Structure and ionic conductivity in lithium garnets

Garnets are capable of accommodating an excess of lithium cations beyond that normally found in this prototypical structure. This excess lithium is found in a mixture of coordination environments with considerable positional and occupational disorder and leads to ionic conductivity of up to 4×10-4 S cm-1 at room temperature. This high value for total conductivity, combined with excellent thermal and (electro)chemical resistance makes these candidate materials for operation in all solid-state batteries. This review looks at garnets with a wide range of stoichiometries and lithium concentrations and the impact of complex lithium distributions and crystallographic order/disorder transitions on the transport properties of these materials

Power system requirements

An overview of electrical power requirements for each mission of a baseline and alternate plan for space activities in the 1990-2035 timeframe is presented. The specific missions included low earth orbit (LEO), geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO), lunar, Mars, and asteroid related projects

Energy-based Analysis of Biochemical Cycles using Bond Graphs

Thermodynamic aspects of chemical reactions have a long history in the Physical Chemistry literature. In particular, biochemical cycles - the building-blocks of biochemical systems - require a source of energy to function. However, although fundamental, the role of chemical potential and Gibb's free energy in the analysis of biochemical systems is often overlooked leading to models which are physically impossible. The bond graph approach was developed for modelling engineering systems where energy generation, storage and transmission are fundamental. The method focuses on how power flows between components and how energy is stored, transmitted or dissipated within components. Based on early ideas of network thermodynamics, we have applied this approach to biochemical systems to generate models which automatically obey the laws of thermodynamics. We illustrate the method with examples of biochemical cycles. We have found that thermodynamically compliant models of simple biochemical cycles can easily be developed using this approach. In particular, both stoichiometric information and simulation models can be developed directly from the bond graph. Furthermore, model reduction and approximation while retaining structural and thermodynamic properties is facilitated. Because the bond graph approach is also modular and scaleable, we believe that it provides a secure foundation for building thermodynamically compliant models of large biochemical networks

Laser power transmission

An overview of previous studies related to laser power transmission is presented. Particular attention is given to the use of solar pumped lasers for space power applications. Three general laser mechanisms are addressed: photodissociation lasing driven by sunlight, photoexcitation lasing driven directly by sunlight, and photoexcitation lasing driven by thermal radiation

Cosmological matching conditions

We investigate the evolution of scalar metric perturbations across a sudden cosmological transition, allowing for an inhomogeneous surface stress at the transition leading to a discontinuity in the local expansion rate, such as might be expected in a big crunch/big bang event. We assume that the transition occurs when some function of local matter variables reaches a critical value, and that the surface stress is also a function of local matter variables. In particular we consider the case of a single scalar field and show that a necessary condition for the surface stress tensor to be perturbed at the transition is the presence of a non-zero intrinsic entropy perturbation of the scalar field. We present the matching conditions in terms of gauge-invariant variables assuming a sudden transition to a fluid-dominated universe with barotropic equation of state. For adiabatic perturbations the comoving curvature perturbation is continuous at the transition, while the Newtonian potential may be discontinuous if there is a discontinuity in the background Hubble expansion.Comment: 12 pages, no figure

Nest and Prey of \u3ci\u3eAgeniella (Leucophrus) Fulgifrons\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)

Information on the habitat, nest-site, hunting, prey transport, closure, burrow structure, and prey of Ageniella (Leucophrus) fulgifrons is presented. Components of the nesting behaviors of other species of Ageniella are examined and compared with those of A. fulgifrons

Northern Distribution Records for Some Nearctic Pompilidae (Hymenoptera)

Distributional records and nomenclatural changes are presented for 20 species of Nearctic Pompilidae. The records extend the species\u27 ranges northward in North America, are peripheral on the northern boundaries of the ranges, or fill in sizeable gaps in the distributions. Flower records, habitat notes, and remarks on the prey are given for some of the species

Lagrangian Evolution of the Weyl Tensor

We derive the evolution equations for the electric and magnetic parts of the Weyl tensor for cold dust from both general relativity and Newtonian gravity. In a locally inertial frame at rest in the fluid frame, the Newtonian equations agree with those of general relativity. We give explicit expressions for the electric and magnetic parts of the Weyl tensor in the Newtonian limit. In general, the magnetic part does not vanish, implying that the Lagrangian evolution of the fluid is not purely local.Comment: 17 pages, AAS LateX v3.0, submitted to ApJ, MIT-CSR-94-0