33,687 research outputs found
Flow angle sensor and readout system
Sensor determines fluid flow angles by means of a simple vane that positions itself in the direction of the flow. The vane rotates a small light-reflecting disc as it moves while the readout system uses two cyclically polarized light beams
Millivolt signal limiter
Low-voltage limiter circuit suppresses the output of platinum probes at temperatures beyond their operating range. The limiter circuit comprises an operational amplifier with a dual feedback loop. The signal limiter is useful in low-voltage instrumentation circuits normally operable or set for cryogenic temperatures
Electronic high pass filter
Ultra accurate filter is used with static type pressure transducers where it is desirable to extract low frequency dynamic signals from combined static and dynamic signal. System can be calibrated at any time with dc voltages
Low level signal limiter
A limiting circuit is described which prevents a signal being supplied to a signal amplifier from exceeding a predetermined value. The circuit is designed to permit a signal voltage to be fed directly to a signal amplifier without passing through the operational amplifier and without being altered undesirably. When the signal level increases to the predetermined value, the summing point shifts from the input of the operational amplifier to the output of the limiting circuit
Surface Melting of the Vortex Lattice in Layered Superconductors: Density Functional Theory
We study the effects of an -surface on the vortex-solid to vortex-liquid
transition in layered superconductors in the limit of vanishing inter-layer
Josephson coupling. We derive the interaction between pancake vortices in a
semi-infinite sample and adapt the density functional theory of freezing to
this system. We obtain an effective one-component order-parameter theory which
can be used to describe the effects of the surface on vortex-lattice melting.
Due to the absence of protecting layers in the neighbourhood of the surface,
the vortex lattice formed near the surface is more susceptible to thermal
fluctuations. Depending on the value of the magnetic field, we predict either a
continuous or a discontinuous surface melting transition. For intermediate
values of the magnetic field, the surface melts continuously, assisting the
formation of the liquid phase and suppressing hysteresis above the melting
transition, a prediction consistent with experimental results. For very low and
very high magnetic fields, the surface melts discontinuously. The two different
surface melting scenarios are separated by two surface multicritical points,
which we locate on the melting line.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure
Surface melting of the vortex lattice
We discuss the effect of an (ab)-surface on the melting transition of the
pancake-vortex lattice in a layered superconductor within a density functional
theory approach. Both discontinuous and continuous surface melting are
predicted for this system, although the latter scenario occupies the major part
of the low-field phase diagram. The formation of a quasi-liquid layer below the
bulk melting temperature inhibits the appearance of a superheated solid phase,
yielding an asymmetric hysteretic behavior which has been seen in experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
A multi-blob representation of semi-dilute polymer solutions
A coarse-grained multi-blob description of polymer solutions is presented,
based on soft, transferable effective interactions between bonded and
non-bonded blobs. The number of blobs is chosen such that the blob density does
not exceed their overlap threshold, allowing polymer concentrations to be
explored deep into the semi-dilute regime. This quantitative multi-blob
description is shown to preserve known scaling laws of polymer solutions and
provides accurate estimates of amplitudes, while leading to orders of magnitude
increase of simulation efficiency and allowing analytic calculations of
structural and thermodynamic properties.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Coarse-graining diblock copolymer solutions: a macromolecular version of the Widom-Rowlinson model
We propose a systematic coarse-grained representation of block copolymers,
whereby each block is reduced to a single ``soft blob'' and effective intra- as
well as intermolecular interactions act between centres of mass of the blocks.
The coarse-graining approach is applied to simple athermal lattice models of
symmetric AB diblock copolymers, in particular to a Widom-Rowlinson-like model
where blocks of the same species behave as ideal polymers (i.e. freely
interpenetrate), while blocks of opposite species are mutually avoiding walks.
This incompatibility drives microphase separation for copolymer solutions in
the semi-dilute regime. An appropriate, consistent inversion procedure is used
to extract effective inter- and intramolecular potentials from Monte Carlo
results for the pair distribution functions of the block centres of mass in the
infinite dilution limit.Comment: To be published in mol.phys(2005
A simple analytical model for dark matter halo structure and adiabatic contraction
A simple analytical model for describing inner parts of dark matter halo is
considered. It is assumed that dark matter density is power-law. The model
deals with dark matter distribution function in phase space of adiabatic
invariants (radial action and angular momentum). Two variants are considered
for the angular part of the distribution function: narrow and broad
distribution. The model allows to describe explicitly the process of adiabatic
contraction of halo due to change of gravitational potential caused by
condensation of baryonic matter in the centre. The modification of dark matter
density in the centre is calculated, and is it shown that the standard
algorithm of adiabatic contraction calculation overestimates the compressed
halo density, especially in the case of strong radial anisotropy.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. v3 - major improvements, another halo model
introduced, discussion extende
Methodological Advancements for Characterising Protein Side Chains by NMR Spectroscopy
The surface of proteins is covered by side chains of polar amino acids that are imperative for modulating protein functionality through the formation non-covalent intermolecular interactions. However, despite their tremendous importance, the unique structures of protein side chains require tailored approaches for investigation by NMR spectroscopy, and so have traditionally been understudied compared to the protein backbone. Here, we review substantial recent methodological advancements within NMR spectroscopy to address this issue. Specifically, we consider advancements that provide new insight into methyl-bearing side chains, show the potential of using non-natural amino acids, and reveal the actions of charged side chains. Combined, the new methods promise unprecedented characterisations of side chains that will further elucidate protein function
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