Soil Survey of Iowa, Report No. 66—Lyon County Soils

Lyon County is located in the extreme northwestern corner of Iowa, bordering South Dakota on the west and South Dakota and Minnesota on the north. It lies entirely in the Missouri loess soil area and hence the soils in the county are chiefly loessial in character

ELM Particle and Energy Transport in the SOL and Divertor of DIII-D

A271 ELM PARTICLE AND ENERGY TRANSPORT IN THE SOL AND DIVERTOR OF DIII-D. Results from a series of dedicated experiments measuring the effect of particle and energy pulses from Type-I Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) in the DIII-D scrape-off layer (SOL) and divertor are compared with a simple model of ELM propagation in the boundary plasma. The simple model asserts that the propagation of ELM particle and energy perturbations is dominated by ion parallel convection along SOL fields lines and the recovery from the ELM perturbation is determined by recycling physics. Time scales associated with the initial changes of boundary plasma parameters are expected to be on the order of the ion transit time from the outer midplane, where the ELM instability is initiated, to the divertor targets. To test the model, the ion convection velocity is changed in the experiment by varying the plasma density. At moderate to high density, n{sub e}/n{sub Gr} = 0.5-0.8, the delays in the response of the boundary plasma to the midplane ELM pulses, the density dependence of those delays and other observations are consistent with the model. However, at the lowest densities, n{sub e}/n{sub Gr} {approx} 0.35, small delays between the response sin the two divertors, and changes in the response of the pedestal thermal energy to ELM events, indicate that additional factors including electron conduction in the SOL, the pre-ELM condition of the divertor plasma, and the ratio of ELM instability duration to SOL transit time, may be playing a role. The results show that understanding the response of the SOL and divertor plasmas to ELMs, for various pre-ELM conditions, is just as important to predicting the effect of ELM pulses on the target surfaces of future devices as is predicting the characteristics of the ELM perturbation of the core plasma

Physics Processes in Disruption Mitigation Using Massive Noble Gas Injection

Methods for detecting imminent disruptions and mitigating disruption effects using massive injection of noble gases (He, Ne, or Ar) have been demonstrated on the DIII-D tokamak [1]. A jet of high injected gas density (> 10{sup 24} m{sup -3}) and pressure (> 20 kPa) penetrates the target plasma at the gas sound speed ({approx}300-500 m/s) and increases the atom/ion content of the plasma by a factor of > 50 in several milliseconds. UV line radiation from the impurity species distributes the plasma energy uniformly on the first wall, reducing the thermal load to the divertor by a factor of 10. Runaway electrons are almost completely eliminated by the large density of free and bound electrons supplied by the gas injection. The small vertical plasma displacement before current quench and high ratio of current decay rate to vertical growth rate result in a 75% reduction in peak halo current amplitude and attendant forces

Conceptions and expectations of mentoring relationships in a teacher education reform context

Peer reviewedPostprin

Enhanced dielectrophoresis of nanocolloids by dimer formation

We investigate the dielectrophoretic motion of charge-neutral, polarizable nanocolloids through molecular dynamics simulations. Comparison to analytical results derived for continuum systems shows that the discrete charge distributions on the nanocolloids have a significant impact on their coupling to the external field. Aggregation of nanocolloids leads to enhanced dielectrophoretic transport, provided that increase in the dipole moment upon aggregation can overcome the related increase in friction. The dimer orientation and the exact structure of the nanocolloid charge distribution are shown to be important in the enhanced transport

Beyond CP violation: hadronic physics at BaBar

I report on recent studies of hadronic physics performed by the BaBar Collaboration. Emphasis is given to the measurement of the properties of newly discovered charmed hadrons and to the searches for light and heavy pentaquarks.Comment: 14 pages, 20 postscript figues, contributed to the Proceedings of the First APS Topical Group Meeting on Hadron Physics, Fermilab, Batavia, IL (October 24-26, 2004

Focal adhesions as mechanosensors: the two-spring model

Adhesion-dependent cells actively sense the mechanical properties of their environment through mechanotransductory processes at focal adhesions, which are integrin-based contacts connecting the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton. Here we present first steps towards a quantitative understanding of focal adhesions as mechanosensors. It has been shown experimentally that high levels of force are related to growth of and signaling at focal adhesions. In particular, activation of the small GTPase Rho through focal adhesions leads to the formation of stress fibers. Here we discuss one way in which force might regulate the internal state of focal adhesions, namely by modulating the internal rupture dynamics of focal adhesions. A simple two-spring model shows that the stiffer the environment, the more efficient cellular force is built up at focal adhesions by molecular motors interacting with the actin filaments.Comment: Latex, 17 pages, 5 postscript figures include

A micro-electro-mechanical-system-based thermal shear-stress sensor with self-frequency compensation

By applying the micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) fabrication technology, we developed a micro-thermal sensor to measure surface shear stress. The heat transfer from a polysilicon heater depends on the normal velocity gradient and thus provides the surface shear stress. However, the sensitivity of the shear-stress measurements in air is less than desirable due to the low heat capacity of air. A unique feature of this micro-sensor is that the heating element, a film 1 µm thick, is separated from the substrate by a vacuum cavity 2 µm thick. The vacuum cavity prevents the conduction of heat to the substrate and therefore improves the sensitivity by an order of magnitude. Owing to the low thermal inertia of the miniature sensing element, this shear-stress micro-sensor can provide instantaneous measurements of small-scale turbulence. Furthermore, MEMS technology allows us make multiple sensors on a single chip so that we can perform distributed measurements. In this study, we use multiple polysilicon sensor elements to improve the dynamic performance of the sensor itself. It is demonstrated that the frequency-response range of a constant-current sensor can be extended from the order of 100 Hz to 100 kHz

Focal adhesions as mechanosensors: the two-spring model

Adhesion-dependent cells actively sense the mechanical properties of their environment through mechanotransductory processes at focal adhesions, which are integrin-based contacts connecting the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton. Here we present first steps towards a quantitative understanding of focal adhesions as mechanosensors. It has been shown experimentally that high levels of force are related to growth of and signaling at focal adhesions. In particular, activation of the small GTPase Rho through focal adhesions leads to the formation of stress fibers. Here we discuss one way in which force might regulate the internal state of focal adhesions, namely by modulating the internal rupture dynamics of focal adhesions. A simple two-spring model shows that the stiffer the environment, the more efficient cellular force is built up at focal adhesions by molecular motors interacting with the actin filaments.Comment: Latex, 17 pages, 5 postscript figures include