Pressure transducer and system for cryogenic environments

A silicon pressure die is bonded to a borosilicate substrate above the pneumatic port. A Wheatstone bridge circuit is formed on the silicon pressure die and has bridge elements of silicon doped with boron to a deposit density level of approximately 1 x 10(exp 19)-10(exp 21) boron/cc. A current source is provided to excite the Wheatstone bridge circuit. In addition, a temperature sensor is provided to provide temperature readings. An array may be formed of the resulting pressure transducers. This unique solution of materials permits operation of a pressure transducer in cryogenic environments

A capacitive technique for real-time monitoring polymer coating thickness on carbon filaments during prepregging process

A technique for gauging the coating thickness during prepreg processing of carbon fibers was developed. It is based on the concept of measuring the capacitance of a cylindrical condenser through which a bundle of prepregged fibers is passed axially. Empirical results indicate the capacitance of this condenser element is linearly related to the polymer coating thickness on the fibers in the bundle. The capacitive transducer was successfully used to measure the polymer thickness on several test fiber bundles under static conditions

Advanced Fusion Reactors for Space Propulsion and Power Systems

In recent years the methodology proposed for conversion of light elements into energy via fusion has made steady progress. Scientific studies and engineering efforts in advanced fusion systems designs have introduced some new concepts with unique aspects including consideration of Aneutronic fuels. The plant parameters for harnessing aneutronic fusion appear more exigent than those required for the conventional fusion fuel cycle. However aneutronic fusion propulsion plants for Space deployment will ultimately offer the possibility of enhanced performance from nuclear gain as compared to existing ionic engines as well as providing a clean solution to Planetary Protection considerations and requirements. Proton triggered 11Boron fuel (p- 11B) will produce abundant ion kinetic energy for In-Space vectored thrust. Thus energetic alpha particles "exhaust" momentum can be used directly to produce high ISP thrust and also offer possibility of power conversion into electricity. p- 11B is an advanced fusion plant fuel with well understood reaction kinematics but will require some new conceptual thinking as to the most effective implementation

Including the urban heat island in spatial heat health risk assessment strategies: a case study for Birmingham, UK

Background Heatwaves present a significant health risk and the hazard is likely to escalate with the increased future temperatures presently predicted by climate change models. The impact of heatwaves is often felt strongest in towns and cities where populations are concentrated and where the climate is often unintentionally modified to produce an urban heat island effect; where urban areas can be significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas. The purpose of this interdisciplinary study is to integrate remotely sensed urban heat island data alongside commercial social segmentation data via a spatial risk assessment methodology in order to highlight potential heat health risk areas and build the foundations for a climate change risk assessment. This paper uses the city of Birmingham, UK as a case study area. Results When looking at vulnerable sections of the population, the analysis identifies a concentration of "very high" risk areas within the city centre, and a number of pockets of "high risk" areas scattered throughout the conurbation. Further analysis looks at household level data which yields a complicated picture with a considerable range of vulnerabilities at a neighbourhood scale. Conclusions The results illustrate that a concentration of "very high" risk people live within the urban heat island, and this should be taken into account by urban planners and city centre environmental managers when considering climate change adaptation strategies or heatwave alert schemes. The methodology has been designed to be transparent and to make use of powerful and readily available datasets so that it can be easily replicated in other urban areas

Romance of Indian History; or Thrilling Incidents of the Early Settlement of America

https://commons.und.edu/settler-literature/1005/thumbnail.jp

Models of OH Maser Variations in U Her

Arecibo spectra of the mainline OH maser emission from U Her over more than a decade show variations of the OH emission over these time scales. These observations are combined with high spatial resolution VLBA maps to investigate the causes of the variations in the velocities of the maser components. Global properties of the dust shell, such as accelerations, variations in the pump and shell-wide magnetic field changes are examined as possibilities, and eliminated. A possible solution to the problem involving plasma turbulence and the local magnetic field is introduced, and the relevant time scales of the turbulence are calculated. The turbulent velocity field yields time scales of the turbulence are calculated. The turbulent velocity field yields time scales that are too long (of order centuries), while the turbulent magnetic field produces variations on appropriate time scales of a few years. A line-of-sight model of the turbulence is developed and investigated. The complete exploration of this solution requires extensive theoretical and observational work. Possible avenues of investigation of the plasma turbulence model are presented.Comment: 23 pages, 17 figures, ApJ: accepted Sept, 199

Association patterns and foraging behaviour in natural and artificial guppy shoals

Animal groups are often nonrandom assemblages of individuals that tend to be assorted by factors such as sex, body size, relatedness and familiarity. Laboratory studies using fish have shown that familiarity among shoal members confers a number of benefits to individuals, such as increased foraging success. However, it is unclear whether fish in natural shoals obtain these benefits through association with familiars. We investigated whether naturally occurring shoals of guppies, Poecilia reticulata, are more adept at learning a novel foraging task than artificial (in which we selected shoal members randomly) shoals. We used social network analysis to compare the structures of natural and artificial shoals and examined whether shoal organization predicts patterns of foraging behaviour. Fish in natural shoals benefited from increased success in the novel foraging task compared with fish in artificial shoals. Individuals in natural shoals showed a reduced latency to approach the novel feeder, followed more and formed smaller subgroups compared to artificial shoals. Our findings show that fish in natural shoals do gain foraging benefits and that this may be facilitated by a reduced perception of risk among familiarized individuals and/or enhanced social learning mediated by following other individuals and small group sizes. Although the structure of shoals was stable over time, we found no direct relationship between shoal social structure and patterns of foraging behaviour

Advanced Concepts: Aneutronic Fusion Power and Propulsion

Aneutronic Fusion for In-Space thrust, power. Clean energy & potential nuclear gains. Fusion plant concepts, potential to use advanced fuels. Methods to harness ionic momentum for high Isp thrust plus direct power conversion into electricity will be presented