4,784 research outputs found
Status and Commissioning of the CMS Experiment
After a brief overview of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment, the
status of construction and installation is described in the first part of the
note. The second part of the document is devoted to a discussion of the general
commissioning strategy of the CMS experiment, with a particular emphasis on
trigger, calibration and alignment. Aspects of b-physics, as well as examples
for early physics with CMS are also presented. CMS will be ready for data
taking in time for the first collisions in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at
CERN in late 2007.Comment: Talks given at the 11th Intl. Conference on B-Physics at Hadron
Machines BEAUTY 2006, Oxford (UK), September 200
Summary of Current LLNL Projects with the Russian Federation
Developing a sophisticated theory to understand the electronic structure of 5f-metals is a great challenge to solid state physics. Complicated electronic structures of 5f-metals make their properties strongly sensitive to small energy changes produced by the addition of a small amount of alloy, impurities, or crystal structure defects caused by irradiation. A theoretical material science technique applicable to investigate these effects is atomistic simulation using Classical Molecular Dynamics (CMD). In contrast to ab initio techniques, CMD may include several million particles, so that there is a possibility of direct simulation of very low concentration impurities and defects (as well as phenomena such as plasticity and polymorphous transitions) under given conditions. The goal is to develop theoretical models to understand and predict changes in materials properties of actinides caused by self-irradiation
Bailey flows and Bose-Fermi identities for the conformal coset models
We use the recently established higher-level Bailey lemma and Bose-Fermi
polynomial identities for the minimal models to demonstrate the
existence of a Bailey flow from to the coset models
where is a
positive integer and is fractional, and to obtain Bose-Fermi identities
for these models. The fermionic side of these identities is expressed in terms
of the fractional-level Cartan matrix introduced in the study of .
Relations between Bailey and renormalization group flow are discussed.Comment: 28 pages, AMS-Latex, two references adde
Superconducting pipes and levitating magnets
Motivated by a beautiful demonstration of the Faraday's and Lenz's law in
which a small neodymium magnet falls slowly through a conducting
non-ferromagnetic tube, we consider the dynamics of a magnet falling through a
superconducting pipe. Unlike the case of normal conducting pipes, in which the
magnet quickly reaches the terminal velocity, inside a superconducting tube the
magnet falls freely. On the other hand, to enter the pipe the magnet must
overcome a large electromagnetic energy barrier. For sufficiently strong
magnets, the barrier is so large that the magnet will not be able to penetrate
it and will be suspended over the front edge. We calculate the work that must
done to force the magnet to enter a superconducting tube. The calculations show
that superconducting pipes are very efficient at screening magnetic fields. For
example, the magnetic field of a dipole at the center of a short pipe of radius
and length decays, in the axial direction, with a
characteristic length . The efficient screening of the
magnetic field might be useful for shielding highly sensitive superconducting
quantum interference devices, SQUIDs. Finally, the motion of the magnet through
a superconducting pipe is compared and contrasted to the flow of ions through a
trans-membrane channel
PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS: AMERICANS KNOW NOT WHAT THEY EAT
Biotechnology stands to be a defining technology in the future of food and agriculture. Proponents argue that science and industry are poised to bring consumers a wide variety of products that have potential for meeting basic food needs, as well as delivering a wide-range of health, environmental and economic benefits. Opponents counter that the potential exists for unintended consequences, ranging from ecological disruption to adverse human health implications, and that these risks are not fully understood. Fundamental questions exist, however, regarding the general public's position on food products derived with the use of biotechnology. To address these questions, the Food Policy Institute addressed consumers using computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) system, a public phone survey of a sample selection of 1203 U.S. residents was administered between March and April 2001. The questionnaire was developed to address perceived gaps in the current literature on American consumer awareness, acceptance, and perceptions of food biotechnology and to serve as the basis for a set of longitudinal studies that will be able to track public opinion over time.Consumer/Household Economics,
CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE OF FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF U.S. RESIDENTS
A national survey conducted by the Food Policy Institute demonstrates the lack of knowledge and awareness most Americans have of genetically modified foods. The paper provides insight into public perceptions of food biotechnology's risks and benefits and a preliminary examination of consumers' stated preferences for genetically modified functional foods.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,
LC-Circuit Calorimetry
We present a new type of calorimeter in which we couple an unknown heat
capacity with the aid of Peltier elements to an electrical circuit. The use of
an electrical inductance and an amplifier in the circuit allows us to achieve
autonomous oscillations, and the measurement of the corresponding resonance
frequency makes it possible to accurately measure the heat capacity with an
intrinsic statistical error that decreases as ~t^{-3/2} with measuring time t,
as opposed to a corresponding error ~t^{-1/2} in the conventional alternating
current (a.c.) method to measure heat capacities. We have built a demonstration
experiment to show the feasibility of the new technique, and we have tested it
on a gadolinium sample at its transition to the ferromagnetic state.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
THE STATUS AND CONDITION OF NEW JERSEY'S FOOD RETAIL INDUSTRY: GROCERY STORES, SUPERMARKETS, AND OTHER FOOD STORES
Agribusiness,
Invited commentary to: "Spontaneous splenic rupture during pringle maneuver in liver resection for hepatic abscess”
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