Planetary surface exploration: MESUR/autonomous lunar rover

Planetary surface exploration micro-rovers for collecting data about the Moon and Mars was designed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Idaho. The goal of both projects was to design a rover concept that best satisfied the project objectives for NASA-Ames. A second goal was to facilitate student learning about the process of design. The first micro-rover is a deployment mechanism for the Mars Environmental SURvey (MESUR) Alpha Particle/Proton/X-ray instruments (APX). The system is to be launched with the sixteen MESUR landers around the turn of the century. A Tubular Deployment System and a spiked-legged walker was developed to deploy the APX from the lander to the Martian surface. While on Mars the walker is designed to take the APX to rocks to obtain elemental composition data of the surface. The second micro-rover is an autonomous, roving vehicle to transport a sensor package over the surface of the moon. The vehicle must negotiate the lunar-terrain for a minimum of one year by surviving impacts and withstanding the environmental extremes. The rover is a reliable track-driven unit that operates regardless of orientation which NASA can use for future lunar exploratory missions. A detailed description of the designs, methods, and procedures which the University of Idaho design teams followed to arrive at the final designs are included

Chiral symmetry breaking for deterministic switching of perpendicular magnetization by spin-orbit torque

Symmetry breaking is a characteristic to determine which branch of a bifurcation system follows upon crossing a critical point. Specifically, in spin-orbit torque (SOT) devices, a fundamental question arises: how to break the symmetry of the perpendicular magnetic moment by the in-plane spin polarization? Here, we show that the chiral symmetry breaking by the DMI can induce the deterministic SOT switching of the perpendicular magnetization. By introducing a gradient of saturation magnetization or magnetic anisotropy, non-collinear spin textures are formed by the gradient of effective SOT strength, and thus the chiral symmetry of the SOT-induced spin textures is broken by the DMI, resulting in the deterministic magnetization switching. We introduce a strategy to induce an out-of-plane (z) gradient of magnetic properties, as a practical solution for the wafer-scale manufacture of SOT devices.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Structural Cross Sections and Subsurface Maps of the Atoka Formation in the Northern Arkoma Basin, Western and Northwestern Arkansas

The Arkoma Basin is one of several peripheral foreland basins situated on the front of the Ouachita orogenic fold and thrust belt. The transition from the foredeep to the Ozark Plateaus is a short one in terms of latitude. The Atoka Formation in Arkansas comprises the bulk of the sediments in the Arkoma Basin. Three divisions of the Atoka Formation have been informally assigned as the Upper, Middle, and Lower based on differences in sedimentary response to tectonic processes that occurred during the formation and subsidence of the Arkoma Basin. In the Arkansas portion of the Arkoma Basin, the lower Atoka marks the onset of tectonic subsidence in between the Mulberry and the Cass Fault systems and displays a maximum of almost 1,000 feet of thickening in the study area. The middle Atoka in the same area gains a maximum of 4,000 feet of sediment. The upper Atoka achieves a maximum thickness of 1,800 feet. Entrapment of hydrocarbons within the Atoka Formation in the Arkoma Basin has led many oil and gas companies to penetrate and log the formation with electric, gamma ray and other mechanical logs while exploring for natural gas. This study uses these raster logs to provide a variety of maps and cross sections that illustrate the coastal systems of the lower and upper Atoka Formation and aid in the interpretation of the sedimentary response of the three Atoka divisions with respect to structural timing and sedimentology. With the subsurface maps and cross sections, a more synthesized version of the Atoka Formation in the northern Arkoma Basin of western Arkansas is produced

Sacred kings of the Picts : the last cuckoos

Open Access via the T&F AgreementPeer reviewedPublisher PD

An investigation of an Aberdeenshire ritual landscape : a site of human sacrifice associated with Venus

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Individual Right to Asylum Under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights

International law does not recognize an individual right to be granted asylum. The emergence of a variant of such a right under the European Convention on Human Rights, albeit under limited conditions, therefore marks a major departure from customary law, a departure particularly noteworthy given that the parties to the Convention represent some of the most advanced legal systems in the world. The recognition of a right to asylum not only establishes a valuable precedent, but also has a direct impact on the status of refugees in Europe. Although no right of entry is provided, aliens already in countries of refuge in Europe are now protected from forced return to countries where their fundamental human rights might be denied. To appreciate the significance of such a development, the right recognized by the Commission, limited as it is, must be evaluated with three objectives in mind: to examine how the doctrine evolved through the decisions of the European Commission of Human Rights, to isolate the substantive features of the doctrine, and finally to identify limits to future applications of the doctrine. Before exploring the content and ramifications of the asylum decisions of the Commission, however, it is necessary to understand the role of the Commission in the enforcement of the European Convention on Human Rights

Regulation of Imports and Foregn Investment in the United States on National Security Grounds

Traditionally, concerns over the effects of trade and investment on national security have centered upon the transfer of products and technologies with potential military uses. However, national security concerns also arise with respect to the economic and military impact of imports and of foreign acquisition of domestic assets. The United States has a longstanding statute, section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, that allows the President to restrict imports of goods on national security grounds. More recently, another statute, popularly referred to as the Exon-Florio Act, provides the President with authority to bar the acquisition of United States companies or businesses by foreign persons on national security grounds. Thus, United States law provides for the regulation of inward flows of both goods and capital for reasons of national security. This article will examine the substance, interpretation, and application of these laws, and comment upon possible future developments in light of evolving trends in the global economy