1,832 research outputs found
Einstein's "Zur Elektrodynamik..." (1905) Revisited, with Some Consequences
Einstein, in his "Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Korper", gave a physical
(operational) meaning to "time" of a remote event in describing "motion" by
introducing the concept of "synchronous stationary clocks located at different
places". But with regard to "place" in describing motion, he assumed without
analysis the concept of a system of co-ordinates. In the present paper, we
propose a way of giving physical (operational) meaning to the concepts of
"place" and "co-ordinate system", and show how the observer can define both the
place and time of a remote event. Following Einstein, we consider another
system "in uniform motion of translation relatively to the former". Without
assuming "the properties of homogeneity which we attribute to space and time",
we show that the definitions of space and time in the two systems are linearly
related. We deduce some novel consequences of our approach regarding
faster-than-light observers and particles, "one-way" and "two-way" velocities
of light, symmetry, the "group property" of inertial reference frames, length
contraction and time dilatation, and the "twin paradox". Finally, we point out
a flaw in Einstein's argument in the "Electrodynamical Part" of his paper and
show that the Lorentz force formula and Einstein's formula for transformation
of field quantities are mutually consistent. We show that for faster-than-light
bodies, a simple modification of Planck's formula for mass suffices. (Except
for the reference to Planck's formula, we restrict ourselves to Physics of
1905.)Comment: 55 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in "Foundations of
Physics
Origin of Life
The evolution of life has been a big enigma despite rapid advancements in the
fields of biochemistry, astrobiology, and astrophysics in recent years. The
answer to this puzzle has been as mind-boggling as the riddle relating to
evolution of Universe itself. Despite the fact that panspermia has gained
considerable support as a viable explanation for origin of life on the Earth
and elsewhere in the Universe, the issue remains far from a tangible solution.
This paper examines the various prevailing hypotheses regarding origin of life
like abiogenesis, RNA World, Iron-sulphur World, and panspermia; and concludes
that delivery of life-bearing organic molecules by the comets in the early
epoch of the Earth alone possibly was not responsible for kick-starting the
process of evolution of life on our planet.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures,invited review article, minor additio
Effects of Impurity Content on the Sintering Characteristics of Plasma-Sprayed Zirconia
Yttria-stabilized zirconia powders, containing different levels of SiO2 and Al2O3, have been plasma sprayed onto metallic substrates. The coatings were detached from their substrates and a dilatometer was used to monitor the dimensional changes they exhibited during prolonged heat treatments. It was found that specimens containing higher levels of silica and alumina exhibited higher rates of linear contraction, in both in-plane and through-thickness directions. The in-plane stiffness and the through-thickness thermal conductivity were also measured after different heat treatments and these were found to increase at a greater rate for specimens with higher impurity (silica and alumina) levels. Changes in the pore architecture during heat treatments were studied using Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP). Fine scale porosity (<_50 nm) was found to be sharply reduced even by relatively short heat treatments. This is correlated with improvements in inter-splat bonding and partial healing of intra-splat microcracks, which are responsible for the observed changes in stiffness and conductivity, as well as the dimensional changes
Are the magnetic fields of millisecond pulsars ~ 10^8 G?
It is generally assumed that the magnetic fields of millisecond pulsars
(MSPs) are G. We argue that this may not be true and the fields
may be appreciably greater. We present six evidences for this: (1) The G field estimate is based on magnetic dipole emission losses which is
shown to be questionable; (2) The MSPs in low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) are
claimed to have G on the basis of a Rayleygh-Taylor instability
accretion argument. We show that the accretion argument is questionable and the
upper limit G may be much higher; (3) Low magnetic field neutron
stars have difficulty being produced in LMXBs; (4) MSPs may still be accreting
indicating a much higher magnetic field; (5) The data that predict G for MSPs also predict ages on the order of, and greater than, ten
billion years, which is much greater than normal pulsars. If the predicted ages
are wrong, most likely the predicted G fields of MSPs are wrong;
(6) When magnetic fields are measured directly with cyclotron lines in X-ray
binaries, fields G are indicated. Other scenarios should be
investigated. One such scenario is the following. Over 85% of MSPs are
confirmed members of a binary. It is possible that all MSPs are in large
separation binaries having magnetic fields G with their magnetic
dipole emission being balanced by low level accretion from their companions.Comment: 16 pages, accept for publication in Astrophysics and Space Scienc
Identification of the lipopolysaccharide modifications controlled by the Salmonella PmrA/PmrB system mediating resistance to Fe(III) and Al(III)
Iron is an essential metal but can be toxic in excess. While several homeostatic mechanisms prevent oxygen-dependent killing promoted by Fe(II), little is known about how cells cope with Fe(III), which kills by oxygen-independent means. Several Gram-negative bacterial species harbour a regulatory system – termed PmrA/PmrB – that is activated by and required for resistance to Fe(III). We now report the identification of the PmrA-regulated determinants mediating resistance to Fe(III) and Al(III) in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. We establish that these determinants remodel two regions of the lipopolysaccharide, decreasing the negative charge of this major constituent of the outer membrane. Remodelling entails the covalent modification of the two phosphates in the lipid A region with phosphoethanolamine and 4-aminoarabinose, which has been previously implicated in resistance to polymyxin B, as well as dephosphorylation of the Hep(II) phosphate in the core region by the PmrG protein. A mutant lacking the PmrA-regulated Fe(III) resistance genes bound more Fe(III) than the wild-type strain and was defective for survival in soil, suggesting that these PmrA-regulated lipopolysaccharide modifications aid Salmonella's survival and spread in non-host environments
Current Status of Simulations
As the title suggests, the purpose of this chapter is to review the current
status of numerical simulations of black hole accretion disks. This chapter
focuses exclusively on global simulations of the accretion process within a few
tens of gravitational radii of the black hole. Most of the simulations
discussed are performed using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD)
schemes, although some mention is made of Newtonian radiation MHD simulations
and smoothed particle hydrodynamics. The goal is to convey some of the exciting
work that has been going on in the past few years and provide some speculation
on future directions.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the ISSI-Bern
workshop on "The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes" (8-12 October 2012
Anomalous diffusion and the first passage time problem
We study the distribution of first passage time (FPT) in Levy type of
anomalous diffusion. Using recently formulated fractional Fokker-Planck
equation we obtain three results. (1) We derive an explicit expression for the
FPT distribution in terms of Fox or H-functions when the diffusion has zero
drift. (2) For the nonzero drift case we obtain an analytical expression for
the Laplace transform of the FPT distribution. (3) We express the FPT
distribution in terms of a power series for the case of two absorbing barriers.
The known results for ordinary diffusion (Brownian motion) are obtained as
special cases of our more general results.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure
Optimum electrode configurations for fast ion separation in microfabricated surface ion traps
For many quantum information implementations with trapped ions, effective
shuttling operations are important. Here we discuss the efficient separation
and recombination of ions in surface ion trap geometries. The maximum speed of
separation and recombination of trapped ions for adiabatic shuttling operations
depends on the secular frequencies the trapped ion experiences in the process.
Higher secular frequencies during the transportation processes can be achieved
by optimising trap geometries. We show how two different arrangements of
segmented static potential electrodes in surface ion traps can be optimised for
fast ion separation or recombination processes. We also solve the equations of
motion for the ion dynamics during the separation process and illustrate
important considerations that need to be taken into account to make the process
adiabatic
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