Solid propellant motor

A case bonded end burning solid propellant rocket motor is described. A propellant with sufficiently low modulus to avoid chamber buckling on cooling from cure and sufficiently high elongation to sustain the stresses induced without cracking is used. The propellant is zone cured within the motor case at high pressures equal to or approaching the pressure at which the motor will operate during combustion. A solid propellant motor with a burning time long enough that its spacecraft would be limited to a maximum acceleration of less than 1 g is provided by one version of the case bonded end burning solid propellant motor of the invention

Nonlinearities and Effects of Transverse Beam Size in Beam Position Monitors (revised)

The fields produced by a long beam with a given transverse charge distribution in a homogeneous vacuum chamber are studied. Signals induced by a displaced finite-size beam on electrodes of a beam position monitor (BPM) are calculated and compared to those produced by a pencil beam. The non-linearities and corrections to BPM signals due to a finite transverse beam size are calculated for an arbitrary chamber cross section. Simple analytical expressions are given for a few particular transverse distributions of the beam current in a circular or rectangular chamber. Of particular interest is a general proof that in an arbitrary homogeneous chamber the beam-size corrections vanish for any axisymmetric beam current distribution.Comment: REVTeX, 8 pages, 9 figures. Corrected Eqs. (7),(22),(25) and Figs. 2-9. Expande

LU-HF Age of Martian Meteorite Larkman Nunatek 06319

Lu-Hf isotopic data were collected on mineral separates and bulk rock powders of LAR 06319, yielding an age of 197+/- 29 Ma. Sm-Nd isotopic data and in-situ LA-ICP-MS data from a thin section of LAR 06319 are currently being collected and will be presented at the 2009 LPSC. These new data for LAR 06319 extend the existing data set for the enriched shergottite group. Martian meteorites represent the only opportunity for ground truth investigation of the geochemistry of Mars [1]. At present, approximately 80 meteorites have been classified as Martian based on young ages and distinctive isotopic signatures [2]. LAR 06319 is a newly discovered (as part of the 2006 ANSMET field season) martian meteorite that represents an important opportunity to further our understanding of the geochemical and petrological constraints on the origin of Martian magmas. Martian meteorites are traditionally categorized into the shergottite, nakhlite, and chassignite groups. The shergottites are further classified into three distinct isotopic groups designated depleted, intermediate, and enriched [3,4] based on the isotope systematics and compositions of their source(s)

LU-HF Age and Isotope Systematics of ALH84001

Allan Hills (ALH) 84001 is an orthopyroxenite that is unique among the Martian meteorites in having the oldest inferred crystallization age (approx..4.5 to 4.0 Gyr) [e.g., 1-6 and references therein 7]. Its ancient origin makes this stone a critical constraint on early history of Mars, in particular the evolution of different planetary crust and mantle reservoirs. However, because there is significant variability in reported crystallization ages, determination of initial isotope compositions is imprecise making assessment of planetary reservoirs difficult. Here we report a new Lu-Hf mineral isochron age, initial Hf-176/Hf-177 isotope composition, and inferred Martian mantle source compositions for ALH84001 that place constraints on longlived source reservoirs for the enriched shergottite suite of Martian meteorites including Shergotty, Zagami, NWA4468, NWA856, RBT04262, LAR06319, and Los Angeles. Sm-Nd isotope analyses are under way for the same mineral aliquots analyzed for Lu-Hf. The Lu-Hf system was utilized because Lu and Hf are both lithophile and refractory and are not easily redistributed during short-lived thermal pulses associated with shock metamorphism. Moreover, chromite has relatively modest Hf concentrations with very low Lu/Hf ratios [9] yielding tight constraints on initial Hf-176/Hf-177 isotope composition

The Petrology and Geochemistry of Feldspathic Granulitic Breccia NWA 3163: Implications for the Lunar Crust

Lunar meteorites are crucial to understand the Moon s geological history because, being samples of the lunar crust that have been ejected by random impact events, they potentially originate from areas outside the small regions of the lunar surface sampled by the Apollo and Luna missions. The Apollo and Luna sample sites are contained within the Procellarum KREEP Terrain (PKT, Jolliff et al., 2000), where KREEP refers to potassium, rare earth element, and phosphorus-rich lithologies. The KREEP-rich rocks in the PKT are thought to be derived from late-stage residual liquids after approx.95-99% crystallization of a lunar magma ocean (LMO). These are understood to represent late-stage liquids which were enriched in incompatible trace elements (ITE) relative to older rocks (Snyder et al., 1992). As a consequence, the PKT is a significant reservoir for Th and KREEP. However, the majority of the lunar surface is likely to be significantly more depleted in ITE (84%, Jolliff et al., 2000). Lunar meteorites that are low in KREEP and Th may thus sample regions distinct from the PKT and are therefore a valuable source of information regarding the composition of KREEP-poor lunar crust. Northwest Africa (NWA) 3163 is a thermally metamorphosed ferroan, feldspathic, granulitic breccia composed of igneous clasts with a bulk anorthositic, noritic bulk composition. It is relatively mafic (approx.5.8 wt.% FeO; approx.5 wt.% MgO) and has some of the lowest concentrations of ITEs (17ppm Ba) compared to the feldspathic lunar meteorite (FLM) and Apollo sample suites (Hudgins et al., 2011). Localized plagioclase melting and incipient melting of mafic minerals require localized peak shock pressures in excess of 45 GPa (Chen and El Goresy, 2000; Hiesinger and Head, 2006). NWA 3163, and paired samples NWA 4481 and 4883, have previously been interpreted to represent an annealed micro-breccia which was produced by burial metamorphism at depth in the ancient lunar crust (Fernandes et al., 2009). This is in contrast to the interpretation of Hudgins et al. (2009) where NWA 3163 was interpreted to have formed through contact metamorphism. To further constrain its origin, we examine the petrogenesis of NWA 3163 with a particular emphasis on in-situ measurement of trace elements within constituent minerals, Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotopic systematics on separated mineral fractions and petrogenetic modeling

First Astronomical Use of Multiplexed Transition Edge Bolometers

We present performance results based on the first astronomical use of multiplexed superconducting bolometers. The Fabry-Perot Interferometer Bolometer Research Experiment (FIBRE) is a broadband submillimeter spectrometer that achieved first light in June 2001 at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). FIBRE'S detectors are superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers read out by a SQUID multiplexer. The Fabry-Perot uses a low resolution grating to order sort the incoming light. A linear bolometer array consisting of 16 elements detects this dispersed light, capturing 5 orders simultaneously from one position on the sky. With tuning of the Fabry-Perot over one free spectral range, a spectrum covering Δλ/λ= 1/7 at a resolution of δλ/λ ≈ 1/1200 can be acquired. This spectral resolution is sufficient to resolve Doppler-broadened line emission from external galaxies. FIBRE operates in the 350 µm and 450 µm bands. These bands cover line emission from the important star formation tracers neutral carbon [Cl] and carbon monoxide (CO). We have verified that the multiplexed bolometers are photon noise limited even with the low power present in moderate resolution spectrometry

Enriched Shergottite NWA 5298 As An Evolved Parent Melt: Trace Element Inventory

Martian meteorite Northwest Africa 5298 is a basaltic shergottite that was found near Bir Gandouz (Morocco). Its martian origin was confirmed by oxygen isotopes [1], as well as Mn/Fe ratios in the pyroxenes and K/anorthite ratios in the plagioclases [2]. Here we present a petrographic and geochemical study of NWA 5298. Comparison of mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of this meteorite with other Martian rocks shows that NWA 5298 is not likely paired with any other known shergottites, but it has similarities to another basaltic shergottite Dhofar 378

Ambient Radon-222 Monitoring in Amargosa Valley, Nevada

As part of a program to characterize and baseline selected environmental parameters in the region around the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, ambient radon-222 monitoring was conducted in the rural community of Amargosa Valley, the community closest to the proposed repository site. Passive integrating radon monitors and a continuous radon monitoring instrument were deployed adjacent to the Community Environmental Monitoring Program (CEMP) (http://www.cemp.dri.edu/index.html) station located in the Amargosa Valley Community Center near the library. The CEMP station provided real-time ambient gamma exposure and meteorological data used to correct the integrated radon measurements as well as verify meteorological data collected by the continuous radon monitoring instrument. Additionally, different types of environmental enclosures that housed the monitors and instrument were used to determine if particular designs influenced the ambient radon measurements

Texture of fermion mass matrices in partially unified theories

We investigate the texture of fermion mass matrices in theories with partial unification (for example $SU(2)_L\times SU(2)_R\times SU(4)_c$) at a scale $\sim 10^{12}$ GeV. Starting with the low energy values of the masses and the mixing angles, we find only two viable textures with atmost four texture zeros. One of these corresponds to a somewhat modified Fritzsch textures. A theoretical derivataion of these textures leads to new interesting relations among the masses and the mixing angles.Comment: 10 pages(Latex

Widespread Receptivity to Neuropeptide PDF throughout the Neuronal Circadian Clock Network of Drosophila Revealed by Real-Time Cyclic AMP Imaging

SummaryThe neuropeptide PDF is released by sixteen clock neurons in Drosophila and helps maintain circadian activity rhythms by coordinating a network of ∼150 neuronal clocks. Whether PDF acts directly on elements of this neural network remains unknown. We address this question by adapting Epac1-camps, a genetically encoded cAMP FRET sensor, for use in the living brain. We find that a subset of the PDF-expressing neurons respond to PDF with long-lasting cAMP increases and confirm that such responses require the PDF receptor. In contrast, an unrelated Drosophila neuropeptide, DH31, stimulates large cAMP increases in all PDF-expressing clock neurons. Thus, the network of ∼150 clock neurons displays widespread, though not uniform, PDF receptivity. This work introduces a sensitive means of measuring cAMP changes in a living brain with subcellular resolution. Specifically, it experimentally confirms the longstanding hypothesis that PDF is a direct modulator of most neurons in the Drosophila clock network