constitutional harms

On limit points of the sequence of normalized prime gaps

Let $p_n$ denote the $n$th smallest prime number, and let $\boldsymbol{L}$ denote the set of limit points of the sequence $\{(p_{n+1} - p_n)/\log p_n\}_{n = 1}^{\infty}$ of normalized differences between consecutive primes. We show that for $k = 9$ and for any sequence of $k$ nonnegative real numbers $\beta_1 \le \beta_2 \le ... \le \beta_k$, at least one of the numbers $\beta_j - \beta_i$ ($1 \le i < j \le k$) belongs to $\boldsymbol{L}$. It follows at least $12.5$ of all nonnegative real numbers belong to $\boldsymbol{L}$.Comment: Revised and improve

California Methanol Assessment; Volume II, Technical Report

A joint effort by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering has brought together sponsors from both the public and private sectors for an analysis of the prospects for methanol use as a fuel in California, primarily for the transportation and stationary application sectors. Increasing optimism in 1982 for a slower rise in oil prices and a more realistic understanding of the costs of methanol production have had a negative effect on methanol viability in the near term (before the year 2000). Methanol was determined to have some promise in the transportation sector, but is not forecasted for large-scale use until beyond the year 2000. Similarly, while alternative use of methanol can have a positive effect on air quality (reducing NOx, SOx, and other emissions), a best case estimate is for less than 4% reduction in peak ozone by 2000 at realistic neat methanol vehicle adoption rates. Methanol is not likely to be a viable fuel in the stationary application sector because it cannot compete economically with conventional fuels except in very limited cases. On the production end, it was determined that methanol produced from natural gas will continue to dominate supply options through the year 2000, and the present and planned industry capacity is somewhat in excess of all projected needs. Nonsubsidized coal-based methanol cannot compete with conventional feedstocks using current technology, but coal-based methanol has promise in the long term (after the year 2000), providing that industry is willing to take the technical and market risks and that government agencies will help facilitate the environment for methanol. Given that the prospects for viable major markets (stationary applications and neat fuel in passenger cars) are unlikely in the 1980s and early 1990s, the next steps for methanol are in further experimentation and research of production and utilization technologies, expanded use as an octane enhancer, and selected fleet implementation. In the view of the study, it is not advantageous at this time to establish policies within California that attempt to expand methanol use rapidly as a neat fuel for passenger cars or to induce electric utility use of methanol on a widespread basis

IMPLICATIONS OF THE TAX REFORM ACT OF 1976 FOR FARM ESTATE PLANNING

An intergeneration transfer simulation model is used to project estate transfer costs and the value of transfers to the heirs before and after the tax reform act of 1976. Lower Federal estate taxes result for estates that qualify for the special use valuation of farmland provision of the new law. Replacing the $60,000 estate exemption with the$47,000 estate tax credit and revising the tax rate schedule increases Federal estate taxes when the taxable estate is between $1.175 million and$9.353 million. The new carryover basis rules for estate assets acquired from decedents dying after 1979 also increase transfer costs.Agricultural Finance,

IMPACT OF RISK PREFERENCES ON CROP ROTATION CHOICE

Stochastic dominance analysis of five crop rotations using twenty-one years of experimental yield data returned results consistent with Pennsylvania cropping practices. The analysis incorporated yield risk, output price risk, and rotational yield effects. A rotation of two years corn and three years alfalfa hay dominated for approximately risk neutral and risk averse preferences, as did participation in government programs under the 1990 Farm Bill. Crop rotation selection appeared to impact net revenues more than the decision to participate in government programs.Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Adsorption properties and third sound propagation in superfluid 4^4He films on carbon nanotubes

We consider the adsorption properties of superfluid $^4$He films on carbon nanotubes. One major factor in the adsorption is the surface tension force arising from the very small diameter of the nanotubes. Calculations show that surface tension keeps the film thickness on the tubes very thin even when the helium vapor is increased to the saturated pressure. The weakened Van der Waals force due to the cylindrical geometry also contributes to this. Both of these effects act to lower the predicted velocity of third sound propagation along the tubes. It does not appear that superfluidity will be possible on single-walled nanotubes of diameter about one nm, since the film thickness is less than 3 atomic layers even at saturation. Superfluidity is possible on larger-diameter nanotube bundles and multi-walled nanotubes, however. We have observed third sound signals on nanotube bundles of average diameter 5 nm which are sprayed onto a Plexiglass surface, forming a network of tubes.Comment: 4 pages, accepted for Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Proceedings of LT25

Auroral vector electric field and particle comparisons. 1: Pre-midnight convection topology

Polar 3 was launched in northern Norway on January 27, 1974. Traversing nearly 3 deg latitude, the rocket crossed over a stable IBC II auroral arc in the positive bay region and continued north to a convection boundary which was identified as the Harang discontinuity. Measurement of the complete electric field vector, of energetic electrons and of the auroral N+2 and OI emissions were used to study the convection topology in the pre-magnetic-midnight region. A strong anticorrelation was observed between the electric field and the precipitating energetic electrons. The inverted V nature of the electron precipitations at the convection boundary, compared with the lack of such structure over the arc which was within the positive bay region, leads to the conclusion that auroral arcs are likely to be associated with inverted V type precipitation only at or poleward of convection boundaries and their eddy structures

California methanol assessment. Volume 1: Summary report

The near term methanol industry, the competitive environment, long term methanol market, the transition period, air quality impacts of methanol, roles of the public and private sectors are considered