Simulation Support for Optimizing the Design and Operation of a Large Open-Space Office Building

This paper deals with design and post-design operational optimization studies for a new head office of a bank in Prague. The building can be characterized as a large open space office building. During the design phase computational modeling and simulation was used to predict the performance of various design alternatives with respect to reducing the required cooling capacity, in order to verify the fan-coil capacity sizing and to optimize the ventilation system and strategy of the atriums. Since the design included exposed concrete ceilings, the design intent was to use the building thermal mass for cooling load reduction and to employ a strategy for low-energy operation of the building. The maximum cooling demand for the initial design was estimated at 3 MW for the whole building. Computational simulations showed a potential reduction to 81 % of this value. Additional simulations helped designers to optimize the thermal comfort in the open corridors in relation to the roof glazing and the shading devices of the atria. During the commissioning process the simulation based performance predictions were checked. During the first year of operation, various building control strategies were tested and optimized. Smoke tests, thermal comfort and draft measurements were carried out to verify the indoor environment. During the commissioning process the field tests identified various important issues related to the design of large open space office buildings. These are also presented in the paper

Surpassing the resistance quantum with a geometric superinductor

The superconducting circuit community has recently discovered the promising potential of superinductors. These circuit elements have a characteristic impedance exceeding the resistance quantum $R_\text{Q} \approx 6.45~\text{k}\Omega$ which leads to a suppression of ground state charge fluctuations. Applications include the realization of hardware protected qubits for fault tolerant quantum computing, improved coupling to small dipole moment objects and defining a new quantum metrology standard for the ampere. In this work we refute the widespread notion that superinductors can only be implemented based on kinetic inductance, i.e. using disordered superconductors or Josephson junction arrays. We present modeling, fabrication and characterization of 104 planar aluminum coil resonators with a characteristic impedance up to 30.9 $\text{k}\Omega$ at 5.6 GHz and a capacitance down to $\leq1$ fF, with low-loss and a power handling reaching $10^8$ intra-cavity photons. Geometric superinductors are free of uncontrolled tunneling events and offer high reproducibility, linearity and the ability to couple magnetically - properties that significantly broaden the scope of future quantum circuits.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl

Observation of collapse and revival in a superconducting atomic frequency comb

Recent advancements in superconducting circuits have enabled the experimental study of collective behavior of precisely controlled intermediate-scale ensembles of qubits. In this work, we demonstrate an atomic frequency comb formed by individual artificial atoms strongly coupled to a single resonator mode. We observe periodic microwave pulses that originate from a single coherent excitation dynamically interacting with the multi-qubit ensemble. We show that this revival dynamics emerges as a consequence of the constructive and periodic rephasing of the five superconducting qubits forming the vacuum Rabi split comb. In the future, similar devices could be used as a memory with in-situ tunable storage time or as an on-chip periodic pulse generator with non-classical photon statistics

Response of captive coyotes to renardine coyote repellent

Renardine is a bone tar product available for use as a coyote (Canis latrans) repellent in Canada. The substance is applied to pasture borders to prevent coyotes from entering and attacking sheep. Because data regarding the effectiveness of Renardine are lacking, we designed two experiments. In the first, six pairs of coyotes were first presented with 400 g of ground meat in two pans (200 g/pan) with false screen bottoms. Beneath the screens were absorbent tubes wetted with 10 ml of distilled water. Subsequently, during a treatment period, the absorbent tube was wetted with 10 ml of Renardine. Pans were presented for 60 minutes, and the amount of time to consume the meat was recorded. In the second experiment, six additional pairs of coyotes were first presented with 200 g of ground meat inside a barrier created with baling twine and wooden dowels. The area inside the barrier was 1 m2, and the twine was tied onto the dowels 0.25 m above the ground. During the treatment period, the twine and dowels were painted with Renardine. In both experiments, all coyote pairs consumed all of the ground meat shortly after presentation. We conclude that Renardine probably is not an effective coyote repellent. However, because the active ingredient in Renardine is bone tar oil and bone tar oil is deer repellent, we speculate that Renardine may have utility as an herbivore repellent