23,569 research outputs found
Pneumatic inflatable end effector
The invention relates to an end effector device for robot or teleoperated type space vehicle which includes an inflatable balloon member carried on the end of tubular member which has a hollow center or conduit through which a suitable pressurized fluid is supplied. The device may be inserted into a variety of shaped openings or truss-type structures for handling in space
Laser net - A concept for monitoring wingtip vortices on runways
Network of laser beams passes over runway to photodetectors on opposite side, magnitude of beam deflection indicates magnitude of density gradient encountered. Visual display of beam deflections affects go, no-go decision for takeoff and landing
The evolution of the moon and the terrestrial planets
The thermal evolutions of the Moon, Mars, Venus and Mercury are calculated theoretically starting from cosmochemical condensation models. An assortment of geological, geochemical and geophysical data are used to constrain both the present day temperatures and the thermal histories of the planets' interiors. Such data imply that the planets were heated during or shortly after formation and that all the terrestrial planets started their differentiations early in their history. The moon, smallest in size, is characterized as a differentiated body with a crust, a thick solid mantle and an interior region which may be partially molten. Mars, intermediate in size, is assumed to have differentiated an Fe-FeS core. Venus is characterized as a planet not unlike the earth in many respects. Core formation has occurred probably during the first billion years after the formation. Mercury, which probably has a large core, may have a 500 km thick solid lithosphere and a partially molten core if it is assumed that some heat sources exist in the core
Economic Policy and Food Security in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has an integrated approach to addressing nutrition. However, greater clarity is needed on the wider impact of policy on food and nutrition. We focus on the interrelationship between economic policy and nutrition policy (defined as including all food- and nutrition-relevant policy). While Ethiopia’s policy has had notable successes, particularly with addressing stunting, two key challenges remain. First, some indicators such as wasting and anaemia in children under five have shown far less improvement. Second, the bottom quintile of children has seen far more limited general improvement than the population as a whole. We argue that the focus of government policy needs to shift from food availability to broader issues of food acquisition and particularly food affordability, which is mediated through food prices and waged employment. Of particular concern is the rising price of animal-source products and other non-staple foods, which may be related to the challenges of addressing some nutritional indicators
Manual and automatic flight control during severe turbulence penetration
An analytical and experimental investigation of possible contributing factors in jet aircraft turbulence upsets was conducted. Major contributing factors identified included autopilot and display deficiencies, the large aircraft inertia and associated long response time, and excessive pilot workload. An integrated flight and thrust energy management director system was synthesized. The system was incorporated in a moving-base simulation and evaluated using highly experienced airline pilots. The evaluation included comparison of pilot workload and flight performance during severe turbulence penetration utilizing four control/display concepts: manual control with conventional full panel display, conventional autopilot (A/P-A) with conventional full panel display, improved autopilot (A/P-B) with conventional full panel display plus thrust director display, and longitudinal flight director with conventional full panel display plus thrust director display. Simulation results show improved performance, reduced pilot workload, and a pilot preference for the autopilot system controlling to the flight director command and manual control of thrust following the trim thrust director
Experimental rate coefficients for collisional excitation of lithium-like ions
Collisional excitation rates for lithium-like ions derived from diagnosed plasma produced in theta pinch device and line intensities emitted by these ion
Apparatus for assembling space structure
An apparatus for producing a structure in outer space from rolls of prepunched ribbon or sheet material that are transported from the earth to the apparatus located in outer space is described. The apparatus spins the space structure similar to a spider spinning a web utilizing the prepunched ribbon material. The prepunched ribbon material is fed through the apparatus and is shaped into a predetermined channel-shaped configuration. Trusses are punched out of the ribbon and are bent downwardly and attached to a track which normally is a previously laid sheet of material. The size of the overall space structure may be increased by merely attaching an additional roll of sheet material to the apparatus
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
Crystallography, magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and electrical resistivity of heavy fermion LiVO single crystals grown using a self-flux technique
Magnetically pure spinel compound is a rare -electron
heavy fermion. Measurements on single crystals are needed to clarify the
mechanism for the heavy fermion behavior in the pure material. In addition, it
is known that small concentrations ( mol%) of magnetic defects in the
structure strongly affect the properties, and measurements on single crystals
containing magnetic defects would help to understand the latter behaviors.
Herein, we report flux growth of and preliminary measurements
to help resolve these questions. The magnetic susceptibility of some as-grown
crystals show a Curie-like upturn at low temperatures, showing the presence of
magnetic defects within the spinel structure. The magnetic defects could be
removed in some of the crystals by annealing them at 700 C\@. A very
high specific heat coefficient = 450 mJ/(mol K\@) was obtained
at a temperature of 1.8 K for a crystal containing a magnetic defect
concentration = 0.5 mol%. A crystal with = 0.01 mol% showed a residual resistivity ratio of 50.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, Title modifie
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