A scale-model room as a practical teaching experiment

A practical experiment is described which was used to help university students increase their understanding of the effect of construction methods and window design on passive solar heating and electrical heating. A number of one tenth scale model rooms were constructed by students and sited out-of-doors in the late autumn. The models were fabricated to mimic available commercial construction techniques with careful consideration being given to window size and placement for solar access. Each model had a thermostatically controlled electric heating element. The temperatures and electricity use of the models were recorded using data-loggers over a two week period. The performances of the models based on energy consumption and internal temperature were compared with each other and with predictions based upon thermal mass and R-values. Examples of questions used by students to facilitate this process are included. The effect of scaling on thermal properties was analysed using Buckingham&rsquo;s p-theorem.<br /

Raman spectra of GexAsySe1−x−y glasses

Various Ge–As–Se glasses spanning a mean coordination number (MCN) from 2.2 to 2.94 have been investigated using differential scanning calorimetry and Raman spectroscopy. The glass transition temperature Tg was found to increase with increasing MCN, except for those glasses located within the nanoscale phase-separated region of the phase diagram. The evolution of Raman features at wavenumbers from 150 to 350 cm⁻¹ exhibits two transitionlike features. Merging of the 225 and 250 cm⁻¹ modes at MCN=2.5 is a symbol of the extinction of Se–Se bonds. Additionally, the appearance of two modes at 280–290 and 170 cm⁻¹ at MCN>2.7 come from the defect modes of ethanelike Ge₂Se₆/₂. The increase in the scattering from these defects is an important factor leading to enhanced optical loss in the glasses with high MCN.This research was partly supported by the Australian Research Council through its Centres of Excellence and Federation Fellow Programs

Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Laboratory (MABEL) - a building performance evaluation tool

This paper describes the Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Laboratory (MABEL) and its application for systematic building performance evaluation for compliance testing, commissioning, strategic and operational facility management and continuous improvement in the built environment.The first part of the paper introduces the application areas of on-site building performance evaluation and discusses the shortcomings in this regard in current practice. It emphasises the need for on-site investigations to generate information on \u27as built performance\u27 for the \u27feedback\u27 loop between design, operation and occupancy of new buildings, retrofit or adjustment.The second part introduces the Energy-Comfort-Behaviour Framework for \u27across-the-board\u27 building evaluation and discusses MABEL\u27s role in this scheme. MABEL\u27s objectives, procedures and the performance measurement matrix are explained and discussed. <br /

The design and fabrication of the Brayton Rotating Unit operating on Roller Element Bearings /BRU-R/ Final report

Design and fabrication of Brayton rotating unit operating on oil lubricated rolling element bearing

Single Proton Knock-Out Reactions from 24,25,26F

The cross sections of the single proton knock-out reactions from 24F, 25F, and 26F on a 12C target were measured at energies of about 50 MeV/nucleon. Ground state populations of 6.6+-.9 mb, 3.8+-0.6 mb for the reactions 12C(24F,23O) and 12C(25F,24O) were extracted, respectively. The data were compared to calculations based on the many-body shell model and the eikonal theory. In the reaction 12C(26F,25O) the particle instability of 25O was confirmed

Nonuniversal spectral properties of the Luttinger model

The one electron spectral functions for the Luttinger model are discussed for large but finite systems. The methods presented allow a simple interpretation of the results. For finite range interactions interesting nonunivesal spectral features emerge for momenta which differ from the Fermi points by the order of the inverse interaction range or more. For a simplified model with interactions only within the branches of right and left moving electrons analytical expressions for the spectral function are presented which allows to perform the thermodynamic limit. As in the general spinless model and the model including spin for which we present mainly numerical results the spectral functions do not approach the noninteracting limit for large momenta. The implication of our results for recent high resolution photoemission measurements on quasi one-dimensional conductors are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, Revtex 2.0, 5 ps-figures, to be mailed on reques

Ablation of solids by femtosecond lasers: ablation mechanism and ablation thresholds for metals and dielectrics

The mechanism of ablation of solids by intense femtosecond laser pulses is described in an explicit analytical form. It is shown that at high intensities when the ionization of the target material is complete before the end of the pulse, the ablation mechanism is the same for both metals and dielectrics. The physics of this new ablation regime involves ion acceleration in the electrostatic field caused by charge separation created by energetic electrons escaping from the target. The formulae for ablation thresholds and ablation rates for metals and dielectrics, combining the laser and target parameters, are derived and compared to experimental data. The calculated dependence of the ablation thresholds on the pulse duration is in agreement with the experimental data in a femtosecond range, and it is linked to the dependence for nanosecond pulses.Comment: 27 pages incl.3 figs; presented at CLEO-Europe'2000 11-15 Sept.2000; papers QMD6 and CTuK11

Effect of low-Raman window position on correlated photon-pair generation in a chalcogenide Ge11.5As24Se64.5 nanowire

We investigated correlated photon-pair generation via spontaneous four-wave mixing in an integrated chalcogenideGe11.5As24Se64.5photonicnanowire. The coincidence to accidental ratio, a key measurement for the quality of correlated photon-pair sources, was measured to be only 0.4 when the photon pairs were generated at 1.9 THz detuning from the pump frequency due to high spontaneous Raman noise in this regime. However, the existence of a characteristic low-Raman window at around 5.1 THz in this material's Raman spectrum and dispersion engineering of the nanowire allowed us to generate photon pairs with a coincidence to accidental ratio of 4.5, more than 10 times higher than the 1.9 THz case. Through comparing the results with those achieved in chalcogenide As2S3waveguides which also exhibit a low Raman-window but at a larger detuning of 7.4 THz, we find that the position of the characteristic low-Raman window plays an important role on reducing spontaneous Raman noise because the phonon population is higher at smaller detuning. Therefore the ultimate solution for Raman noise reduction in Ge11.5As24Se64.5 is to generate photon pairs outside the Raman gain band at more than 10 THz detuning

Correlations in the Sine-Gordon Model with Finite Soliton Density

We study the sine-Gordon (SG) model at finite densities of the topological charge and small SG interaction constant, related to the one-dimensional Hubbard model near half-filling. Using the modified WKB approach, we find that the spectrum of the Gaussian fluctuations around the classical solution reproduces the results of the Bethe ansatz studies. The modification of the collective coordinate method allows us to write down the action, free from infra-red divergencies. The behaviour of the density-type correlation functions is non-trivial and we demonstrate the existence of leading and sub-leading asymptotes. A consistent definition of the charge-raising operator is discussed. The superconducting-type correlations are shown to decrease slowly at small soliton densities, while the spectral weight of right (left) moving fermions is spread over neighboring "4k_F" harmonics.Comment: 12 pages, 3 eps figures, REVTEX; a discussion of fermions is adde

Femtosecond laser triggering of a sub-100 picosecond jitter high-voltage spark gap

Includes bibliographical references (page 3250).We have demonstrated sub-100 ps jitter operation of a pressurized high-voltage air spark gap triggered by a femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser. Time delay statistical fluctuations with a standard deviation as low as +-σ=0.037 ns were obtained