The Helios mechanical despin drive assembly for the high-gain antenna reflector

Helios is the German-American solar probe which comes within 0.31 Astronomical Units of the sun. A special thermal design and a dry lubrication system have resulted in successful operation up to now, with Helios having finished its first orbit around the sun

Flexible electrical conductors for high-temperature switchgear

Arch-shaped conductors fabricated from flat strips of beryllium oxide dispersion-strengthened copper alloy serve as flexible electrical connectors capable of operating in 1000 deg F temperature range, under vacuum conditions for periods of 10,000 hours or more without failure

Proton radii of 4,6,8He isotopes from high-precision nucleon-nucleon interactions

Recently, precision laser spectroscopy on 6He atoms determined accurately the isotope shift between 4He and 6He and, consequently, the charge radius of 6He. A similar experiment for 8He is under way. We have performed large-scale ab initio calculations for 4,6,8He isotopes using high-precision nucleon-nucleon (NN) interactions within the no-core shell model (NCSM) approach. With the CD-Bonn 2000 NN potential we found point-proton root-mean-square (rms) radii of 4He and 6He 1.45(1) fm and 1.89(4), respectively, in agreement with experiment and predict the 8He point proton rms radius to be 1.88(6) fm. At the same time, our calculations show that the recently developed nonlocal INOY NN potential gives binding energies closer to experiment, but underestimates the charge radii.Comment: 5 pages, 9 figure

Noise measurements for a twin-engine commercial jet aircraft during 3 deg approaches and level flyovers

Noise measurements have been made with a twin-engine commercial jet aircraft making 3 deg approaches and level flyovers. The flight-test data showed that, in the standard 3 deg approach configuration with 40 deg flaps, effective perceived noise level (EPNL) had a value of 109.5 effective perceived noise decibels (EPNdB). This result was in agreement with unpublished data obtained with the same type of aircraft during noise certification tests; the 3 deg approaches made with 30 deg flaps and slightly reduced thrust reduced the EPNL value by 1 EPNdB. Extended center-line noise determined during the 3 deg approaches with 40 deg flaps showed that the maximum reference A-weighted sound pressure level (LA,max)ref varied from 100.0 A-weighted decibels 2.01 km (108 n. mi.) from the threshold to 87.4 db(A) at 6.12 km (3.30 n. mi.) from the threshold. These test values were about 3 db(A) higher than estimates used for comparison. The test data along the extended center line during approaches with 30 deg flaps were 1 db(A) lower than those for approaches with 40 deg flaps. Flight-test data correlating (LA,max)ref with thrust at altitudes of 122 m (400 ft) and 610 m (2000 ft) were in agreement with reference data used for comparison

New urea-absorbing polymers for artificial kidney machines

Etherified polymer is made from modified cellulose derivative which is reacted with periodate. It will absorb 2 grams of urea per 100 grams of polymer. Indications are that polymers could be used to help remove uremic wastes in artificial kidneys, or they could be administered orally as therapy for uremia

Aldehyde-containing urea-absorbing polysaccharides

A novel aldehyde containing polymer (ACP) is prepared by reaction of a polysaccharide with periodate to introduce aldehyde groups onto the C2 - C3 carbon atoms. By introduction of ether and ester groups onto the pendant primary hydroxyl solubility characteristics are modified. The ACP is utilized to absorb nitrogen bases such as urea in vitro or in vivo

ENSO impact on midlatitude circulation patterns in future climate change projections

The remote influence of the leading mode of interannual variability in the Tropics, the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), on the northern hemispheric midlatitude circulation in future climate is investigated. For this, IPCC SRES scenarios of the latest version of the coupled climate model ECHAM5/MPI-OM are used. In ensembles of future climate change projections it is found, that a changing state of ENSO with increased variability has a pronounced influence on the dominant midlatitude circulation pattern, namely the Pacific North America (PNA) pattern and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). More explicitly, in the 21st and 22nd century, a positive (negative) phase of ENSO is more likely followed by a positive (negative) PNA index and negative (positive) NAO index than it is observed in the 20th century. Correlation coefficients between the winter mean Niño3.4 index and the NAO index increase substantially from the 20th centur

Pairing, Ferromagnetism, and Condensation of a normal spin-1 Bose gas

We theoretically study the stability of a normal, spin disordered, homogenous spin-1 Bose gas against ferromagnetism, pairing, and condensation through a Random Phase Approximation which includes exchange (RPA-X). Repulsive spin-independent interactions stabilize the normal state against both ferromagnetism and pairing, and for typical interaction strengths leads to a direct transition from an unordered normal state to a fully ordered single particle condensate. Atoms with much larger spin-dependent interaction may experience a transition to a ferromagnetic normal state or a paired superfluid, but, within the RPA-X, there is no instability towards a normal state with spontaneous nematic order. We analyze the role of the quadratic Zeeman effect and finite system size.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Supplementary materials attache