Rethinking leading: the directive, non-directive divide

There is a dearth of legal and psychological consideration of leading questions during the trial process. This article argues the current approach to leading questions does not assist or promote the accuracy of witness evidence. Witness here is taken to mean anyone giving oral testimony, whether for the prosecution, defence or indeed the defendant him or herself. We advance a revised definition of leading, differentiating between directive and non-directive questions. Directive questioning is the primary mischief to eliciting accurate witness testimony; we propose here its reform. Nondirective leading is of less concern and should be the leading form open to use in cross-examination

Influence of a carbon over-coat on the X-ray reflectance of XEUS mirrors

We describe measurements of the X-ray reflectance in the range 2 to 10 keV of samples representative of coated silicon wafers that are proposed for the fabrication of the XEUS (X-ray Evolving Universe Spectrometer) mission. We compare the reflectance of silicon samples coated with bare Pt, with that for samples with an additional 10nm thick carbon over-coating. We demonstrate a significant improvement in reflectance in the energy range ~1 to 4 keV, and at a grazing incidence angle of 10 mrad (0.57 degrees). We consider the resulting effective area that could be attained with an optimized design of the XEUS telescope. Typically an improvement of 10 to 60 % in effective area, depending on photon energy, can be achieved using the carbon overcoat.Comment: 7 pages, 5 separate figures Accepted Optics Communication

Influence of the electrode nano/microstructure on the electrochemical properties of graphite in aluminum batteries

Herein we report on a detailed investigation of the irreversible capacity in the first cycle of pyrolytic graphite electrodes in aluminum batteries employing 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride:aluminum trichloride (EMIMCl:AlCl3) as electrolyte. The reaction mechanism, involving the intercalation of AlCl4- in graphite, has been fully characterized by correlating the micro/nanostructural modification to the electrochemical performance. To achieve this aim a combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and computed tomography (CT) has been used. The reported results evidence that the irreversibility is caused by a very large decrease in the porosity, which consequently leads to microstructural changes resulting in the trapping of ions in the graphite. A powerful characterization methodology is established, which can also be applied more generally to carbon-based energy-related materials

Rethinking leading: the directive, non-directive divide

There is a dearth of legal and psychological consideration of leading questions during the trial process. This article argues the current approach to leading questions does not assist or promote the accuracy of witness evidence. Witness here is taken to mean anyone giving oral testimony, whether for the prosecution, defence or indeed the defendant him or herself. We advance a revised definition of leading, differentiating between directive and non-directive questions. Directive questioning is the primary mischief to eliciting accurate witness testimony; we propose here its reform. Nondirective leading is of less concern and should be the leading form open to use in cross-examination

Assessing Optical and Electrical Properties of Highly Active IrO_x Catalysts for the Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution Reaction via Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Efficient water electrolysis requires highly active electrodes. The activity of corresponding catalytic coatings strongly depends on material properties such as film thickness, crystallinity, electrical conductivity, and chemical surface speciation. Measuring these properties with high accuracy in vacuum-free and non-destructive methods facilitates the elucidation of structure–activity relationships in realistic environments. Here, we report a novel approach to analyze the optical and electrical properties of highly active oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts via spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Using a series of differently calcined, mesoporous, templated iridium oxide films as an example, we assess the film thickness, porosity, electrical resistivity, electron concentration, electron mobility, and interband and intraband transition energies by modeling of the optical spectra. Independently performed analyses using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, ellipsometric porosimetry, X-ray reflectometry, and absorption spectroscopy indicate a high accuracy of the deduced material properties. A comparison of the derived analytical data from SE, resonant photoemission spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with activity measurements of the OER suggests that the intrinsic activity of iridium oxides scales with a shift of the Ir 5d t2g sub-level and an increase of p–d interband transition energies caused by a transition of μ1-OH to μ3-O species

An accurate determination of the Avogadro constant by counting the atoms in a 28Si crystal

The Avogadro constant links the atomic and the macroscopic properties of matter. Since the molar Planck constant is well known via the measurement of the Rydberg constant, it is also closely related to the Planck constant. In addition, its accurate determination is of paramount importance for a definition of the kilogram in terms of a fundamental constant. We describe a new approach for its determination by "counting" the atoms in 1 kg single-crystal spheres, which are highly enriched with the 28Si isotope. It enabled isotope dilution mass spectroscopy to determine the molar mass of the silicon crystal with unprecedented accuracy. The value obtained, 6.02214084(18) x 10^23 mol^-1, is the most accurate input datum for a new definition of the kilogram.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, 3 table

Dynamics of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in a double superconducting tunnel junction detector

We study a class of superconductive radiation detectors in which the absorption of energy occurs in a long superconductive strip while the redout stage is provided by superconductive tunnel junctions positioned at the two ends of the strip. Such a device is capable both of imaging and energy resolution. In the established current scheme, well studied from the theoretical and experimental point of view, a fundamental ingredient is considered the presence of traps, or regions adjacent to the junctions made of a superconducting material of lower gap. We reconsider the problem by investigating the dynamics of the radiation induced excess quasiparticles in a simpler device, i.e. one without traps. The nonequilibrium excess quasiparticles can be seen to obey a diffusion equation whose coefficients are discontinuous functions of the position. Based on the analytical solution to this equation, we follow the dynamics of the quasiparticles in the device, predict the signal formation of the detector and discuss the potentiality offered by this configuration.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures Submitted to Superconducting Science and Technolog

Scatterometry reference standards to improve tool matching and traceability in lithographical nanomanufacturing

High quality scatterometry standard samples have been developed to improve the tool matching between different scatterometry methods and tools as well as with high resolution microscopic methods such as scanning electron microscopy or atomic force microscopy and to support traceable and absolute scatterometric critical dimension metrology in lithographic nanomanufacturing. First samples based on one dimensional Si or on Si 3 N 4 grating targets have been manufactured and characterized for this purpose. The etched gratings have periods down to 50 nm and contain areas of reduced density to enable AFM measurements for comparison. Each sample contains additionally at least one large area scatterometry target suitable for grazing incidence small angle X ray scattering. We present the current design and the characterization of structure details and the grating quality based on AFM, optical, EUV and X Ray scatterometry as well as spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. The final traceable calibration of these standards is currently performed by applying and combining different scatterometric as well as imaging calibration methods. We present first calibration results and discuss the final design and the aimed specifications of the standard samples to face the tough requirements for future technology nodes in lithography

Influence of the electrode nano microstructure on the electrochemical properties of graphite in aluminum batteries

Herein we report on a detailed investigation of the irreversible capacity in the first cycle of pyrolytic graphite electrodes in aluminum batteries employing 1 ethyl 3 methylimidazolium chloride aluminum trichloride EMIMCl AlCl3 as electrolyte. The reaction mechanism, involving the intercalation of AlCl4 in graphite, 3 has been fully characterized by correlating the micro nano modification to the electrochemical performance. To achieve this aim a combination of X ray diffraction XRD , small angle X ray scattering SAXS and computed tomography CT has been used. The reported results evidence that the irreversibility is caused by a very large decrease in the porosity, which consequently leads to microstructural changes resulting in the trapping of ions in the graphite. A powerful characterization methodology is established, which can also be applied more generally to carbon based energy related material