18,542 research outputs found
Theories of Technological Progress and the British Textile Industry from Kay to Cartwright
Editada en la Fundación Empresa PúblicaLa industria textil británica continúa en el centro del debate sobre la revolución industrial. Las innovaciones técnicas en el período produjeron una aceleración extraordinaria del crecimiento del output y una considerable reducción de los precios de los tejidos. En este trabajo presentamos un estudio de la comunidad de los inventores responsables de la transformación tecnológica, lo que nos permite alcanzar una serie de conclusiones nuevas sobre el ritmo y dirección de la actividad innovadora durante la revolución industrialThe cotton textile industry remains central to all accounts of the first industrial revolution. Innovations in this period precipitated an extraordinary acceleration in the growth of output and a steep decline in the cost of producing all varieties of cloth. In this paper we outline an explanation through an analysis of the community of inventors responsible for the technological transformation, which enables us to offer some generalizations of the pace and pattern of the inventive activity in this period.Publicad
(63)Cu NQR Evidence for Spatial Variation of Hole Concentration in La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4)
We report experimental evidence for the spatial variation of hole
concentration x_(hole) in the high Tc superconductor La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4) (0.04
<= x <= 0.16) by using (63)Cu NQR for (63)Cu isotope enriched samples. We
demonstrate that the extent of the spatial variation of the local hole
concentration D(x)_(hole) is reflected on (63)1/T1 and deduce the temperature
dependence. D(x)_(hole) increases below 500 - 600K, and reaches values as large
as D(x)_(hole)/x ~ 0.5 below ~ 150K. We estimate the length scale of the
spatial variation in x_(hole) to be R_(hole) >~ 3nm from analysis of the NQR
spectrum.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
Top-mounted inlet system feasibility for transonic-supersonic fighter aircraft
The more salient findings are presented of recent top inlet performance evaluations aimed at assessing the feasibility of top-mounted inlet systems for transonic-supersonic fighter aircraft applications. Top inlet flow field and engine-inlet performance test data show the influence of key aircraft configuration variables-inlet longitudinal position, wing leading-edge extension planform area, canopy-dorsal integration, and variable incidence canards-on top inlet performance over the Mach range of 0.6 to 2.0. Top inlet performance data are compared with those or more conventional inlet/airframe integrations in an effort to assess the viability of top-mounted inlet systems relative to conventional inlet installations
Phase transition in a log-normal Markov functional model
We derive the exact solution of a one-dimensional Markov functional model
with log-normally distributed interest rates in discrete time. The model is
shown to have two distinct limiting states, corresponding to small and
asymptotically large volatilities, respectively. These volatility regimes are
separated by a phase transition at some critical value of the volatility. We
investigate the conditions under which this phase transition occurs, and show
that it is related to the position of the zeros of an appropriately defined
generating function in the complex plane, in analogy with the Lee-Yang theory
of the phase transitions in condensed matter physics.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. v2: Added asymptotic expressions for the
convexity-adjusted Libors in the small and large volatility limits. v3: Added
one reference. Final version to appear in Journal of Mathematical Physic
Soil, Plant and Livestock Interactions in Australian Tropical Savannas
This paper considers the various soil, plant and livestock interactions occurring in Australia’s wet-dry savanna rangelands. These regions are relatively intact compared to most of the world’s rangelands. However there is increasing pressure for more intensive use of the landscape, especially from pastoralism. This potentially threatens landscape health, function and productivity through reduced soil health and a loss of digestible perennial plants, especially given the low soil fertility and highly variable rainfall characteristic of these regions. There is an obvious need for understanding these impacts to devise sustainable management practices that promote soil health and viable perennial plant communities, and the restoration of soil health where required
Simplified methods of assessing the impact of grid frequency dynamics upon generating plants
The frequency of the national electricity grid is affected by fluctuations in supply and demand, and so continually "judders" in an essentially unpredictable fashion around 50 Hz. At present such perturbations do not seemingly affect Nuclear Electric as most of their plant is run at more or less constant load, but they would like to be able to offer the national grid a mode of operation in which they "followed" the grid frequency: i.e., as the frequency rose above or fell below 50 Hz, the plant's output would be adjusted so as to tend to restore the frequency to 50 Hz. The aim is to maintain grid frequency within 0.2 Hz of its notional value. Such a mode of operation, however, would cause a certain amount of damage to plant components owing to the consequent continual changes in temperature and pressure within them.
Nuclear Electric currently have complex computational models of how plants will behave under these conditions, which allows them to compute plant data (e.g., reactor temperatures) from given grid frequency data. One approach to damage assessment would require several years'-worth of real grid data to be fed into this model and the corresponding damage computed (via "cycle distributions" created by their damage experts). The results of this analysis would demonstrate one of three possibilities: the damage may be acceptable under all reasonable operating conditions; or it may be acceptable except in the case of an exceptional abrupt change in grid frequency (caused by power transmission line failure, or another power station suddenly going off-line, for instance), in which case some kind of backup supply (e.g., gas boilers) would be required; or it may simply be unacceptable.
However, their current model runs in approximately real time, making it inappropriate for such a large amount of data: our problem was to suggest alternative approaches. Specifically, we were asked the following questions:
- Can component damage be reliably estimated directly from cycle distributions of grid frequency? i.e., are there maps from frequency cycle distributions to plant parameter cycle distributions?
- Can a simple model of plant dynamics be used to assess the potential for such maps?
- What methods can be used to select representative samples of grid frequency behaviour?
- What weightings should be applied to the selections?
- Is it possible to construct a "cycle transform" (Fourier transform) which will capture the essential features of grid frequency and which can then be inverted to generate simulated frequency transients?
We did not consider this last question, other than to say "probably not".
We were supplied with data of the actual grid frequency measurements for the evening of 29/7/95, and the corresponding plant responses (obtained using Nuclear Electric's current computational model). A simplified nonlinear mathematical model of the plant was also provided.
Two main approaches were considered: statistical prediction and analytical modelling via a reduction of the simplified plant model
How does star formation proceed in the circumnuclear starburst ring of NGC 6951?
Gas inflowing along stellar bars is often stalled at the location of
circumnuclear rings, that form an effective reservoir for massive star
formation and thus shape the central regions of galaxies. However, how exactly
star formation is proceeding within these circumnuclear starburst rings is
subject of debate. Two main scenarios for this process have been put forward:
In the first the onset of star formation is regulated by the total amount of
gas present in the ring with star forming starting once a mass threshold has
reached in a `random' position within the ring like `popcorn'. In the second
star formation preferentially takes place near the locations where the gas
enters the ring. This scenario has been dubbed `pearls-on-a-string'. Here we
combine new optical IFU data covering the full stellar bar with existing
multi-wavelength data to study in detail the 580 pc radius circumnuclear
starburst ring in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6951. Using HST archival data
together with Sauron and Oasis IFU data, we derive the ages and stellar masses
of star clusters as well as the total stellar content of the central region.
Adding information on the molecular gas distribution, stellar and gaseous
dynamics and extinction, we find that the circumnuclear ring in NGC 6951 is
~1-1.5 Gyr old and has been forming stars for most of that time. We see
evidence for preferred sites of star formation within the ring, consistent with
the `pearls-on-a-string' scenario, when focusing on the youngest stellar
populations. Due to the ring's longevity this signature is washed out when
older stellar populations are included in the analysis.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A, 15 page
Charged stripes from alternating static magnetic field
We motivate and perform a calculation of the energy of a cold fluid of
charged fermions in the presence of a striped magnetic background. We find that
a non-trivial value for the doping density on the walls is preferredComment: RevTeX, 3 pages, 3 encapsulated PostScript figure
Explaining two circumnuclear star forming rings in NGC5248
The distribution of gas in the central kiloparsec of a galaxy has a
dynamically rapid evolution. Nonaxisymmetries in the gravitational potential of
the galactic disk, such as a large scale stellar bar or spiral, can lead to
significant radial motion of gaseous material from larger radii to the central
region. The large influx of gas and the subsequent star formation keep the
central region constantly changing. However, the ability of gas to reach the
nucleus proper to fuel an AGN phase is not guaranteed. Gas inflow can be halted
at a circumnuclear star forming ring several hundred parsec away. The nearby
galaxy NGC5248 is especially interesting in this sense since it is said to host
2 circumnuclear star forming rings at 100pc and 370pc from its quiescent
nucleus. Here we present new subarcsecond PdBI+30m CO(2-1) emission line
observations of the central region. For the first time the molecular gas
distribution at the smallest stellar ring is resolved into a gas ring,
consistent with the presence of a quiescent nucleus. However, the molecular gas
shows no ring structure at the larger ring. We combine analyses of the gaseous
and stellar content in the central kiloparsec of this galaxy to understand the
gas distribution and dynamics of this star forming central region. We discuss
the probability of two scenarios leading to the current observations, given our
full understanding of this system, and discuss whether there are really two
circumnuclear star forming rings in this galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 14pages + long tabl
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