The scandium effect in multicomponent alloys

Despite its excellent elemental properties, lightweight nature and good alloying potential, scandium has received relatively little attention in the manufacturing community. The abundance of scandium in the Earth's crust is quite high. It is more abundant than silver, cobalt, lead and tin. But, because scandium is so well dispersed in the lithosphere, it is notoriously difficult to extract in commercial quantities – hence low market availability and high cost. Scandium metallurgy is still a largely unexplored field – but progress is being made. This review aims to summarise advances in scandium metallurgical research over the last decade. The use of scandium as a conventional minor addition to alloys, largely in structural applications, is described. Also, more futuristic functional applications are discussed where details of crystal structures and peculiar symmetries are often of major importance. This review also includes data obtained from more obscure sources (especially Russian publications) which are much less accessible to the wider community. It is clear that more fundamental research is required to elevate the status of scandium from a laboratory-based curiosity to a mainstream alloying element. This is largely uncharted territory. There is much to be discovered

Stereotypes of Norwegian Social Groups

We present a pilot study and two main studies that address the nature of stereotypes of social groups in Norway within the framework of the Stereotype Content Model (SCM). The first study focused on stereotypes of a wide range of groups across categories such as gender, age, religious conviction, socioeconomic and health status. The second study focused on stereotypes of immigrant groups. Participants (n = 244 and n = 63, respectively) rated the groups on perceived warmth, competence, status, and competition. Results from both studies support the applicability of the SCM in Norway and provides a unique insight into stereotypes of Norwegian social groups

Heavy metal surveys in Nordic lakes harmonised data for regional assessment of critical limits

In the autumn of 1995, national lake surveys were conducted in the Nordic countries. The surveys were co-ordinated with respect to lake selection strategy, analytical methods, sampling techniques and sampling period. The 11 heavy metals investigated in nearly 3000 lakes show in general low values and distinct geograhical patterns. Direct and indirect influence of long-range transported air pollution is the major important factor for distribution of Pb, Cd, Zn and also to a certain degree Co. TOC-levels in lakes are important for Fe and Mn but also to a certain degree As, Cr and V. Bedrock geology is the major controlling factor for Cu and Ni, with exception of areas around the smelters at Kola, where the Cu and Ni concentrations in lakes are very high. Bedrock and overburden geology is also an important factor for controlling the concentration levels of As, Co, Cr and V. The results indicate that heavy metal pollution in lakes is a minor ecological problem on a regional sclae in the Nordic contries. Certain areas in particular in southern Norway and Sweden however, are affected by influence of long-range transport leading to increase in Pb, Cd and Zn in lakes above limits set by environmental authorities. Since aquatic biota in these areas already is under stress due to effects of acid rain, this may be an important environmental problem. Hg is not included in the Nordic Lake Survey, but from other work indicates that Hg is a significant environmental problem in many lakes, in southern Finland and Sweden.Nordisk ministerråd (NMR

Structure and optical properties of aSiAl and aSiAlHx magnetron sputtered thin films

Thin films of homogeneous mixture of amorphous silicon and aluminum were produced with magnetron sputtering using 2-phase Al–Si targets. The films exhibited variable compositions, with and without the presence of hydrogen, aSi1−xAlx and aSi1−xAlxHy. The structure and optical properties of the films were investigated using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-VisNIR spectrometry, ellipsometry, and atomistic modeling. We studied the effect of alloying aSi with Al (within the range 0–25 at. %) on the optical band gap, refractive index, transmission, and absorption. Alloying aSi with Al resulted in a non-transparent film with a low band gap (<1 eV). Hydrogenation of the films increased the band gap to values >1 eV. Variations of the Al and hydrogen content allowed for tuning of the optoelectronic properties. The films are stable up to a temperature of 300 °C. At this temperature, we observed Al induced crystallization of the amorphous silicon and the presence of large Al particles in a crystalline Si matrix