Supergiant Barocaloric Effects in Acetoxy Silicone Rubber over a Wide Temperature Range: Great Potential for Solid-state Cooling

Solid-state cooling based on caloric effects is considered a viable alternative to replace the conventional vapor-compression refrigeration systems. Regarding barocaloric materials, recent results show that elastomers are promising candidates for cooling applications around room-temperature. In the present paper, we report supergiant barocaloric effects observed in acetoxy silicone rubber - a very popular, low-cost and environmentally friendly elastomer. Huge values of adiabatic temperature change and reversible isothermal entropy change were obtained upon moderate applied pressures and relatively low strains. These huge barocaloric changes are associated both to the polymer chains rearrangements induced by confined compression and to the first-order structural transition. The results are comparable to the best barocaloric materials reported so far, opening encouraging prospects for the application of elastomers in near future solid-state cooling devices.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, 2 table

Diversidade de fungos na madeira de cinco espécies florestais no Município de Rio Branco, Acre, Brasil.

Micologia. Resumo 211

Vertex Operators and Soliton Solutions of Affine Toda Model with U(2) Symmetry

The symmetry structure of non-abelian affine Toda model based on the coset $SL(3)/SL(2)\otimes U(1)$ is studied. It is shown that the model possess non-abelian Noether symmetry closing into a q-deformed $SL(2)\otimes U(1)$ algebra. Specific two vertex soliton solutions are constructed.Comment: 17 pages, latex, misprints corrected, version to appear in J.Phys

Heróis problemáticos: cavaleiros sem identidade

As novelas de cavalaria narram episódios de homens corajosos e honrados que, numa armadura reluzente, partem em campanhas de resgate material e espiritual. Desconstruindo essa imagem perfeita, surge El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha (1605), o homem concreto de Miguel de Cervantes que atinge o ideal cavaleiresco apenas na imaginação. Mais tarde nasceria Agilulfo, Il cavaliere inesistente (1957) de Italo Calvino, que, por sua vez, realmente cumpre os deveres de seu título, mas não passa de um emaranhado de conceitos e ideias. O rico diálogo entre essas obras permite uma releitura crítica do antigo gênero dos cavaleiros errantes e se estende a uma reflexão sobre o contraste, ainda atual, entre o que somos e o que pretendemos ser

The Link between General Relativity and Shape Dynamics

We show that one can construct two equivalent gauge theories from a linking theory and give a general construction principle for linking theories which we use to construct a linking theory that proves the equivalence of General Relativity and Shape Dynamics, a theory with fixed foliation but spatial conformal invariance. This streamlines the rather complicated construction of this equivalence performed previously. We use this streamlined argument to extend the result to General Relativity with asymptotically flat boundary conditions. The improved understanding of linking theories naturally leads to the Lagrangian formulation of Shape Dynamics, which allows us to partially relate the degrees of freedom.Comment: 19 pages, LaTeX, no figure

Solubility isotope effects in aqueous solutions of methane

The isotope effect on the Henry's law coefficients of methane in aqueous solution (H/D and C-12/C-13 substitution) are interpreted using the statistical mechanical theory of condensed phase isotope effects. The missing spectroscopic data needed for the implementation of the theory were obtained either experimentally (infrared measurements), by computer simulation (molecular dynamics technique), or estimated using the Wilson's GF matrix method. The order of magnitude and sign of both solute isotope effects can be predicted by the theory. Even a crude estimation based on data from previous vapor pressure isotope effect studies of pure methane at low temperature can explain the inverse effect found for the solubility of deuterated methane in water. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics