Elimination of dissolved gases in hypergolic engine propellants

Exposure to ultrasonic vibration eliminates dissolved gases in hypergolic propellants. A manometer connected to the ullage of the propellant container measures the volume of gases freed

Quantum harmonic oscillator state synthesis and analysis

Experiments are described in which a single, harmonically bound, beryllium ion in a Paul trap is put into Fock, thermal, coherent, squeezed, and Schroedinger cat states. Experimental determinations of the density matrix and the Wigner function are described. A simple calculation of the decoherence of a superposition of coherent states due to an external electric field is given.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX2e, special style file spie.sty included, 11 eps figures included using epsfig, graphicx, subfigure, floatflt macros. To appear in Proc. Conf. on Atom Optics, San Jose, CA, Feb. 1997, edited by M. G. Prentiss and W. D. Phillips, SPIE Proc. # 299

Immunity and Justice for All: Has the Second Circuit Overextended the Doctrine of Absolute Immunity by Applying It to Arbitration Witnesses

In Rolon v. Henneman, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether absolute immunity should apply to witnesses in an arbitration proceeding. The common law doctrine of absolute immunity from civil liability for judges has a long pedigree dating back to English courts. When the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the doctrine after Congress passed 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Court cautioned against extending the doctrine beyond judges. Since then, however, the doctrine has been extended to prosecutors and witnesses at public trials, and more recently, to arbitrators and arbitral institutions. Whether absolute immunity should be further extended to witnesses at an arbitration proceeding had not been considered by U.S. courts before Rolon. In the instant decision, however, the Second Circuit found that the functional similarity between a witness\u27 testimony in an arbitration proceeding and a witness\u27 testimony in a regular judicial proceeding was sufficient to extend absolute immunity to a witness in an arbitration proceeding. Unfortunately, the court was intentionally vague on the minimum similarities necessary to afford absolute immunity, leaving room for speculation as to when absolute immunity applies and when it does not

Computer construction of (4,4,v)-threshold schemes from Steiner Quadruple Systems

A construction for Sv/4 pairwise disjoint quadruple systems on u points has been given by Lindner. This thesis looks at an implementation of nearly optimal (4,4, v)threshold schemes based on his construction. These threshold schemes will have 3 v/4 keys, whereas the best implementation known to date is based on a construction given by Shamir and yields only v/4 keys. Lindner\u27s construction depends heavily on the existence of an iV2 latin square of order v/4, thus several constructions for them have also been implemented. Unfortunately, due to the combinatorial nature of the problem, the limitations of this implementation are an important issue and will be discussed

It\u27s Real For Us: The Literariness of Fanfiction and Its Use As Corrective Fiction

The focus of this thesis is how fanfiction, an underground subculture of web literature written about popular books, films, television shows, and comics, treats the original works it derives from. In this study I will examine the ways in which fans reshape the original stories of the works they write about, and the ways in which they do not, and speculate the reasons they have chosen to do so. This project examines fanfiction surrounding three young adult novels: Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter. I examine each of these works and their respective fanfiction in order to highlight important themes in each work and problems inherent in each story to account for the changes fanfiction writers make in their literature. I have chosen one overarching theme in the fanfiction in each fandom and will explore why fanfiction authors have overwhelmingly chosen to change the source material to suit that theme

A Synthesized Methodology for Eliciting Expert Judgment for Addressing Uncertainty in Decision Analysis

This dissertation describes the development, refinement, and demonstration of an expert judgment elicitation methodology. The methodology has been developed by synthesizing the literature across several social science and scientific fields. The foremost consideration in the methodology development has been to incorporate elements that are based on reasonable expectations for the human capabilities of the user, the expert in this case. Many methodologies exist for eliciting assessments for uncertain events. These are frequently elicited in probability form. This methodology differs by incorporating a qualitative element as a beginning step for the elicitation process. The qualitative assessment is a more reasonable way to begin the task when compared to a subjective probability judgment. The procedure progresses to a quantitative evaluation of the qualitative uncertainty statement. In combination, the qualitative and quantitative assessments serve as information elicited from the expert that is in a subsequent step to develop a data set. The resulting data can be specified as probability distributions for use in a Monte Carlo simulation. A conceptual design weight estimation problem for a simplified launch vehicle model is used as an initial test case. Additional refinements to the methodology are made as the result of this test case and as the result of ongoing feedback from the expert. The refined methodology is demonstrated for a more complex full size launch vehicle model. The results of the full size launch vehicle model suggest that the methodology is a practical and useful approach for addressing uncertainty in decision analysis. As presented here, the methodology is well-suited for a decision domain that encompasses the conceptual design of a complex system. The generic nature of the methodology makes it readily adaptable to other decision domains. A follow-up evaluation is conducted utilizing multiple experts which serves as a validation of the methodology. The results of the follow-up evaluation suggest that the methodology is useful and that there is consistency and external validity in the definitions and methodology features

Laplace transform methods for transient diffusion; or, some good questions from Ralph White

Motivated by years of correspondence with Prof. Ralph White, I discuss two unconventional ways to solve diffusion problems with Laplace transforms. A method to derive error-function series, alternatives to Fourier series that converge rapidly and avoid the Gibbs phenomenon at short times, is illustrated by example. It is shown how Mittag-Leffler partial-fractions expansions can facilitate derivations of Fourier-series solutions from the same starting point. Several basic problems pertinent to electrochemical transport are analyzed, culminating in the development of a modified Cottrell equation applicable to thin films of unsupported electrolytic solutions sandwiched between planar electrodes

Welding of commercial base plates is investigated

Investigation of aluminum alloy welds reveals that the combinations of metallic elements with hydrogen are not capable of producing weld porosity themselves, rather they tend to increase the amount of porosity only in the presence of arc contamination by water vapor

Study of basic physical processes in liquid and solid rocket propulsion

A process model was developed to assess the suitability of new/modified technologies and subsystems for application to commercial launch vehicles. Suitability is measured in terms of cost, safety, and environmental impact. Cost is related to recurring production and operational cost per flight, amortization of non-recurring development costs, 'effective' cost of difference in payload capability, and the cost of unreliability. The process is also applicable for assessing technologies and subsystems for application to other launch vehicles. The process will enable a comprehensive systems engineering approach to assess the potential of technologies and subsystems for launch vehicle applications and to provide documentation of the results for application to technology planning for the future