Life, Life Support, and Death Principles, Guidelines, Policies and Procedures for Making Decisions That Respect Life

The following is the third edition of a booklet by the American Life League, Inc. The section on Ordinary/Extraordinary Means has been revised. The sections on Quality of Life, Pain, Paired Organ and Non-vital Organ and Tissue Transplant, and Determination of Death have been added. There are other changes throughout the booklet

The use of the High-Temperature Gas-Balance (HTGB) for thermogravimetric measurements

Several methods are established in thermal analysis to investigate phase formation, phase transition, and decomposition reactions. The analysis of phase equilibria with volatile components is particularly feasible by using standard method of thermogravimetry. Hardly any investigations of phase formation reactions are possible to realize if one of the components is lost by vaporization. By using the 'High-Temperature Gas-Balance' (HTGB), the vapor phase is enclosed in a silica ampoule and thus forms an equilibrium gas phase in permanent contact with the solid phase. The measurement signal Δ m is caused by change of the leverage of the horizontal balance support during evaporation and condensation. The application of the HTGB allows the analysis of solid-gas equilibria in the working range from 0.01 till 15 bar at temperatures up to 1,100 °C. The first comparison of evaporation reactions determined by standard thermogravimetric analyses and by measurements using the HTGB is given for the inorganic systems: P, As, SeO, PtI, and Hg/I

Reversible switching between p- and n-type conduction in the semiconductor Ag10Te4Br3

Switching between n- and p-type conduction in a semiconductor can be done through doping. A fundamentally different behaviour has now been observed in Ag10Te4Br3, as a transition from ionic to electronic conduction is achieved simply by heating, which could be used for switches or in novel electronic devices