23,538 research outputs found
Efficiency of autonomous soft nano-machines at maximum power
We consider nano-sized artificial or biological machines working in steady
state enforced by imposing non-equilibrium concentrations of solutes or by
applying external forces, torques or electric fields. For unicyclic and
strongly coupled multicyclic machines, efficiency at maximum power is not
bounded by the linear response value 1/2. For strong driving, it can even
approach the thermodynamic limit 1. Quite generally, such machines fall in
three different classes characterized, respectively, as "strong and efficient",
"strong and inefficient", and "balanced". For weakly coupled multicyclic
machines, efficiency at maximum power has lost any universality even in the
linear response regime
The refractivity of Co sub 2 under simulated martian conditions
Refractivity of carbon dioxide under simulated Martian conditions by radio occulatio
Video guidance sensor for autonomous capture
A video-based sensor has been developed specifically for the close-range maneuvering required in the last phase of autonomous rendezvous and capture. The system is a combination of target and sensor, with the target being a modified version of the standard target used by the astronauts with the Remote Manipulator System (RMS). The system, as currently configured, works well for autonomous docking maneuvers from approximately forty feet in to soft-docking and capture. The sensor was developed specifically to track and calculate its position and attitude relative to a target consisting of three retro-reflective spots, equally spaced, with the center spot being on a pole. This target configuration was chosen for its sensitivity to small amounts of relative pitch and yaw and because it could be used with a small modification to the standard RMS target already in use by NASA
HD 4915: A Maunder Minimum Candidate
We study the magnetic activity cycle of HD 4915 using the \ion{Ca}{2} H \& K
emission line strengths measured by Keck I/HIRES spectrograph. The star has
been observed as a part of California Planet Search Program from 2006 to
present. We note decreasing amplitude in the magnetic activity cycle, a pattern
suggesting the star's entry into a Magnetic Grand Minimum (MGM) state,
reminiscent of the Sun's Maunder and Dalton Minima. We recommend further
monitoring of the star to confirm the grand minimum nature of the dynamo, which
would provide insight into the state of the Sun's chromosphere and the global
magnetic field during its grand minima. We also recommend continued
observations of H \& K emission lines, and ground or space based photometric
observations to estimate the sunspot coverage.Comment: To be submitted to AAS Journals; comments welcom
Recent spectroscopic findings concerning clay/water interactions at low humidity: Possible applications to models of Martian surface reactivity
A feasibility study assessing the utility of the adaptation of near infrared correlation spectroscopy to quantifying iron and adsorbed water in some clay-based Mars soil analog materials (MarSAM's). The work was intended to constitute Phase 1 of an approach to identifying optical analytical wavelength regions, not only for important mineral classes, but for chemically active centers within them. Many of these centers are common to unrelated mineral classes and of disproportionate influence relative to the mineral structure as a whole in determining the surface reactivity of mineral surfaces. We previously reported linearity between reflectance and total iron and total moisture over a large range of both key variables. We also discovered interesting relationships between the intensity of iron bands and the relative humidity of the systems. These relationships were confirmed. We also show that, in the low humidity range, reflectance is linearly dependent on a different kind of water from that best representing the full humidity range (the kind of water associated, in clays, with surface acidity). These relationships and the sensitivity and capability of quantitation of near infrared data indicate high promise with the production of reactive surface intermediates of products of surface reactions
Productivity of Florida Springs: final report to Biology Branch, Office of Naval Research progress from December 31, 1955 to May 31, 1956
CONTENTS: Factors that control species numbers in Silver Springs, by James L. Yount. Study of the biomass of parasites in the stumpknockers, by Wanda Hunter. Macrophytic communities in Florida inland waters, by Delle N. Swindale. Comment in retrospect, by Howard T. Odum. (15pp.
Compressive force generation by a bundle of living biofilaments
To study the compressional forces exerted by a bundle of living stiff
filaments pressing on a surface, akin to the case of an actin bundle in
filopodia structures, we have performed particulate Molecular Dynamics
simulations of a grafted bundle of parallel living (self-assembling) filaments,
in chemical equilibrium with a solution of their constitutive monomers.
Equilibrium is established as these filaments, grafted at one end to a wall of
the simulation box, grow at their chemically active free end and encounter the
opposite confining wall of the simulation box. Further growth of filaments
requires bending and thus energy, which automatically limit the populations of
longer filaments. The resulting filament sizes distribution and the force
exerted by the bundle on the obstacle are analyzed for different grafting
densities and different sub- or supercritical conditions, these properties
being compared with the predictions of the corresponding ideal confined bundle
model. In this analysis, non-ideal effects due to interactions between
filaments and confinement effects are singled out. For all state points
considered at the same temperature and at the same gap width between the two
surfaces, the force per filament exerted on the opposite wall appears to be a
function of a rescaled free monomer density . This
quantity can be estimated directly from the characteristic length of the
exponential filament size distribution observed in the size domain where
these grafted filaments are not in direct contact with the wall. We also
analyze the dynamics of the filament contour length fluctuations in terms of
effective polymerization () and depolymerization () rates, where again it
is possible to disentangle non-ideal and confinement effects.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figure
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