SERT 2 thruster space restart, 1974

The results of testing the flight thrusters on the SERT spacecraft during the 1974 test period are presented. The most notable result was the clearing of the high voltage short from thruster 2 and the successful stable operation of its ion beam. Test periods were limited to 70 minutes or less by earth eclipse of the spacecraft solar array and by ground station coverage limitations. Thruster 2 was restarted 26 times with an ion beam produced 21 times. The high voltage short remains in thruster 1, but the cathodes were restarted 12 times to demonstrate continued restart capability. The propellant feed systems, power processors, and spacecraft ancillary equipment were demonstrated to be functional after 4 1/2 years in space. In addition to the thruster tests, a neutralizer cathode was operated separately to demonstrate that the potential level of a spacecraft could be controlled by the neutralizer alone

X-ray Spectral Signatures of the Photon Bubble Model for Ultraluminous X-ray Sources

The nature of ultraluminous X-ray sources in nearby galaxies is one of the major open questions in modern X-ray astrophysics. One possible explanation for these objects is an inhomogeneous, radiation dominated accretion disk around a $\sim 10 M_{\odot}$ black hole -- the so-called ``photon bubble'' model. While previous studies of this model have focused primarily on its radiation-hydrodynamics aspects, in this paper, we provide an analysis of its X-ray spectral (continuum and possible edge and line) characteristics. Compton reflection between high and low density regions in the disk may provide the key to distinguishing this model from others, such as accretion onto an intermediate mass black hole. We couple a Monte Carlo/Fokker-Planck radiation transport code with the XSTAR code for reflection to simulate the photon spectra produced in a photon bubble model for ULXs. We find that reflection components tend to be very weak and in most cases not observable, and make predictions for the shape of the high-energy Comptonizing spectra. In many cases the Comptonization dominates the spectra even down to $\sim$ a few keV. In one simulation, a \sim 9 \kev feature was found, which may be considered a signature of photon bubbles in ULXs; furthermore, we make predictions of high energy power-laws which may be observed by future instruments.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Zukunft, wissen und sprachen: warum ein gaiazän das bessere menschenzeitalter ist

O artigo consta de quatro partes. Na primeira parte, elencam-se alguns pré-requisitos históricos e atuais para o fato de que, apesar de todas as mudanças, a humanidade atual ainda não é uma sociedade do conhecimento e não está apta para o futuro. Mesmo a ciência de hoje, apesar de todo o progresso, é uma instituição com deficiências. Sua consciência da racionalidade e da realidade permanece fraca. A segunda parte mostra que a cultura de conhecimento atual do antropoceno ainda é dependente de crença; não é livre. Só obedece a outros poderes como antes e não se fixa no bem-estar de toda a terra, mas apenas no do homem. Portanto, um gaiaceno seria a melhor idade humana e deveria ser corajosamente buscada. Isso é muito difícil porque interesses políticos e econômicos, hábitos arraigados e velhos erros atrapalham. A terceira parte seleciona duas contribuições da linguística, ainda hoje subestimadas, que podem ajudar a progredir aqui: a racionalidade universal inata das línguas e a valiosa diversidade cognitiva de suas visões de mundo. Ambas permanecem incompreendidas e vistas como opostas, pois ainda não se aprendeu a perceber adequadamente a função de marca-passo do conhecimento linguístico. Aqui, a forma mais apropriada de linguística é a que começa pelos ecossistemas, pois desempenha um papel particularmente promissor. Na quarta parte do artigo são discutidos tais passos no caminho de uma compreensão sustentável do conhecimento. Isso inclui uma reflexão sobre o valor anteriormente não reconhecido da diversidade evolutiva, o desenvolvimento de uma transdisciplinaridade real que vai além da interdisciplinaridade e uma nova ideia de democracia. Por fim, são nomeados três grupos de atores, sem os quais o gaiaceno é impossível: as mulheres, a sociedade civil e os povos indígenas com suas culturas. Devemos aprender com todos eles

Der Citizen Science-Niedergang oder wie man eine gute Idee verhunzt: Ein wissenschaftshistorisches Lehrstück zur Gegenwart

This Opusculum reflects critically on an important period in modern science. The German philosopher Gernot Böhme (1937-2022) called it the "Baconian Age" in 1993. Paul Crutzen (1933-2021), who won the Nobel Prize for his role in discovering the hole in the stratospheric ozone layer, called it with a wide resonance the "Anthropocene" around 2000. To this day, this epoch is largely characterised by the rise of two widely conflicting sciences, economics and ecology, which have led to serious general problems in contemporary science. In 1995, sociologist Allan Irwin (*1955) published the idea that amateur scientists could and should play an important role in supporting ecological ideas, calling their scientific role "citizen science". The author of this Opusculum underlined this in 2014 as an important means to overcome the mistakes of the Anthropocene. The text describes the general framework, the rise and fall of Irwin's idea, distinguishing between different stages, countries and actors. At present, it has lost most of its original power and has become a mere method of professional science. Nevertheless, we urgently need a transformation of our scientific identity

Analysis of Toth Surface Elements by Ion beam Analysis

To examine the applicability of elastic recoil detection analysis ERDA in studying element constituents of dental hard tissues. The concentration of all elements using high energy heavy ions was detected in extracted teeth of both dentitions. The main elements present in enamel calcium, phosphorus, oxygen, hydrogen , along with nitrogen, carbon, fluorine, sodium, magnesium and zinc, were measured. Concentrations and depth profiles were calculated and compared with simulation data generated using two programs, KONZERD and SIMNRA. Enamel calcium, phosphorus, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, fluorine, sodium, magnesium and, occasionally, zinc were detected. One third of samples showed a constant concentration of the constituents over the analyzed depth, whereas the remaining samples had pronounced surface contaminations of carbon and nitrogen. Although calculation of concentrations with KONZERD gave expected values, simulation with SIMNRA was not possible since no agreement could be obtained between simulated and measured results for the element

Subsidizing Religious Participation through Groups: A Model of the “Megachurch” Strategy for Growth

Either despite or because of their non-traditional approach, megachurches have grown significantly in the United States since 1980. This paper models religious participation as an imperfect public good which, absent intervention, yields suboptimal participation by members from the church’s perspective. Megachurches address this problem in part by employing secular-based group activities to subsidize religious participation that then translates into an increase in the attendees’ religious investment. This strategy not only allows megachurches to attract and retain new members when many traditional churches are losing members but also results in higher levels of an individual’s religious capital. As a result, the megachurch may raise expectations of members’ levels of commitment and faith practices. Data from the FACT2000 survey provide evidence that megachurches employ groups more extensively than other churches, and this approach is consistent with a strategy to use groups to help subsidize individuals’ religious investment. Religious capital rises among members of megachurches relative to members of non-megachurches as a result of this strategy

Gebiedsdekkende basisinformatie voor het regionale waterbeheer in het waterschap Rijn en IJssel; programmeringsstudie

Voor het waterschap Rijn en IJssel is de gegevensbehoefte voor het regionaal waterbeheer onderzocht. De gegevensbehoeften van verschillende instrumenten zijn vergeleken, waarna variabelen geodentificeerd zijn die bij vrijwel alle instrumenten nodig zijn (het basispakket). Ook zijn twee uitbreidingspakketten gedefinieerd. Daarnaast zijn opties voor de gewenste ruimtelijke dichtheid van gegevensverzameling uitgewerkt. Combinaties van variabelenpakket en ruimtelijke dichtheid zijn geanalyseerd op kostendoorlooptijd en prioriteiten. De beste optie is verzameling van bodemgegevens en actualisatie van grondwatertrappen op een schaal van 1 : 50 000, alsmede het aanmaken van een gedetailleerd digitaal hoogtemodel

A significant hardening and rising shape detected in the MeV/GeV nuFnu spectrum from the recently-discovered very-high-energy blazar S4 0954+65 during the bright optical flare in 2015 February

We report on Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and multi-wavelength results on the recently-discovered very-high-energy (VHE, $E>$ 100 GeV) blazar S4 0954+65 ($z=0.368$) during an exceptionally bright optical flare in 2015 February. During the time period (2015 February, 13/14, or MJD 57067) when the MAGIC telescope detected VHE $\gamma$-ray emission from the source, the Fermi-LAT data indicated a significant spectral hardening at GeV energies, with a power-law photon index of $1.8 \pm 0.1$---compared with the 3FGL value (averaged over four years of observation) of $2.34 \pm 0.04$. In contrast, Swift/XRT data showed a softening of the X-ray spectrum, with a photon index of $1.72 \pm 0.08$ (compared with $1.38 \pm 0.03$ averaged during the flare from MJD 57066 to 57077), possibly indicating a modest contribution of synchrotron photons by the highest-energy electrons superposed on the inverse Compton component. Fitting of the quasi-simultaneous ($<1$ day) broadband spectrum with a one-zone synchrotron plus inverse-Compton model revealed that GeV/TeV emission could be produced by inverse-Compton scattering of external photons from the dust torus. We emphasize that a flaring blazar showing high flux of $\gtrsim 1.0 \times 10^{-6}$ photons cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ ($E>$ 100 MeV) and a hard spectral index of $\Gamma_{\rm GeV} < 2.0$ detected by Fermi-LAT on daily time scales is a promising target for TeV follow-up by ground-based Cherenkov telescopes to discover high-redshift blazars, investigate their temporal variability and spectral features in the VHE band, and also constrain the intensity of the extragalactic background light.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted by PAS