Comparison of Advanced Battery Technologies for Electric Vehicles

Battery technologies of different chemistries, manufacture and geometry were evaluated as candidates for use in Electric Vehicles (EV). The candidate batteries that were evaluated include four single cell and seven multi-cell modules representing four technologies: Lead-Acid, Nickel-Cadmium, Nickel-Metal Hydride and Zinc-Bromide. A standard set of testing procedures for electric vehicle batteries, based on industry accepted testing procedures, and any tests which were specific to individual battery types were used in the evaluations. The batteries were evaluated by conducting performance tests, and by subjecting them to cyclical loading, using a computer controlled charge--discharge cycler, to simulate typical EV driving cycles. Criteria for comparison of batteries were: performance, projected vehicle range, cost, and applicability to various types of EVs. The four battery technologies have individual strengths and weaknesses and each is suited to fill a particular application. None of the batteries tested can fill every EV application

LONG-TERM TILLAGE EFFECTS ON CONTINUOUS CORN YIELDS

Long-term comparisons of alternative tillage systems are needed to evaluate their effect on corn (Zea mays L.) yield under the variable temperature and rainfall conditions of the Corn Belt. Our objective was to evaluate long-term effects of alternative tillage systems on corn growth and yield on low organic matter silt loam soils. The effect of no-tillage (NT), chisel plow (CP), and moldboard plow (MP) treatments on plant density and grain yield was measured from 1981 through 1990 on Palsgrove and Rozetta silt loam (fine-silty, mixed mesic Typic Hapludalfs) soils. Tillage treatments were randomly allocated to plots in 1981 and treatments were applied in subsequent years without rerandomization. Therefore, measurements over years on the same plot were treated as repeated measures. Grain yields for all tillage treatments were primarily affected by water stress, which varied with yearly weather conditions. Grain yield decreased approximately 0.3 Mg ha-1 per cm weighted water stress (WWS) for WWS \u3e8 cm. No statistically significant yield differences among tillage treatments, when averaged over the 10-year period covered by the experiment, were detected. A combined analysis indicated that yield differences among tillage treatments did not depend on whether water stress or non-stress conditions occurred. Over half the variation in yearly differences in grain yield between tilled and NT treatments was explained by differences in plant density. Years were classified as stress or non-stress years on the basis of observed water stress and yearly weather factors. Variability among years was partitioned into variability among years within stress years and non-stress years. The difference in mean yields between ending (1989-90) and beginning (1981-82) years were used to investigate cumUlative effects of tillage treatments

Periods for flat algebraic connections

In previous work, we established a duality between the algebraic de Rham cohomology of a flat algebraic connection on a smooth quasi-projective surface over the complex numbers and the rapid decay homology of the dual connection relying on a conjecture by C. Sabbah, which has been proved recently by T. Mochizuki for algebraic connections in any dimension. In the present article, we verify that Mochizuki's results allow to generalize these duality results to arbitrary dimensions also

Realization of an Inductance Scale Traceable to the Quantum Hall Effect Using an Automated Synchronous Sampling System

In this paper, the realization of an inductance scale from 1~$\mu$H to 10~H for frequencies ranging between 50~Hz to 20~kHz is presented. The scale is realized directly from a series of resistance standards using a fully automated synchronous sampling system. A careful systematic characterization of the system shows that the lowest uncertainties, around 12~$\mu$H/H, are obtained for inductances in the range from 10~mH to 100~mH at frequencies in the kHz range. This new measurement system which was successfully evaluated during an international comparison, provides a primary realization of the henry, directly traceable to the quantum Hall effect. An additional key feature of this system is its versatility. In addition to resistance-inductance (R-L) comparison, any kind of impedances can be compared: R-R, R-C, L-L or C-C, giving this sampling system a great potential of use in many laboratories around the world

Morita Equivalence, Picard Groupoids and Noncommutative Field Theories

In this article we review recent developments on Morita equivalence of star products and their Picard groups. We point out the relations between noncommutative field theories and deformed vector bundles which give the Morita equivalence bimodules.Comment: Latex2e, 10 pages. Conference Proceeding for the Sendai Meeting 2002. Some typos fixe

French vocabulary in Encore Tricolore: do pupils have a chance?

British learners acquire very little vocabulary in their foreign languages,compared to pupils elsewhere in Europe, particularly learners of English as aforeign language. Could the materials used for teaching help explain thisdifference? An analysis of the vocabulary loading of a textbook for French as aforeign language commonly used in Britain, Encore Tricolore (Mascie-Taylor andHonnor, 2001, Cheltenham, UK, Nelson Thornes), was carried out with thisquestion in mind. An analysis of the vocabulary suggests that it is not introducedand practised in a way that is conducive to building a sufficiently large vocabularyto reach level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference forLanguages (CEFR)

The Dark Side of ROTSE-III Prompt GRB Observations

We present several cases of optical observations during gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) which resulted in prompt limits but no detection of optical emission. These limits constrain the prompt optical flux densities and the optical brightness relative to the gamma-ray emission. The derived constraints fall within the range of properties observed in GRBs with prompt optical detections, though at the faint end of optical/gamma flux ratios. The presently accessible prompt optical limits do not require a different set of intrinsic or environmental GRB properties, relative to the events with prompt optical detections.Comment: ApJ accepted. 20 pages in draft manuscript form, which includes 6 pages of tables and 2 figure

Epitaxial growth of Cu on Cu(001): experiments and simulations

A quantitative comparison between experimental and Monte Carlo simulation results for the epitaxial growth of Cu/Cu(001) in the submonolayer regime is presented. The simulations take into account a complete set of hopping processes whose activation energies are derived from semi-empirical calculations using the embedded-atom method. The island separation is measured as a function of the incoming flux and the temperature. A good quantitative agreement between the experiment and simulation is found for the island separation, the activation energies for the dominant processes, and the exponents that characterize the growth. The simulation results are then analyzed at lower coverages, which are not accessible experimentally, providing good agreement with theoretical predictions as well.Comment: Latex document. 7 pages. 3 embedded figures in separate PS files. One bbl fil