A Superlens Based on Metal-Dielectric Composites

Pure noble metals are typically considered to be the materials of choice for a near-field superlens that allows subwavelength resolution by recovering both propagating and evanescent waves. However, a superlens based on bulk metal can operate only at a single frequency for a given dielectric host. In this Letter, it is shown that a composite metal-dielectric film, with an appropriate metal filling factor, can operate at practically any desired wavelength in the visible and near-infrared ranges. Theoretical analysis and simulations verify the feasibility of the proposed lens.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Occurence of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) in the Gulf of Trieste and the northern Adriatic Sea

1. The Mediterranean common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), considered to have been very common in the past, had undergone a dramatic decline across most of the basin by the end of 1970s. In the northern Adriatic Sea, one of the regions with most available historical information, the common dolphin is thought to have been the most common and abundant cetacean throughout most of the 20th century. However, by the end of 1970s, it had virtually disappeared from the region and is now considered generally absent from the entire Adriatic Sea. 2. This contribution summarizes the occurrence of common dolphins in the Gulf of Trieste and provides a brief review of published records in other parts of the Adriatic Sea. 3. Systematic boat surveys in the wider area of the Gulf of Trieste between 2002 and 2019 confirmed that the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the only regularly occurring cetacean species in this area. Despite this, several records of common dolphins were documented in the Gulf of Trieste between 2009 and 2012, through sightings of live animals or recovery of dead stranded animals. 4. Dorsal fin markings allowed the photo‐identification of some of these, suggesting that at least four different live individuals (three adults and one calf) occurred here in recent times. Most cases involved single adult individuals, but one included a mother‐calf pair that was temporarily resident in a port for several months, a behaviour atypical for this species. Photo‐identification showed that the presumed mother had previously been sighted in the Ionian Sea in Greece, over 1,000 km from the Gulf of Trieste, making this the longest documented movement for this species worldwide. 5. At present, the common dolphin continues to be rare in the region.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Impedance investigation of BaCe0.85Y0.15O3-delta properties for hydrogen conductor in fuel cells

International audienceThe influence of the sintering conditions on the electrochemical properties of the proton conducting electrolyte BaCe0.85Y0.15O3-delta (BCY15) and Ni - based BCY15 cermet anode for application in high temperature proton conducting fuel cell are investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results show that at lower sintering temperatures due to the formation of parasitic Y2O3 phase an increase of both the electrolyte and electrode resistances is observed. This effect is strongly reduced by enhancement of the sintering temperature. The obtained BCY15 conductivity (sigma = 2.5x10(-2) S/cm at 700 degrees C) is comparable with that of the best proton conducting materials, while the BCY15-Ni cermet (with ASR = 2.5 Omega cm(2) at 700 degrees C) needs further optimization. The results of impedance investigations of BCY15 as proton conducting electrolyte and cermet anode have been applied in development of innovative high temperature dual membrane fuel cell

Anomalous spectral scaling of light emission rates in low dimensional metallic nanostructures

The strength of light emission near metallic nanostructures can scale anomalously with frequency and dimensionality. We find that light-matter interactions in plasmonic systems confined in two dimensions (e.g., near metal nanowires) strengthen with decreasing frequency owing to strong mode confinement away from the surface plasmon frequency. The anomalous scaling also applies to the modulation speed of plasmonic light sources, including lasers, with modulation bandwidths growing at lower carrier frequencies. This allows developing optical devices that exhibit simultaneously femto-second response times at the nano-meter scale, even at longer wavelengths into the mid IR, limited only by non-local effects and reversible light-matter coupling

Kinetics of CO2 hydrate formation from water frost at low temperatures: Experimental results and theoretical model

The gas hydrate growth from frostlike powders composed of micrometer-sized ice particles does not start with hydrate shell formation, because the initial hydrate film thickness established in earlier work exceeds the ice particle dimensions. In this limiting case, the ice grains are directly consumed by a growing nucleus created on the particle surface. The conventional Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) model,(1)which considers (re-) crystallization reactions phenomenologically in terms of the constituent nucleation and subsequent growth processes, cannot be directly applied to the hydrate formation from frost due to the assumption of an infinitely large domain of crystallization. We present here a modified approach to account for the small particle sizes of the starting material and extend the existing theory of gas hydrate formation from monodisperse ice powders(3-5)to the low-temperature and low-ice-particle-size limit. This approach may also prove to be very useful for applying chemical reactions starting on the surface of nanomaterials. In situ neutron scattering was used to obtain the experimental degree of transformation as a function of temperature between 185 and 195 K. The data were analyzed with the modified JMAK model constrained by information from cryo-SEM and BET measurements. Based on the obtained activation energies for hydrate nucleation and growth, an estimate is given for the probability of formation of CO2 hydrates at conditions relevant for Mars; a direct reaction of CO2 gas with water frost is considered to be very unlikely on the Martian surface under current conditions. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Experimental studies on the formation of porous gas hydrates

Gas hydrates grown at gas-ice interfaces were examined by electron microscopy and found to have a sub-micrometer porous structure. In situ observations of the formation of porous CH4- and CO2-hydrates from deuterated ice Ih powders were made at different pressures and temperatures, using time-resolved neutron diffraction data from the high-flux D20 diffractometer (ILL, Grenoble) as well as in-house gas consumption measurements. The CO2 experiments conducted at low temperatures are particularly important for settling the open question of the existence of CO2 hydrates on Mars. We found that at similar excess fugacities, the reaction of CO2 was distinctly faster than that of CH4. A phenomenological model for the kinetics of the gas hydrate formation from powders of spherical ice particles is developed with emphasis on ice-grain fracturing and sample-consolidation effects due to the outward growth of gas hydrate. It describes (1) the initial stage of fast crack-filling and hydrate film spreading over the ice surface and the two subsequent stages which are limited by (2) the clathration reaction at the ice-hydrate interface and/or by (3) the diffusive gas and water transport through the hydrate shells surrounding the shrinking ice cores. In the case Of CO2-hydrate, the activation energies of the ice-surface coating in stage 1 are estimated to be 5.5 kJ/mol at low temperatures and 31.5 kJ/mol above 220 K, indicating that water molecule mobility at the ice surface plays a considerable role in the clathration reaction. Comparable activation energies of 42.3 and 54.6 kJ/mol are observed in the high temperature range for the reaction- and diffusion-limited stages 2 and 3, respectively

Модернизация конструкции биологического лабораторного комплекса

Объектом модернизации в данной работе является конструкция биологического лабораторного комплекса. Цель: модернизация конструкции биологического лабораторного комплекса. Результатом процесса модернизации является конструкция комплекса в CAD системе SolidWorks. В ходе работы: модернизирована конструкция комплекса под заданные характеристики, разработан сборочный чертеж, спроектирован технологический процесс изготовления детали типа фланец.The object of modernization in this work is the construction of a biological laboratory complex. Purpose: modernization of the biological laboratory complex. The result of the modernization process is the design of the complex in the CAD system SolidWorks. In the course of work: the design of the complex has been modernized for the given characteristics, an assembly drawing has been developed, a technological process has been designed for manufacturing a flange type part

Branch Rings, Thinned Rings, Tree Enveloping Rings

We develop the theory of ``branch algebras'', which are infinite-dimensional associative algebras that are isomorphic, up to taking subrings of finite codimension, to a matrix ring over themselves. The main examples come from groups acting on trees. In particular, for every field k we construct a k-algebra K which (1) is finitely generated and infinite-dimensional, but has only finite-dimensional quotients; (2) has a subalgebra of finite codimension, isomorphic to $M_2(K)$; (3) is prime; (4) has quadratic growth, and therefore Gelfand-Kirillov dimension 2; (5) is recursively presented; (6) satisfies no identity; (7) contains a transcendental, invertible element; (8) is semiprimitive if k has characteristic $\neq2$; (9) is graded if k has characteristic 2; (10) is primitive if k is a non-algebraic extension of GF(2); (11) is graded nil and Jacobson radical if k is an algebraic extension of GF(2).Comment: 35 pages; small changes wrt previous versio