29,253 research outputs found
Polydimethylsiloxane based microfluidic diode
In this paper, we present a novel elastomer-based microfluidic device for rectifying flow. The device is analogous to an electronic diode in function since it allows flow in one direction and stops flow in the opposing direction. The device is planar, in-line and can be replica molded via standard soft lithography techniques. The fabrication process is outlined in detail and follows a simple procedure that requires only photolithography and one replica molding step. Several geometries of devices are presented along with their flow versus pressure characteristics. A brief discussion of the device behavior is presented along with possible uses for the device
Origin of the transient unpulsed radio emission from the PSR B1259-63 binary system
We discuss the interpretation of transient, unpulsed radio emission detected
from the unique pulsar/Be-star binary system PSR B1259-63. Extensive monitoring
of the 1994 and 1997 periastron passages has shown that the source flares over
a 100-day interval around periastron, varying on time-scales as short as a day
and peaking at 60 mJy (~100 times the apastron flux density) at 1.4 GHz.
Interpreting the emission as synchrotron radiation, we show that (i) the
observed variations in flux density are too large to be caused by the shock
interaction between the pulsar wind and an isotropic, radiatively driven,
Be-star wind, and (ii) the radio emitting electrons do not originate from the
pulsar wind. We argue instead that the radio electrons originate from the
circumstellar disk of the Be star and are accelerated at two epochs, one before
and one after periastron, when the pulsar passes through the disk. A simple
model incorporating two epochs of impulsive acceleration followed by
synchrotron cooling reproduces the essential features of the radio light curve
and spectrum and is consistent with the system geometry inferred from pulsed
radio data.Comment: To be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters 7 pages, 1
postscript figur
High performance composites research at NASA-Langley
Barriers to the more extensive use of advanced composites in heavily loaded structures on commercial transports are discussed from a materials viewpoint. NASA-Langley matrix development activities designed to overcome these barriers are presented. These include the synthesis of processible, tough, durable matrices, the development of resin property/composite property relationships which help guide the synthesis program, and the exploitation of new processing technology to effectively combine reinforcement filament with polymer matrices. Examples of five classes of polymers being investigated as matrix resins at NASA Langley are presented, including amorphous and semicrystalline thermoplastics, lightly crosslinked thermoplastics, semi-interpenetrating networks and toughened thermosets. Relationships between neat resin modulus, resin fracture energy, interlaminar fracture energy, composite compression strength, and post-impact compression strength are shown. Powder and slurry processing techniques are discussed
Electronic structure and magnetic properties of Li_2ZrCuO_4 - a spin 1/2 Heisenberg system in vicinity to a quantum critical point
Based on density functional calculations, we present a detailed theoretical
study of the electronic structure and the magnetic properties of the quasi-one
dimensional chain cuprate Li_2ZrCuO_4 (Li_2CuZrO_4). For the relevant ratio of
the next-nearest neighbor exchange J_2 to the nearest neighbor exchange J_1 we
find alpha = -J_2/J_1 = 0.22\pm0.02 which is very close to the critical point
at 1/4. Owing this vicinity to a ferromagnetic-helical critical point, we study
in detail the influence of structural peculiarities such as the reported Li
disorder and the non-planar chain geometry on the magnetic interactions
combining the results of LDA based tight-binding models with LDA+U derived
exchange parameters. Our investigation is complemented by an exact
diagonalization study of a multi-band Hubbard model for finite clusters
predicting a strong temperature dependence of the optical conductivity for
Li_2ZrCuO_4
- …