12,251 research outputs found
Domain Coarsening in Systems Far from Equilibrium
The growth of domains of stripes evolving from random initial conditions is
studied in numerical simulations of models of systems far from equilibrium such
as Rayleigh-Benard convection. The scaling of the size of the domains deduced
from the inverse width of the Fourier spectrum is studied for both potential
and nonpotential models. The morphology of the domains and the defect
structures are however quite different in the two cases, and evidence is
presented for a second length scale in the nonpotential case.Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX; 3 uufiles encoded postscript figures appende
A novel route to Pt-Bi2O3 composite thin films and their application in photo-reduction of water
A novel homoleptic bismuth(III) β-diketonate (dibenzoylmethane – dbm) complex [Bi(dbm)3]2 has been used as a precursor to thin films of crystalline β-Bi2O3, and hexachloroplatinic acid (H2PtCl6·6H2O) has been demonstrated as a suitable precursor for deposition of platinum nanoparticles, both deposited via aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD). Thin films of Pt–Bi2O3 were co-deposited from a mixture of [Bi(dbm)3]2 and H2PtCl6·6H2O; the introduction of Pt particles into β-Bi2O3 causes hydrogen to be evolved during photolysis of water over the composite material, a property not found for Pt particles or β-Bi2O3 alone
Effect of the Centrifugal Force on Domain Chaos in Rayleigh-B\'enard convection
Experiments and simulations from a variety of sample sizes indicated that the
centrifugal force significantly affects rotating Rayleigh-B\'enard
convection-patterns. In a large-aspect-ratio sample, we observed a hybrid state
consisting of domain chaos close to the sample center, surrounded by an annulus
of nearly-stationary nearly-radial rolls populated by occasional defects
reminiscent of undulation chaos. Although the Coriolis force is responsible for
domain chaos, by comparing experiment and simulation we show that the
centrifugal force is responsible for the radial rolls. Furthermore, simulations
of the Boussinesq equations for smaller aspect ratios neglecting the
centrifugal force yielded a domain precession-frequency
with as predicted by the amplitude-equation model for domain
chaos, but contradicted by previous experiment. Additionally the simulations
gave a domain size that was larger than in the experiment. When the centrifugal
force was included in the simulation, and the domain size closely agreed
with experiment.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure
Atomic oxygen degradation of Intelsat 4-type solar array interconnects: Laboratory investigations
A Hughes 506 type communication satellite belonging to the Intelsat organization was marooned in low Earth orbit on March 14, 1990, following failure of the Titan third stage to separate properly. The satellite, Intelsat VI, was designed for service in geosynchronous orbit and contains several material configurations which are susceptible to attack by atomic oxygen. Analysis showed the silver foil interconnects in the satellite photovoltaic array to be the key materials issue because the silver is exposed directly to the atomic oxygen ram flux. The results are reported of atomic oxygen degradation testing of Intelsat VI type silver foil interconnects both as virgin material and in a configured solar cell element. Test results indicate that more than 80 pct. of the original thickness of silver in the Intelsat VI solar array interconnects should remain after completion of the proposed Space Shuttle rescue and/or reboost mission
Designing novel applications for emerging multimedia technology
Current R&D in media technologies such as Multimedia, Semantic Web and Sensor Web technologies are advancing in a fierce rate and will sure to become part of our important regular items in a 'conventional' technology inventory in near future. While the R&D nature of these technologies means their accuracy, reliability and robustness are not sufficient enough to be used in real world yet, we want to envision now the near-future where these technologies will have matured and used in real applications in order to explore and start shaping many possible new ways these novel technologies could be utilised.
In this talk, some of this effort in designing novel applications that incorporate various media technologies as their backend will be presented. Examples include novel scenarios of LifeLogging application that incorporate automatic structuring of millions of photos passively captured from a SenseCam (wearable digital camera that automatically takes photos triggered by environmental sensors) and an interactive TV application incorporating a number of multimedia tools yet extremely simple and easy to use with a remote control in a lean-back position. The talk will conclude with remarks on how the design of novel applications that have no precedence or existing user base should require somewhat different approach from those suggested and practiced in conventional usability engineering methodology
Finite Size Scaling of Domain Chaos
Numerical studies of the domain chaos state in a model of rotating
Rayleigh-Benard convection suggest that finite size effects may account for the
discrepancy between experimentally measured values of the correlation length
and the predicted divergence near onset
Randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of a chest pain observation unit compared with routine care
Objectives To measure the effectiveness and cost effectiveness
of providing care in a chest pain observation unit compared
with routine care for patients with acute, undifferentiated chest
pain.
Design Cluster randomised controlled trial, with 442 days
randomised to the chest pain observation unit or routine care,
and cost effectiveness analysis from a health service costing
perspective.
Setting The emergency department at the Northern General
Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
Participants 972 patients with acute, undifferentiated chest
pain (479 attending on days when care was delivered in the
chest pain observation unit, 493 on days of routine care)
followed up until six months after initial attendance.
Main outcome measures The proportion of participants
admitted to hospital, the proportion with acute coronary
syndrome sent home inappropriately, major adverse cardiac
events over six months, health utility, hospital reattendance and
readmission, and costs per patient to the health service.
Results Use of a chest pain observation unit reduced the
proportion of patients admitted from 54% to 37% (difference
17%, odds ratio 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.39 to 0.65,
P < 0.001) and the proportion discharged with acute coronary
syndrome from 14% to 6% (8%, –7% to 23%, P = 0.264). Rates
of cardiac event were unchanged. Care in the chest pain
observation unit was associated with improved health utility
during follow up (0.0137 quality adjusted life years gained, 95%
confidence interval 0.0030 to 0.0254, P = 0.022) and a saving of
£78 per patient (–£56 to £210, P = 0.252).
Conclusions Care in a chest pain observation unit can improve
outcomes and may reduce costs to the health service. It seems
to be more effective and more cost effective than routine care
The monoclinic phase in PZT: new light on morphotropic phase boundaries
A summary of the work recently carried out on the morphotropic phase boundary
(MPB) of PZT is presented. By means of x-ray powder diffraction on ceramic
samples of excellent quality, the MPB has been successfully characterized by
changing temperature in a series of closely spaced compositions. As a result,
an unexpected monoclinic phase has been found to exist in between the
well-known tetragonal and rhombohedral PZT phases. A detailed structural
analysis, together with the investigation of the field effect in this region of
compositions, have led to an important advance in understanding the mechanisms
responsible for the physical properties of PZT as well as other piezoelectric
materials with similar morphotropic phase boundaries.Comment: 5 pages REVTeX file, 6 figures embedded. Presented at the Workshop on
"Fundamental Physics of Ferroelectrics" held in Aspen, February 00. To appear
in the proceeding
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