On Possible Measurement of Gravitational Interaction Parameters on Board a Satellite

The recently suggested SEE (Satellite Energy Exchange) method of measuring the gravitational constant $G$, possible equivalence principle violation (measured by the E\"{o}tv\"{o}s parameter $\eta$) and the hypothetic 5th force parameters $\alpha$ and $\lambda$ on board a drag-free Earth's satellite is discussed and further developed. Various particle trajectories near a heavy ball are numerically simulated. Some basic sources of error are analysed. The $G$ measurement procedure is modelled by noise insertion to a ``true'' trajectory. It is concluded that the present knowledge of $G, \alpha$ (for $\lambda \geq 1$ m) and $\eta$ can be improved by at least two orders of magnitude.Comment: (only two misprints on title page) 7 page

Effect of lithium perchlorate concentration on lithium cation transference number in sulpholane solutions

To increase the accuracy of determining the lithium cation transference numbers we proposed to measure them at different values of the polarizing voltage and extrapolate the calculated values to the zero value of the polarizing voltage. It was established that the lithium cation transference numbers increased linearly with the increasing concentration of LiClO4 solutions in sulfolane. It is assumed that the increase in the lithium cation transference numbers takes place due to the change in lithium perchlorate state in sulfolane solution and the mechanism of ion transfer. It was shown that the maximum cation conductivity was achieved at the concentration of lithium perchlorate sulfolane solution of about 2M

Constraints from orbital motions around the Earth of the environmental fifth-force hypothesis for the OPERA superluminal neutrino phenomenology

It has been recently suggested by Dvali and Vikman that the superluminal neutrino phenomenology of the OPERA experiment may be due to an environmental feature of the Earth, naturally yielding a long-range fifth force of gravitational origin whose coupling with the neutrino is set by the scale M_*, in units of reduced Planck mass. Its characteristic length lambda should not be smaller than one Earth's radius R_e, while its upper bound is expected to be slightly smaller than the Earth-Moon distance (60 R_e). We analytically work out some orbital effects of a Yukawa-type fifth force for a test particle moving in the modified field of a central body. Our results are quite general since they are not restricted to any particular size of lambda; moreover, they are valid for an arbitrary orbital configuration of the particle, i.e. for any value of its eccentricity $e$. We find that the dimensionless strength coupling parameter alpha is constrained to |alpha| <= 1 10^-10-4 10^-9 for 1 R_e <= lambda <= 10 R_e by the laser data of the Earth's artificial satellite LAGEOS II, corresponding to M_* >= 4 10^9 -1.6 10^10. The Moon perigee allows to obtain |alpha| <= 3 10^-11 for the Earth-Moon pair in the range 15 R_e <= lambda = 3 10^10 - 4.5 10^10. Our results are neither necessarily limited to the superluminal OPERA scenario nor to the Dvali-Vikman model, in which it is M_* = 10^-6 at lambda = 1 R_e, in contrast with our bounds: they generally extend to any theoretical scenario implying a fifth-force of Yukawa-type.Comment: LaTex2e, 18 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, 81 reference

Physical and chemical properties of lithium perchlorate and tetrafluoroborate solutions in the mixture of sulpholane and sulfurous anhydride

The temperature dependencies of physical and chemical properties (viscosity, density, electrical conductivity) and the melting temperature of 1M solutions of lithium salts (LiClO4 and LiBF4) in the mixture of sulfolane and sulfurous anhydride (&sim;1M) were studied. It was shown that the introduction of 1M (5%&nbsp;wt.) of sulfurous anhydride into 1M solutions of LiClO4 and LiBF4 in sulfolane increased the specific and corrected electrical conductivity, densities, activation energy of electrical conductivity and viscous flow of electrolyte solutions; and reduced viscosity and melting temperatures

HVOF and laser cladded Fe-Cr-B coating in simulated biomass combustion: microstructure and fireside corrosion

Biomass is often considered as a low carbon alternative to fossil fuels in the power industry. However the heat exchangers in biomass plants can suffer from chloride based aggressive fireside corrosion. A commercially available amorphous Fe-Cr-B alloy was deposited onto a stainless steel substrate by HVOF thermal spray and laser cladding. The controlled environment corrosion tests were conducted in a HCl rich environment at 700°C for 250 h with and without KCl deposits. The samples were examined with XRD, SEM and EDX mapping to understand the corrosion mechanisms. In the absence of any deposits, the amorphous HVOF coating performed very well with a thin oxide growth whereas the crystalline laser cladding suffered from ~350 μm metal loss. The scales were composed of MnWO₄, Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄ and Cr₂O₃. When a KCl deposit was present, the HVOF sprayed coating delaminated from the substrate and MnCl₂ was found in the scale

Gravitational wave detection using electromagnetic modes in a resonance cavity

We present a proposal for a gravitational wave detector, based on the excitation of an electromagnetic mode in a resonance cavity. The mode is excited due to the interaction between a large amplitude electromagnetic mode and a quasi-monochromatic gravitational wave. The minimum metric perturbation needed for detection is estimated to the order 7.10^(-23) using current data on superconducting niobium cavities. Using this value together with different standard models predicting the occurrence of merging neutron star or black hole binaries, the corresponding detection rate is estimated to 1-20 events per year, with a `table top' cavity of a few meters length.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, references adde

A perspective on energy chemistry of low-temperature lithium metal batteries

Dendrite growth of lithium (Li) metal anode severely hinders its practical application, while the situation becomes more serious at low temperatures due to the sluggish kinetics of Li-ion diffusion. This perspective is intended to clearly understand the energy chemistry of low-temperature Li metal batteries (LMBs). The low-temperature chemistries between LMBs and traditional Li-ion batteries are firstly compared to figure out the features of the low-temperature LMBs. Li deposition behaviors at low temperatures are then discussed concerning the variation in Li-ion diffusion behaviors and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) features. Subsequently, the strategies to enhance the diffusion kinetics of Li ions and suppress dendrite growth including designing electrolytes and electrode/electrolyte interfaces are analyzed. Finally, conclusions and outlooks are drawn to shed lights on the future design of high-performance low-temperature LMBs