The Red Queen visits Minkowski Space

When Alice went `Through the Looking Glass' [1], she found herself in a situation where she had to run as fast as she could in order to stay still. In accordance with the dictum that truth is stranger than fiction, we will see that it is possible to find a situation in special relativity where running towards one's target is actually counter-productive. Although the situation is easily analysed algebraically, the qualitative properties of the analysis are greatly illuminated by the use of space-time diagrams

The effect of microstructure and strength on the fracture toughness of an 18 Ni, 300 grade maraging steel

Fractography and metallographic sectioning were used to investigate the influence of microstructure and strength on the fracture toughness (KIc) and fracture mechanism of an 18 Ni, 300 grade maraging steel. Increased yield strength from 1442 to 2070 MN/m squared through precipitation hardening results in a KIc loss from 143 to 55 MN/m superscript 3/2. Ti (C,N) Ti2S, and TiC inclusions in sizes from 1 to 8, 1 to 15, and 0.1 to 2 microns respectively serve as sites for void nucleation and lead to fracture by the dimpled rupture process in all strength levels considered. TiC nucleated dimples occupy more than half the fracture in all conditions. Void nucleation rate and resultant number of dimples per unit area of fracture increase with increasing yield strength. Average dimple size decreases with increasing strength and/or overaging which follows from the decreasing amount of stable void growth measured by sectioning tensile specimens. Void growth is assisted by crack branching along a path of TiC inclusions. Coalescence occurs in the highest strength materials by a combination of TiC void nucleation and premature separation at strengthening precipitates

The effect of microstructure and strength on the fracture toughness of an 18 Ni, 300 grade maraging steel

A 300 grade maraging steel was chosen as a vehicle by which to understand the inverse relationship between strength and toughness in high strength alloys such as the 18 Ni maraging steels. The 18 Ni, 300 grade maraging material was a commercial grade consumable-electrode, vacuum arc remelted heat obtained in the form of forged and annealed plate. The matrix contained a population of second-phase impurity inclusions which was a product of the casting and hot working processes. These inclusions did not change with subsequent precipitation hardening. Changes in microstructure resulting in strength increases were brought about by variations in aging temperature and time. Maximum strength was attained in the 300 grade maraging steel by aging at 427 C (800 F) for 100 hours. Tensile, fatigue precracked Charpy impact, and plane-strain fracture toughness tests were performed at room temperature, 20 C (68 F). With increasing strength the fracture toughness decreases as smaller and smaller inclusions act as sites for void initiation

An investigation of the plastic fracture of high strength steels

Three generally recognized stages of plastic fracture in high strength steels are considered in detail. These stages consist of void initiation, void growth, and void coalescence. A brief review of the existing literature on plastic fracture is included along with an outline of the experimental approach used in the investigation

The effect of microstructure on the fracture toughness of titanium alloys

The microstructure of the alpha titanium alloy Ti-5Al-2.5Sn and the metastable beta titanium alloy Beta 3 was examined. The material was from normal and extra low interstitial grade plates which were either air-cooled or furnace-cooled from an annealing treatment. Beta 3 was studied in alpha-aged and omega-aged plates which were heat treated to similar strength levels. Tensile and plane strain fracture toughness tests were conducted at room temperature on the alpha-aged material. The microstructure and fracture mechanisms of alloys were studied using optical metallography, electron microscopy, microprobe analyses, and texture pole figures. Future experiments are described

The influence of composition, annealing treatment, and texture on the fracture toughness of Ti-5Al-2.5Sn plate at cryogenic temperatures

The plane strain fracture toughness K sub Ic and conventional tensile properties of two commercially produced one-inch thick Ti-5Al-2.5Sn plates were determined at cryogenic temperatures. One plate was extra-low interstitial (ELI) grade, the other normal interstitial. Portions of each plate were mill annealed at 1088 K (1500 F) followed by either air cooling or furnace cooling. The tensile properties, flow curves, and K sub Ic of these plates were determined at 295 K (room temperature), 77 K (liquid nitrogen temperature), and 20 K (liquid hydrogen temperature)

NICMOS Observations of the Pre-Main-Sequence Planetary Debris System HD 98800

Spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from 0.4 to 4.7 microns are presented for the two principal stellar components of HD~98800, A and B. The third major component, an extensive planetary debris system (PDS), emits > 20% of the luminosity of star B in a blackbody SED at 164 +/- 5K extending from mid-IR to millimeter-wavelengths. At 0.95 microns a preliminary upper limit of < 0.06 is obtained for the ratio of reflected light to the total from star B. This result limits the albedo of the PDS to < 0.3. Values are presented for the temperature, luminosity, and radius of each major systemic component. Remarkable similarities are found between the PDS and the interplanetary debris system around the Sun as it could have appeared a few million years after its formation.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages with 1 encapsulated postscript figure and one specially formatted Table which is rendered as a postscript file and included as a figure. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter

Light Sheets and the Covariant Entropy Conjecture

We examine the holography bound suggested by Bousso in his covariant entropy conjecture, and argue that it is violated because his notion of light sheet is too generous. We suggest its replacement by a weaker bound.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

The speed of gravity in general relativity

The question is discussed of what is the speed of gravity (at the fundamental non-perturbative level). The question is important, if nowhere else, in discussing the problem of information "lost" in black holes. It turns out that the duly defined "gravitational signal" generally may be causal, superluminal and "semi-superluminal". In the class of globally hyperbolic spacetimes the two last varieties coincide. And if some (often imposed, but not always satisfied) conditions hold, the signals may be \emph{only} causal. In this sense the speed of gravity does not exceed the speed of light.Comment: typos corrected, et