14,906 research outputs found
The airborne laser ranging system, its capabilities and applications
The airborne laser ranging system is a multibeam short pulse laser ranging system on board an aircraft. It simultaneously measures the distances between the aircraft and six laser retroreflectors (targets) deployed on the Earth's surface. The system can interrogate over 100 targets distributed over an area of 25,000 sq, kilometers in a matter of hours. Potentially, a total of 1.3 million individual range measurements can be made in a six hour flight. The precision of these range measurements is approximately + or - 1 cm. These measurements are used in procedure which is basically an extension of trilateration techniques to derive the intersite vector between the laser ground targets. By repeating the estimation of the intersite vector, strain and strain rate errors can be estimated. These quantities are essential for crustal dynamic studies which include determination and monitoring of regional strain in the vicinity of active fault zones, land subsidence, and edifice building preceding volcanic eruptions
Ocean gravity and geoid determination
Gravity anomalies have been recovered in the North Atlantic and the Indian Ocean regions. Comparisons of 63 2 deg x 2 deg mean free air gravity anomalies recovered in the North Atlantic area and 24 5 deg x 5 deg mean free air gravity anomalies in the Indian Ocean area with surface gravimetric measurements have shown agreement to + or - 8 mgals for both solutions. Geoids derived from the altimeter solutions are consistent with altimetric sea surface height data to within the precision of the data, about + or - 2 meters
Space station architectural elements model study
The worksphere, a user controlled computer workstation enclosure, was expanded in scope to an engineering workstation suitable for use on the Space Station as a crewmember desk in orbit. The concept was also explored as a module control station capable of enclosing enough equipment to control the station from each module. The concept has commercial potential for the Space Station and surface workstation applications. The central triangular beam interior configuration was expanded and refined to seven different beam configurations. These included triangular on center, triangular off center, square, hexagonal small, hexagonal medium, hexagonal large and the H beam. Each was explored with some considerations as to the utilities and a suggested evaluation factor methodology was presented. Scale models of each concept were made. The models were helpful in researching the seven beam configurations and determining the negative residual (unused) volume of each configuration. A flexible hardware evaluation factor concept is proposed which could be helpful in evaluating interior space volumes from a human factors point of view. A magnetic version with all the graphics is available from the author or the technical monitor
Gravity anomaly detection: Apollo/Soyuz
The Goddard Apollo-Soyuz Geodynamics Experiment is described. It was performed to demonstrate the feasibility of tracking and recovering high frequency components of the earth's gravity field by utilizing a synchronous orbiting tracking station such as ATS-6. Gravity anomalies of 5 MGLS or larger having wavelengths of 300 to 1000 kilometers on the earth's surface are important for geologic studies of the upper layers of the earth's crust. Short wavelength Earth's gravity anomalies were detected from space. Two prime areas of data collection were selected for the experiment: (1) the center of the African continent and (2) the Indian Ocean Depression centered at 5% north latitude and 75% east longitude. Preliminary results show that the detectability objective of the experiment was met in both areas as well as at several additional anomalous areas around the globe. Gravity anomalies of the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges, ocean trenches, as well as the Diamantina Depth, can be seen. Maps outlining the anomalies discovered are shown
Chaotic motion of space charge wavefronts in semiconductors under time-independent voltage bias
A standard drift-diffusion model of space charge wave propagation in
semiconductors has been studied numerically and analytically under dc voltage
bias. For sufficiently long samples, appropriate contact resistivity and
applied voltage - such that the sample is biased in a regime of negative
differential resistance - we find chaos in the propagation of nonlinear fronts
(charge monopoles of alternating sign) of electric field. The chaos is always
low-dimensional, but has a complex spatial structure; this behavior can be
interpreted using a finite dimensional asymptotic model in which the front
(charge monopole) positions and the electrical current are the only dynamical
variables.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure
Low-Temperature Properties of Quasi-One-Dimensional Molecule-Based Ferromagnets
Quantum and thermal behaviors of low-dimensional mixed-spin systems are
investigated with particular emphasis on the design of molecule-based
ferromagnets. One can obtain a molecular ferromagnet by assembling molecular
bricks so as to construct a low-dimensional system with a magnetic ground state
and then coupling the chains or the layers again in a ferromagnetic fashion.
Two of thus-constructed quasi-one-dimensional bimetallic compounds are
qualitatively viewed within the spin-wave treatment, one of which successfully
grows into a bulk magnet, while the other of which ends in a singlet ground
state. Then, concentrating on the ferrimagnetic arrangement on a two-leg ladder
which is well indicative of general coupled-chain ferrimagnets, we develop the
spin-wave theory and fully reveal its low-energy structure. We inquire further
into the ferromagnetic aspect of the ferrimagnetic ladder numerically
calculating the sublattice magnetization and the magnetic susceptibility. There
exists a moderate coupling strength between the chains in order to obtain the
most ferromagnetic ferrimagnet.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures embedded, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn.
Vol.70, No.5 (2001
Nuclear Magnetic Relaxation in the Ferrimagnetic Chain Compound NiCu(C_7_H_6_N_2_O_6_)(H_2_O)_3_2H_2_O: Three-Magnon Scattering?
Recent proton spin-lattice relaxation-time (T_1_) measurements on the
ferrimagnetic chain compound NiCu(C_7_H_6_N_2_O_6_)(H_2_O)_3_2H_2_O are
explained by an elaborately modified spin-wave theory. We give a strong
evidence of the major contribution to 1/T_1_ being made by the three-magnon
scattering rather than the Raman one.Comment: J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 16, No. 49, 9023 (2004
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