23,478 research outputs found
Silicon halide-alkali metal flames as a source of solar grade silicon
The feasibility of using alkali metal-silicon halide diffusion flames to produce solar-grade silicon in large quantities and at low cost is demonstrated. Prior work shows that these flames are stable and that relatively high purity silicon can be produced using Na + SiCl4 flames. Silicon of similar purity is obtained from Na + SiF4 flames although yields are lower and product separation and collection are less thermochemically favored. Continuous separation of silicon from the byproduct alkali salt was demonstrated in a heated graphite reactor. The process was scaled up to reduce heat losses and to produce larger samples of silicon. Reagent delivery systems, scaled by a factor of 25, were built and operated at a production rate of 0.5 kg Si/h. Very rapid reactor heating rates are observed with wall temperatures reaching greater than 2000 K. Heat release parameters were measured using a cooled stainless steel reactor tube. A new reactor was designed
Measurement of the interaction strength in a Bose-Fermi mixture with 87Rb and 40K
A quantum degenerate, dilute gas mixture of bosonic and fermionic atoms was
produced using 87Rb and 40K. The onset of degeneracy was confirmed by observing
the spatial distribution of the gases after time-of-flight expansion. Further,
the magnitude of the interspecies scattering length between the doubly spin
polarized states of 87Rb and 40K, |a_RbK|, was determined from
cross-dimensional thermal relaxation. The uncertainty in this collision
measurement was greatly reduced by taking the ratio of interspecies and
intraspecies relaxation rates, yielding |a_RbK| = 250 +/- 30 a_0, which is a
lower value than what was reported in [M. Modugno et al., Phys. Rev. A 68,
043626 (2003)]. Using the value for |a_RbK| reported here, current T=0 theory
would predict a threshold for mechanical instability that is inconsistent with
the experimentally observed onset for sudden loss of fermions in [G. Modugno et
al., Science 297, 2240 (2002)].Comment: RevTeX4 + 4 eps figures; Replaced with published versio
Airloads research study. Volume 2: Airload coefficients derived from wind tunnel data
The development of B-1 aircraft rigid wind tunnel data for use in subsequent tasks of the Airloads Research Study is described. Data from the Rockwell International external structural loads data bank were used to generate coefficients of rigid airload shear, bending moment, and torsion at specific component reference stations or both symmetric and asymmetric loadings. Component stations include the movable wing, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, and forward and aft fuselages. The coefficient data cover a Mach number range from 0.7 to 2.2 for a wing sweep position of 67.5 degree
Airloads research study. Volume 1: Flight test loads acquisition
The acquisition of B-1 aircraft flight loads data for use in subsequent tasks of the Airloads Research Study is described. The basic intent is to utilize data acquired during B-1 aircraft tests, analyze these data beyond the scope of Air Force requirements, and prepare research reports that will add to the technology base for future large flexible aircraft. Flight test data obtained during the airloads survey program included condition-describing parameters, surface pressures, strain gage outputs, and loads derived from pressure and strain gauges. Descriptions of the instrumentation, data processing, and flight load survey program are included. Data from windup-turn and steady yaw maneuvers cover a Mach number range from 0.7 to 2.0 for a wing sweep position of 67.5 deg
ERTS-1 Virgin Islands experiment 589: Determine boundaries of ERTS and aircraft data within which useful water quality information can be obtained
The author has identified the following significant results. The boundaries of application of ERTS-1 and aircraft data are established for St. Thomas harbor within which useful water quality information can be obtained. In situ physical, chemical, and biological water quality and benthic data were collected. Moored current meters were employed. Optical measurements of solar irradiance, color test panel radiance and water absorption were taken. Procedures for correlating in situ optical, biological, and chemical data with underflight aircraft I2S data and ERTS-1 MSS scanner data are presented. Comparison of bulk and precision CCT computer printout data for this application is made, and a simple method for geometrically locating bulk data individual pixels based on land-water interface is described. ERTS spacecraft data and I2S aircraft imagery are correlated with optical in situ measurements of the harbor water, with the aircraft green photographic and ERTS-1 MSS-4 bands being the most useful. The biological pigments correlate inversely with the optical data for inshore areas and directly further seaward. Automated computer data processing facilitated analysis
On a counterexample to a conjecture by Blackadar
Blackadar conjectured that if we have a split short-exact sequence 0 -> I ->
A -> A/I -> 0 where I is semiprojective and A/I is isomorphic to the complex
numbers, then A must be semiprojective. Eilers and Katsura have found a
counterexample to this conjecture. Presumably Blackadar asked that the
extension be split to make it more likely that semiprojectivity of I would
imply semiprojectivity of A. But oddly enough, in all the counterexamples of
Eilers and Katsura the quotient map from A to A/I is split. We will show how to
modify their examples to find a non-semiprojective C*-algebra B with a
semiprojective ideal J such that B/J is the complex numbers and the quotient
map does not split.Comment: 6 page
A comparison of observed and simulated site response in the Rhône valley
Site effects in the city of Sion in the Rhône valley are analysed from weak motion signals recorded on a dense temporary array. We simulate the recorded events with a 3-D finite difference method for frequencies up to 4 Hz using a recently developed velocity model of the Sion basin. Site-to-reference Fourier spectral ratios are computed from 16 local and regional events. All sites exhibit amplification factors of up to 12 between 0.5 and 0.6 Hz, which can be reproduced by the numerical simulations. By rotating the weak motion to directions parallel and perpendicular to the valley axis, we show that this low-frequency amplification is caused by the SH00 and SV0 fundamental modes of 2-D resonance. Additional peaks of amplification can be observed at higher frequencies, with amplification factors of up to 20 at some sites. Application of the high-resolution frequency-wavenumber and the multiple signal characterization method to the vertical component of recorded and simulated signals show that edge-generated surface waves arriving from almost all directions dominate the wavefield at 1.25 and 2.50 Hz. Peak ground velocities computed from the simulated ground motion show interference patterns that depend strongly on the incidence direction, and the computed amplification of peak ground velocities are generally in agreement with the observations. We conclude that the complex 3-D geometry of the basin needs to be considered to evaluate site effects up to at least 2.5 H
Patterns in high-frequency FX data: Discovery of 12 empirical scaling laws
We have discovered 12 independent new empirical scaling laws in foreign
exchange data-series that hold for close to three orders of magnitude and
across 13 currency exchange rates. Our statistical analysis crucially depends
on an event-based approach that measures the relationship between different
types of events. The scaling laws give an accurate estimation of the length of
the price-curve coastline, which turns out to be surprisingly long. The new
laws substantially extend the catalogue of stylised facts and sharply constrain
the space of possible theoretical explanations of the market mechanisms.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures, 23 tables,2nd version (text made more concise
and readable, algorithm pseudocode, results unchanged), 5-year datasets
(USD-JPY, EUR-USD) provided at http://www.olsen.ch/more/datasets
vbyCaHbeta CCD Photometry of Clusters. VI. The Metal-Deficient Open Cluster NGC 2420
CCD photometry on the intermediate-band vbyCaHbeta system is presented for
the metal-deficient open cluster, NGC 2420. Restricting the data to probable
single members of the cluster using the CMD and the photometric indices alone
generates a sample of 106 stars at the cluster turnoff. The average E(b-y) =
0.03 +/- 0.003 (s.e.m.) or E(B-V) = 0.050 +/- 0.004 (s.e.m.), where the errors
refer to internal errors alone. With this reddening, [Fe/H] is derived from
both m1 and hk, using b-y and Hbeta as the temperature index. The agreement
among the four approaches is reasonable, leading to a final weighted average of
[Fe/H] = -0.37 +/- 0.05 (s.e.m.) for the cluster, on a scale where the Hyades
has [Fe/H] = +0.12. When combined with the abundances from DDO photometry and
from recalibrated low-resolution spectroscopy, the mean metallicity becomes
[Fe/H] = -0.32 +/- 0.03. It is also demonstrated that the average cluster
abundances based upon either DDO data or low-resolution spectroscopy are
consistently reliable to 0.05 dex or better, contrary to published attempts to
establish an open cluster metallicity scale using simplistic offset corrections
among different surveys.Comment: scheduled for Jan. 2006 AJ; 33 pages, latex, includes 7 figures and 2
table
Observation of Heteronuclear Feshbach Resonances in a Bose-Fermi Mixture
Three magnetic-field induced heteronuclear Feshbach resonances were
identified in collisions between bosonic 87Rb and fermionic 40K atoms in their
absolute ground states. Strong inelastic loss from an optically trapped mixture
was observed at the resonance positions of 492, 512, and 543 +/- 2 G. The
magnetic-field locations of these resonances place a tight constraint on the
triplet and singlet cross-species scattering lengths, yielding -281 +/- 15 Bohr
and -54 +/- 12 Bohr, respectively. The width of the loss feature at 543 G is
3.7 +/- 1.5 G wide; this broad Feshbach resonance should enable experimental
control of the interspecies interactions.Comment: revtex4 + 5 EPS figure
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