Co‐operative cross‐platform courseware development

The UKMCC (UK Mathematics Courseware Consortium) is a Consortium funded under TLTP (Training and Learning Technology Programme) to produce courseware for service mathematics teaching, using the SEFI (Société Européenne pour la Formation des Ingénieurs) syllabus. There are agreed courseware design guidelines and a simple courseware management system which allows cross‐referencing. Courseware is divided into modules, with an author as implementer for each. On any one hardware platform, a variety of authoring languages is possible. Across hardware platforms, the design guidelines ensure that conversion is possible, and will preserve look and feel. We argue here that these arrangements provide a basis for continued co‐operation between authors and future development as the technology changes

Modeling near-field tsunami observations to improve finite-fault slip models for the 11 March 2011 Tohoku earthquake

The massive tsunami generated by the 11 March 2011 Tohoku earthquake (M_w 9.0) was widely recorded by GPS buoys, wave gauges, and ocean bottom pressure sensors around the source. Numerous inversions for finite-fault slip time histories have been performed using seismic and/or geodetic observations, yielding generally consistent patterns of large co-seismic slip offshore near the hypocenter and/or up-dip near the trench, where estimated peak slip is ~60 m. Modeling the tsunami generation and near-field wave processes using two detailed rupture models obtained from either teleseismic P waves or high-rate GPS recordings in Japan allows evaluation of how well the finite-fault models account for the regional tsunami data. By determining sensitivity of the tsunami calculations to rupture model features, we determine model modifications that improve the fit to the diverse tsunami data while retaining the fit to the seismic and geodetic observations

Ag on Ge(111): 2D X-ray structure analysis of the (Wurzel)3 x (Wurzel)3 superstructure

We have studied the Ag/Ge(111)(Wurzel)3 x (Wurzel)3 superstructure by grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction. In our structural analysis we find striking similarities to the geometry of Au on Si(111). The Ag atoms form trimer clusters with an Ag-Ag distance of 2.94+-0.04°A with the centers of the trimers being located at the origins of the (Wurzel)3 x (Wurzel)3 lattice. The Ag layer is incomplete and at least one substrate layer is distorted

Semiquantitative Infrared Analysis of Diketones and Anhydrides in a Reaction Mixture

The ozonolysis of a hydroxymethylene ketone yields a mixture of diketone and anhydride. Treatment of hydroxymethylene camphor with ozone affords, in addition to the expected camphor quinone, a surprisingly large amount of camphoric anhydride (56%) via Baeyer-Villager reaction. Use of infrared absorption to analyze the relative amounts of camphor quinone and camphoric anhydride in a reaction mixture was studied by comparing peak heights of their carbonyl stretching bands

Kinetics of natural aging in Al-Mg-Si alloys studied by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy

The process of natural aging in pure ternary Al-Mg-Si alloys was studied by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy in real time in order to clarify the sequence and kinetics of clustering and precipitation. It was found that natural aging takes place in at least five stages in these alloys, four of which were directly observed. This is interpreted as the result of complex interactions between vacancies and solute atoms or clusters. One of the early stages of positron lifetime evolution coincides with a clustering process observed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and involves the formation of a positron trap with \sim 0.200 ns lifetime. In later stages, a positron trap with a higher lifetime develops in coincidence with the DSC signal of a second clustering reaction. Mg governs both the kinetics and the lifetime change in this stage. Within the first 10 min after quenching, a period of nearly constant positron lifetime was found for those Mg-rich alloys that later show an insufficient hardness response to artificial aging, the so-called "negative effect." The various processes observed could be described by two effective activation energies that were found by varying the aging temperature from 10 to 37\degree C.Comment: arXiv admin note: same as v2, to correct mistaken v

The law relating to activities of man in space, chapters 5-7 Final report

Legal aspects of satellite communications, liability and space activities, natural resources, and pollution aspects of space exploratio

The 25 October 2010 Mentawai tsunami earthquake (M_w 7.8) and the tsunami hazard presented by shallow megathrust ruptures

The 25 October 2010 Mentawai, Indonesia earthquake (M_w 7.8) ruptured the shallow portion of the subduction zone seaward of the Mentawai islands, off-shore of Sumatra, generating 3 to 9 m tsunami run-up along southwestern coasts of the Pagai Islands that took at least 431 lives. Analyses of teleseismic P, SH and Rayleigh waves for finite-fault source rupture characteristics indicate ∼90 s rupture duration with a low rupture velocity of ∼1.5 km/s on the 10° dipping megathrust, with total slip of 2–4 m over an ∼100 km long source region. The seismic moment-scaled energy release is 1.4 × 10^(−6), lower than 2.4 × 10^(−6) found for the 17 July 2006 Java tsunami earthquake (M_w 7.8). The Mentawai event ruptured up-dip of the slip region of the 12 September 2007 Kepulauan earthquake (M_w 7.9), and together with the 4 January 1907 (M 7.6) tsunami earthquake located seaward of Simeulue Island to the northwest along the arc, demonstrates the significant tsunami generation potential for shallow megathrust ruptures in regions up-dip of great underthrusting events in Indonesia and elsewhere

The law relating to activities of man in space, appendices A-D Final report

Jurisdiction over acts in outer space, domestic use of communication satellites, UN and other international agencies in controlling space, and bibliography on space law