Selected reliability studies for the NERVA program

An investigation was made into certain methods of reliability analysis that are particularly suitable for complex mechanisms or systems in which there are many interactions. The methods developed were intended to assist in the design of such mechanisms, especially for analysis of failure sensitivity to parameter variations and for estimating reliability where extensive and meaningful life testing is not feasible. The system is modeled by a network of interconnected nodes. Each node is a state or mode of operation, or is an input or output node, and the branches are interactions. The network, with its probabilistic and time-dependent paths is also analyzed for reliability and failure modes by a Monte Carlo, computerized simulation of system performance

Effect of Usury Laws on Home Ownership Needs

In this paper we examine usury laws which thwart the thrift industry, particularly savings and loan associations, from entering fully into the needed home financing picture of the 1970\u27s. If there is virtue in owning a home, be it a normal house, mobile home, condominium or a 99-year leasehold, (and the very basis of American life suggests that there is), and if the predicted housing boom is actually to occur, substantial changes should be made in laws which frustrate home financing

Effect of Usury Laws on Home Ownership Needs

In this paper we examine usury laws which thwart the thrift industry, particularly savings and loan associations, from entering fully into the needed home financing picture of the 1970\u27s. If there is virtue in owning a home, be it a normal house, mobile home, condominium or a 99-year leasehold, (and the very basis of American life suggests that there is), and if the predicted housing boom is actually to occur, substantial changes should be made in laws which frustrate home financing

The MeV spectra of gamma-ray bursts measured with COMPTEL

The past decade has produced a wealth of observational data on the energy spectra of prompt emission from gamma-ray bursts. Most of the data cover the energy range from a few to several hundred keV. One set of higher energy observations comes from the Imaging Compton Telescope COMPTEL on the Compton Observatory, which measured in the energy range from 0.75 to 30MeV. We analyzed the full 9.2 years COMPTEL data to reveal the significant detection of 44 gamma-ray bursts. We present preliminary results obtained in the process of preparing a final catalog of the spectral analysis of these events. In addition, we compare the COMPTEL spectra to simultaneous BATSE measurements for purposes of cross-calibration

The MeV spectra of gamma-ray bursts measured with COMPTEL

The past decade has produced a wealth of observational data on the energy spectra of prompt emission from gamma-ray bursts. Most of the data cover the energy range from a few to several hundred keV. One set of higher energy observations comes from the Imaging Compton Telescope COMPTEL on the Compton Observatory, which measured in the energy range from 0.75 to 30MeV. We analyzed the full 9.2 years COMPTEL data to reveal the significant detection of 44 gamma-ray bursts. We present preliminary results obtained in the process of preparing a final catalog of the spectral analysis of these events. In addition, we compare the COMPTEL spectra to simultaneous BATSE measurements for purposes of cross-calibration

Shear flow, viscous heating, and entropy balance from dynamical systems

A consistent description of a shear flow, the accompanied viscous heating, and the associated entropy balance is given in the framework of a deterministic dynamical system, where a multibaker dynamics drives two fields: the velocity and the temperature distributions. In an appropriate macroscopic limit their transport equations go over into the Navier-Stokes and the heat conduction equation of viscous flows. The inclusion of an artificial heat sink can stabilize steady states with constant temperatures. It mimics a thermostating algorithm used in non-equilibrium molecular-dynamics simulations.Comment: LaTeX 2e (epl.cls + sty-files for Europhys Lett included); 7 pages + 1 eps-figur

Chaotic inflation in Jordan frame supergravity

We consider the inflationary scenario with non-minimal coupling in 4D Jordan frame supergravity. We find that there occurs a tachyonic instability along the direction of the accompanying non-inflaton field in generic Jordan frame supergravity models. We propose a higher order correction to the Jordan frame function for solving the tachyonic mass problem and show that the necessary correction can be naturally generated by the heavy thresholds without spoiling the slow-roll conditions. We discuss the implication of the result on the Higgs inflation in NMSSM.Comment: 16 pages, no figures, version to be published in JCA

Finite thermal conductivity in 1d lattices

We discuss the thermal conductivity of a chain of coupled rotators, showing that it is the first example of a 1d nonlinear lattice exhibiting normal transport properties in the absence of an on-site potential. Numerical estimates obtained by simulating a chain in contact with two thermal baths at different temperatures are found to be consistent with those ones based on linear response theory. The dynamics of the Fourier modes provides direct evidence of energy diffusion. The finiteness of the conductivity is traced back to the occurrence of phase-jumps. Our conclusions are confirmed by the analysis of two variants of this model.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figure