17,037 research outputs found
Adhesive coating eliminated in new honeycomb-core fabrication process
Technique eliminates use of silicone-based adhesive material as bonding medium. Adhesive requires precise time-temperature cure. Prepreg resin is used as bonding medium, and each layer is laminated together to form honeycomb billet. Process can be used in any application where nonmetallic honeycomb core is being fabricated
High power phase locked laser oscillators
The feasibility of mechanizing an adaptive array of independent laser oscillators for generation of a high power coherent output was experimentally investigated. Tests were structured to evaluate component/system requirements for delivery of energy to a low-earth orbit satellite. Initial experiments addressed the control issues of phase locking unstable resonators at low power levels. A successful phase lock demonstration formed the basis for the design and fabrication of the high power, water-cooled, control mirror subsequently installed in the NASA LeRC high power laser. Tests were performed to characterize the operational limits of the laser system and included quantitative assessment of the frequency stability, noise sources, and optical properties of the beam
Formation of Cosmic Dust Bunnies
Planetary formation is an efficient process now thought to take place on a
relatively short astronomical time scale. Recent observations have shown that
the dust surrounding a protostar emits more efficiently at longer wavelengths
as the protoplanetary disk evolves, suggesting that the dust particles are
coagulating into fluffy aggregates, "much as dust bunnies form under a bed."
One poorly understood problem in this coagulation process is the manner in
which micron-sized, charged grains form the fractal aggregate structures now
thought to be the precursors of protoplanetary disk evolution. This study
examines the characteristics of such fractal aggregates formed by the collision
of spherical monomers and aggregates where the charge is distributed over the
aggregate structure. The aggregates are free to rotate due to collisions and
dipole-dipole electrostatic interactions. Comparisons are made for different
precursor size distributions and like-charged, oppositelycharged, and neutral
grains
Preliminary design for a standard 10 sup 7 bit Solid State Memory (SSM)
A modular concept with three separate modules roughly separating bubble domain technology, control logic technology, and power supply technology was employed. These modules were respectively the standard memory module (SMM), the data control unit (DCU), and power supply module (PSM). The storage medium was provided by bubble domain chips organized into memory cells. These cells and the circuitry for parallel data access to the cells make up the SMM. The DCU provides a flexible serial data interface to the SMM. The PSM provides adequate power to enable one DCU and one SMM to operate simultaneously at the maximum data rate. The SSM was designed to handle asynchronous data rates from dc to 1.024 Mbs with a bit error rate less than 1 error in 10 to the eight power bits. Two versions of the SSM, a serial data memory and a dual parallel data memory were specified using the standard modules. The SSM specification includes requirements for radiation hardness, temperature and mechanical environments, dc magnetic field emission and susceptibility, electromagnetic compatibility, and reliability
Reconstruction of eolian bed forms and paleocurrents from cross-bedded strata at Victoria Crater, Meridiani Planum, Mars
Outcrop exposures imaged by the Opportunity rover at Victoria Crater, a 750 m diameter crater in Meridiani Planum, are used to delineate sedimentary structures and further develop a dune-interdune depositional model for the region. The stratigraphy at Victoria Crater, observed during Opportunity's partial traverse of its rim, includes the best examples of meter-scale eolian cross bedding observed on Mars to date. The Cape St. Mary promontory, located at the southern end of the rim traverse, is characterized by meter-scale sets of trough cross bedding, suggesting northward migrating sinuous-crested bed forms. Cape St. Vincent, which is located at the opposite end of the traverse, shows tabular-planar stratification indicative of climbing bed forms with meter- to decameter-scale dune heights migrating southward. Promontories located between Cape St. Mary and Cape St. Vincent contain superposed stratigraphic units with northward and southward dipping beds separated by outcrop-scale bounding surfaces. These bounding surfaces are interpreted to be either reactivation and/or superposition surfaces in a complex erg sea. Any depositional model used to explain the bedding must conform to reversing northward and southward paleomigration directions and include multiple scales of bed forms. In addition to stratified outcrop, a bright diagenetic band is observed to overprint bedding and to lie on an equipotential parallel to the preimpact surface. Meter-scale cross bedding at Victoria Crater is similar to terrestrial eolian deposits and is interpreted as a dry dune field, comparable to Jurassic age eolian deposits in the western United States
Thermodynamic and magnetic properties of the layered triangular magnet NaNiO2
We report muon-spin rotation, heat capacity, magnetization, and ac magnetic
susceptibility measurements of the layered spin-1/2 antiferromagnet NaNiO2.
These show the onset of long-range magnetic order below T_N = 19.5K. Rapid muon
depolarization persisting to about 5K above T_N is consistent with the presence
of short-range magnetic order. The temperature and frequency dependence of the
ac susceptibility suggests that magnetic clusters persist above 25K in the
paramagnetic state and that their volume fraction decreases with increasing
temperature. A frequency dependent peak in the ac magnetic susceptibility at
T_sf = 3K is observed, consistent with a slowing of spin fluctuations at this
temperature. A partial magnetic phase diagram is deduced.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Charge centers in CaF: Ab initio calculation of elementary physical properties
Charge centers in ionic crystals provide a channel for elementary interaction
between electromagnetic radiation and the lattice. We calculate the electronic
ground state energies which are needed to create a charge center -- namely a
- and a -center. In well agreement with common understanding the
-center results in being accompanied by a small lattice distortion whereas
the -center is accompanied by a very large lattice deformation. Opposite to
the common understanding the additional positive charge in the charge center
results rather to be localized on a F complex than on a
F-complex. From the ground states of the charge centers we derive binding
energies, diffusion barriers and agglomeration energies for -center
formation. These microscopic quantities are of fundamental interest to
understand the dynamic processes which are initiated if the crystals interact
with extreme intense deep ultra violet radiation. We further derive the
equilibrium concentrations of charge centers in grown crystals.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev. B in Aug. 2006, 11 Fig
Quantum Density Fluctuations in Classical Liquids
We discuss the density fluctuations of a fluid due to zero point motion.
These can be regarded as density fluctuations in the phonon vacuum state. We
assume a linear dispersion relation with a fixed speed of sound and calculate
the density correlation function. We note that this function has the same form
as the correlation function for the time derivative of a relativistic massless
scalar field, but with the speed of light replaced by the speed of sound. As a
result, the study of density fluctuations in a fluid can be a useful analog
model for better understanding fluctuations in relativistic quantum field
theory. We next calculate the differential cross section for light scattering
by the zero point density fluctuations, and find a result proportional to the
fifth power of the light frequency. This can be understood as the product of
fourth power dependence of the usual Rayleigh cross section with the linear
frequency dependence of the spectrum of zero point density fluctuations. We
give some estimates of the relative magnitude of this effect compared to the
scattering by thermal density fluctuations, and find that it can be of order
0.5% for water at room temperature and optical frequencies. This relative
magnitude is proportional to frequency and inversely proportional to
temperature. Although the scattering by zero point density fluctuation is
small, it may be observable.Comment: 7 page
Spin freezing and dynamics in Ca_{3}Co_{2-x}Mn_{x}O_{6} (x ~ 0.95) investigated with implanted muons: disorder in the anisotropic next-nearest neighbor Ising model
We present a muon-spin relaxation investigation of the Ising chain magnet
Ca_{3}Co_{2-x}Mn_{x}O_{6} (x~0.95). We find dynamic spin fluctuations
persisting down to the lowest measured temperature of 1.6 K. The previously
observed transition at around T ~18 K is interpreted as a subtle change in
dynamics for a minority of the spins coupling to the muon that we interpret as
spins locking into clusters. The dynamics of this fraction of spins freeze
below a temperature T_{SF}~8 K, while a majority of spins continue to
fluctuate. An explanation of the low temperature behavior is suggested in terms
of the predictions of the anisotropic next-nearest-neighbor Ising model.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
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