Computer Program for Assessing the Economic Feasibility of Solar Energy for Single Family Residences and Light Commercial Applications

Computer program, SHCOST, was used to perform economic analyses of operational test sites. The program allows consideration of the economic parameters which are important to the solar system user. A life cycle cost and cash flow comparison is made between a solar heating system and a conventional system. The program assists in sizing the solar heating system. A sensitivity study and plot capability allow the user to select the most cost effective system configuration

Hubble space telescope six-battery test bed

A test bed for a large space power system breadboard for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was designed and built to test the system under simulated orbital conditions. A discussion of the data acquisition and control subsystems designed to provide for continuous 24 hr per day operation and a general overview of the test bed is presented. The data acquisition and control subsystems provided the necessary monitoring and protection to assure safe shutdown with protection of test articles in case of loss of power or equipment failure over the life of the test (up to 5 years)

Production rates of neon xenon isotopes by energetic neutrons

As a first step in an experimental program to study the behavior of noble gases produced in situ in minerals, a suite of minerals and pure chemicals were irradiated with 14.5 MeV neutrons at LLNL's Rotating Target Neutron Source (RTNS-II) and production rates for noble gases were determined. While neutron effects in meteorites and lunar samples are dominated by low-energy neutron capture, more energetic cosmic-ray secondary neutrons can provide significant depth-dependent contributions to production of cosmogenic nuclides through endothermic reactions such as (n,2n), (n,np), (n,d) and (n,alpha). Production rates for nuclides produced by cosmic-ray secondary neutrons are therefore useful in interpreting shielding histories from the relative abundances of cosmogenic nuclides. Absolute production cross sections were calculated from isotope dilution analyses of NaCl, Mg, CsCl, and Ba(NO3)2 samples, assuming purity, stoichiometry, and quantitative noble gas retention and extraction. Relative production cross sections determined from neon isotopic ratios in the mineral samples were also considered in evaluating the neon production cross sections. Results are presented

Cancer in Alaska Natives 1969-2003: 35-Year Report

Cancer incidence rates for all Alaska Natives (Eskimo, Indian, Aleut) were first reported in 1976. Since then numerous publications have documented the unusual cancer patterns in this population. These are the latest statistics for which there is complete data statewide, and provide the best estimates of cancer incidence in the Alaska Native population. Numbers of new (incident) cases and rates are given for all cancers and for specific sites. These numbers are presented by age, sex, ethnicity, geographic region, and service unit. Data have been collected, tabulated, and analyzed in accordance with procedures established by the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program

Atomic-scale structure of the SrTiO3(001)-c(6x2) reconstruction: Experiments and first-principles calculations

The c(6x2) is a reconstruction of the SrTiO3(001) surface that is formed between 1050-1100oC in oxidizing annealing conditions. This work proposes a model for the atomic structure for the c(6x2) obtained through a combination of results from transmission electron diffraction, surface x-ray diffraction, direct methods analysis, computational combinational screening, and density functional theory. As it is formed at high temperatures, the surface is complex and can be described as a short-range ordered phase featuring microscopic domains composed of four main structural motifs. Additionally, non-periodic TiO2 units are present on the surface. Simulated scanning tunneling microscopy images based on the electronic structure calculations are consistent with experimental images

Technical Update: Johnson Space Center system using a solid electrolytic cell in a remote location to measure oxygen fugacities in CO/CO2 controlled-atmosphere furnaces

Details are given for the design and application of a (one atmosphere) redox-control system. This system differs from that given in NASA Technical Memorandum 58234 in that it uses a single solid-electrolytic cell in a remote location to measure the oxygen fugacities of multiple CO/CO2 controlled-atmosphere furnaces. This remote measurement extends the range of sample-furnace conditions that can be measured using a solid-electrolytic cell, and cuts costs by extending the life of the sensors and by minimizing the number of sensors in use. The system consists of a reference furnace and an exhaust-gas manifold. The reference furnace is designed according to the redox control system of NASA Technical Memorandum 58234, and any number of CO/CO2 controlled-atmosphere furnaces can be attached to the exhaust-gas manifold. Using the manifold, the exhaust gas from individual CO/CO2 controlled atmosphere furnaces can be diverted through the reference furnace, where a solid-electrolyte cell is used to read the ambient oxygen fugacity. The oxygen fugacity measured in the reference furnace can then be used to calculate the oxygen fugacity in the individual CO/CO2 controlled-atmosphere furnace. A BASIC computer program was developed to expedite this calculation

Yours ever (well, maybe): Studies and signposts in letter writing

Electronic mail and other digital communications technologies seemingly threaten to end the era of handwritten and typed letters, now affectionately seen as part of snail mail. In this essay, I analyze a group of popular and scholarly studies about letter writing-including examples of pundits critiquing the use of e-mail, etiquette manuals advising why the handwritten letter still possesses value, historians and literary scholars studying the role of letters in the past and what it tells us about our present attitudes about digital communications technologies, and futurists predicting how we will function as personal archivists maintaining every document including e-mail. These are useful guideposts for archivists, providing both a sense of the present and the past in the role, value and nature of letters and their successors. They also provide insights into how such documents should be studied, expanding our gaze beyond the particular letters, to the tools used to create them and the traditions dictating their form and function. We also can discern a role for archivists, both for contributing to the literature about documents and in using these studies and commentaries, suggesting not a new disciplinary realm but opportunities for new interdisciplinary work. Examining a documentary form makes us more sensitive to both the innovations and traditions as it shifts from the analog to the digital; we can learn not to be caught up in hysteria or nostalgia about one form over another and archivists can learn about what they might expect in their labors to document society and its institutions. At one time, paper was part of an innovative technology, with roles very similar to the Internet and e-mail today. It may be that the shifts are far less revolutionary than is often assumed. Reading such works also suggests, finally, that archivists ought to rethink how they view their own knowledge and how it is constructed and used. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V