A software system to teach economics to secondary school and first year engineering students

[EN] In this paper, we present a graphical user interface which has been devised to teach the basic concepts of economics in secondary schools and first year engineering courses. The application allows students to vary certain parameters and visually observe the effect on the supply and demand curves. The system has been developed in Matlab and employed in a secondary school in Spain. The first results are presented.[ES] Presentamos una interfaz gráfica desarrollada mediante Matlab diseñada para complementar el aprendizaje de los conceptos básicos de economía en Bachillerato, grado superior de ciclos formativos y cursos universitarios de introducción a la economía. La aplicación informática permite que los estudiantes varíen los parámetros de los que dependen las curvas de oferta y demanda, y visualicen el efecto sobre el equilibrio de mercado de estas variaciones. Se presentan los resultados de una primera experiencia de aplicación del programa en enseñanza secundaria en España.García-March, M.; Zacarés, M.; Isidro, J.; Monreal, L.; López-Javier, C.; Arevalillo-Herráez, M. (2009). A software system to teach economics to secondary school and first year engineering students. Modelling in Science Education and Learning. 2:105-113. doi:10.4995/msel.2009.3126SWORD105113

Teaching classical mechanics using an applied example: Modelling and Software

[EN] We present our experience in using a common mechanism in engineering, such as a slider-crank, to explain classical mechanics in physics and engineering degrees. We also present a graphical user interface that permits the student to visualize the results of different simulations varying the conditions of the numerical experiment.[ES] Presentamos la experiencia docente obtenida al utilizar un mecanismo muy común en ingeniería, como el mecanismo biela-manivela-deslizadera, como un ejemplo práctico en la asignatura ”mecánica clásica” que se imparte en los grados de física e ingeniería. También presentamos una interfaz gráfica que permite al estudiante visualizar los resultados obtenidos al simular en el ordenador el movimiento de dicho mecanismo variando las condiciones en las que se realiza el experimento numérico.García-March, M.; Isidro, J.; Zacarés, M.; Arevalillo, M.; González-Santander, J.; Monreal, L.; López-Javier, C. (2009). Teaching classical mechanics using an applied example: Modelling and Software. Modelling in Science Education and Learning. 2:35-43. doi:10.4995/msel.2009.3116SWORD35432H.Goldstein, Mecánica Clásica. Ed. Reverté, Barcelona, (1987). C.Lanczos, The variational principles of mechanics. Dover, New York, (1986).M.A. García-March, I. Orquín, P. Fernández de Córdoba, A. Montero, J. Urchueguía, M.H. Giménez y J.A. Monsoriu, Formulación Lagrangiana del Sistema Biela-Manivela- Deslizadera. Anales de Ingeniería Mecánica. Revista de la Asociación Espa-ola de Ingeniería Mecánica. 2 1077-1086 (2004)

Nonradiative Electronic Deexcitation Time Scales in Metal Clusters

The life-times due to Auger-electron emission for a hole on a deep electronic shell of neutral and charged sodium clusters are studied for different sizes. We consider spherical clusters and calculate the Auger-transition probabilities using the energy levels and wave functions calculated in the Local-Density-Approximation (LDA). We obtain that Auger emission processes are energetically not allowed for neutral and positively charged sodium clusters. In general, the Auger probabilities in small Na$_N^-$ clusters are remarkably different from the atomic ones and exhibit a rich size dependence. The Auger decay times of most of the cluster sizes studied are orders of magnitude larger than in atoms and might be comparable with typical fragmentation times.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Tool path pattern and feed direction selection in robotic milling for increased chatter-free material removal rate

Robotic milling becomes increasingly relevant to large-scale part manufacturing industries thanks to its cost-effective and portable manufacturing concept compared to large-scale CNC machine tools. Integration of milling processes with industrial robots is proposed to be well aligned with the aims and objective of the recent fourth industrial revolution. However, the industrial robots introduce position-dependent and asymmetrical dynamic flexibility, which may reflect to the tool tip dynamics under several conditions. Under such circumstances, the stability limits become dependent on the machining location and the feed direction. In this respect, selection of machining tool path patterns is crucial for increased chatter-free material removal rates (MRR). This paper proposes an approach to evaluate and select tool path patterns, offered by the existing CAM packages, for increased chatter-free MRR. The machining area is divided into number of machining locations. The optimal feed direction is decided based on the absolute stability at each region considering the asymmetrical and position-dependent tool tip dynamics. Then, the alternative tool path patterns are evaluated and the corresponding optimum feed direction is decided for increased chatter-free material removal. The application of the proposed approach is demonstrated through simulations and representative experiments

Cosmogenic neutron production at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Neutrons produced in nuclear interactions initiated by cosmic-ray muons present an irreducible background to many rare-event searches, even in detectors located deep underground. Models for the production of these neutrons have been tested against previous experimental data, but the extrapolation to deeper sites is not well understood. Here we report results from an analysis of cosmogenically produced neutrons at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. A specific set of observables are presented, which can be used to benchmark the validity of geant4 physics models. In addition, the cosmogenic neutron yield, in units of 10-4 cm2/(g·μ), is measured to be 7.28±0.09(stat)-1.12+1.59(syst) in pure heavy water and 7.30±0.07(stat)-1.02+1.40(syst) in NaCl-loaded heavy water. These results provide unique insights into this potential background source for experiments at SNOLAB

Measurement of neutron production in atmospheric neutrino interactions at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Neutron production in GeV-scale neutrino interactions is a poorly studied process. We have measured the neutron multiplicities in atmospheric neutrino interactions in the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory experiment and compared them to the prediction of a Monte Carlo simulation using GENIE and a minimally modified version of GEANT4. We analyzed 837 days of exposure corresponding to Phase I, using pure heavy water, and Phase II, using a mixture of Cl in heavy water. Neutrons produced in atmospheric neutrino interactions were identified with an efficiency of $15.3\%$ and $44.3\%$, for Phase I and II respectively. The neutron production is measured as a function of the visible energy of the neutrino interaction and, for charged current quasi-elastic interaction candidates, also as a function of the neutrino energy. This study is also performed classifying the complete sample into two pairs of event categories: charged current quasi-elastic and non charged current quasi-elastic, and $\nu_{\mu}$ and $\nu_e$. Results show good overall agreement between data and Monte Carlo for both phases, with some small tension with a statistical significance below $2\sigma$ for some intermediate energies

Tests of Lorentz invariance at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Experimental tests of Lorentz symmetry in systems of all types are critical for ensuring that the basic assumptions of physics are well-founded. Data from all phases of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, a kiloton-scale heavy water Cherenkov detector, are analyzed for possible violations of Lorentz symmetry in the neutrino sector. Such violations would appear as one of eight possible signal types in the detector: six seasonal variations in the solar electron neutrino survival probability differing in energy and time dependence, and two shape changes to the oscillated solar neutrino energy spectrum. No evidence for such signals is observed, and limits on the size of such effects are established in the framework of the Standard Model Extension, including 40 limits on perviously unconstrained operators and improved limits on 15 additional operators. This makes limits on all minimal, Dirac-type Lorentz violating operators in the neutrino sector available for the first time

Search for hep solar neutrinos and the diffuse supernova neutrino background using all three phases of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

A search has been performed for neutrinos from two sources, the hep reaction in the solar pp fusion chain and the νe component of the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB), using the full dataset of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory with a total exposure of 2.47 kton-years after fiducialization. The hep search is performed using both a single-bin counting analysis and a likelihood fit. We find a best-fit flux that is compatible with solar model predictions while remaining consistent with zero flux, and set a one-sided upper limit of φhep<30×103 cm-2 s-1 [90% credible interval (CI)]. No events are observed in the DSNB search region, and we set an improved upper bound on the νe component of the DSNB flux of φνeDSNB<19 cm-2 s-1 (90% CI) in the energy range 22.9<Eν<36.9 MeV