Experiments with Magnetohydrodynamically Supported Shock Layers

Shock tube experiments to determine interaction of hypersonic flow with magnetic fiel

A Broader View of Musical Exoticism

Most previous writings on musical exoticism reflect the unspoken assumption that a work is perceived by the listener as exotic only if it incorporates distinctively foreign or otherwise highly unusual elements of musical style. This “Exotic Style Only” Paradigm often proves revelatory, especially for purely instrumental works. In operas and other musicodramatic works set in exotic locales, by contrast, music is heard within a narrative “frame” that shapes the listener’s response. Yet the existing literature on “the exotic in music” tends to restrict its attention to those few scenes or passages (in such works) that “sound non-Western.” It also tends to leave unmentioned the many Baroque-era operas and dramatic oratorios that focus on despicable Eastern tyrants. The present article proposes an “All the Music in Full Context” Paradigm to help make sense of a variety of exotic portrayals that are strikingly diverse in message and means: 1) Les Indes galantes (Rameau’s application of standard musico-rhetorical devices to manipulative and anti-colonialist speeches by the Peruvian leader Huascar); 2) Belshazzar (Handel’s vivid musical setting of the passage in which the cruel, cowardly Eastern despot seeks oblivion in drink); 3) Bizet’s Carmen (the Card Scene, which is notably free of Hispanic or other local color yet, through rigidly recurring devices in voice and orchestra, indelibly limns Carmen’s Gypsy fatalism); and 4) three prominent dramatic moments, two of them rarely discussed, in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. In each case, the full range of artistic components—including musical devices that lie within or outside the traditional exotic vocabulary—enriches our understanding of how diversely, powerfully, sometimes disturbingly the exoticizing process can function in genres that combine music with dramatic representation

Improvements to Optical Communication Capabilities Achieved through the Optical Injection of Semiconductor Lasers

Optically injection locked lasers have shown significant improvement in the modulation capabilities of directly modulated lasers. This research creates a direct-modulated optical communications system to investigate the bit-rate distance improvements achievable using optically injected Fabry-Pérot laser diodes. The injection strength and detuning frequency of the injection signal was varied to determine their impact on the optical communication link\u27s characteristics. This research measured a 25 fold increase in bit-rate distance product using optical injection locking as compared to the injected laser\u27s free-running capability. A 57 fold increase was measured in the bit-rate distance product when signal power is considered in a power-penalty measurement. This increased performance is attributed to the injected signals tolerance to dispersion given its reduced linewidth and chirp. This work also investigates the suitability of optical injection for radio over fiber applications using the period-one dynamic of optical injection. The all-optically generated, widely tunable microwave subcarrier frequency, well above the 3-dB cutoff frequency of the laser\u27s packaging electronics, was modulated with the same baseband electronics. This optically carried, ultra-wide spread spectrum signal was transported over 50km of standard-single-mode fiber. After detection at a high-speed photo- detector and the baseband modulation component was removed, the resultant signal was found to be suitable for broadcasting with an antenna or added to a frequency division multiplexed channel

Deceleration-Limiting Roadway Barrier

Roadway barrier system and method are disclosed for decelerating a moving vehicle in a controlled manner and for retaining the decelerated vehicle. A net or mesh of the roadway barrier system receives and captures the moving vehicle. The net or mesh is secured to anchors by energy absorbing straps. The energy absorbing straps deploy under a tensional load to decelerate the moving vehicle, the straps providing a controlled resistance to the tensional load over a predefined displacement or stroke to bring the moving vehicle to rest. Additional features include a sacrificial panel or sheet in front of the net that holds up the net or mesh while deflecting vehicles that collide only tangentially with the roadway barrier system

NCRP Program Area Committee 7: Radiation Education, Risk Communication, Outreach, and Policy

Recognizing the central importance of effective communication, education, and policy across all of the domains of radiation safety and radiation protection, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) established a new committee in 2013. Program Area Committee 7 (PAC 7) was created to develop projects and provide guidance on Radiation Education, Risk Communication, Outreach, and Policy. After identifying individuals with relevant expertise who were willing to serve, the Committee held its inaugural meeting in 2014. In 2015, the Committee increased its membership and began carrying out an expanded program of activities. One area of activity has involved providing input and feedback on risk communication issues to NCRP and other agencies. Another area of work has involved liaising with other NCRP committees (e.g., Council Committee 1 and PAC 3) to help incorporate psychosocial and risk communication issues into projects. Future efforts of NCRP\u27s newest PAC are expected to include the development of authoritative reports and commentaries dealing with critical issues and challenges in radiation risk communication, education, and policy