5,759 research outputs found
Universal dielectric loss in amorphous solids from simultaneous bias and microwave field
We derive the ac dielectric loss in glasses due to resonant processes created
by two-level systems and a swept electric field bias. It is shown that at
sufficiently large ac fields and bias sweep rates the nonequilibrium loss
tangent created by the two fields approaches a universal maximum determined by
the bare linear dielectric permittivity. In addition this nonequilibrium loss
tangent is derived for a range of bias sweep rates and ac amplitudes and show
that the loss tangent creates a predicted loss function that can be understood
in a Landau-Zener theory and which can be used to extract the TLS density,
dipole moment, and relaxation rate.Comment: To appear in Physical Review Letters, 4 pages, 3 figure
Liquid-hydrogen rocket engine development at Aerojet, 1944 - 1950
This program demonstrated the feasibility of virtually all the components in present-day, high-energy, liquid-rocket engines. Transpiration and film-cooled thrust chambers were successfully operated. The first liquid-hydrogen tests of the coaxial injector was conducted and the first pump to successfully produce high pressures in pumping liquid hydrogen was tested. A 1,000-lb-thrust gaseous propellant and a 3,000-lb-thrust liquid-propellant thrust chamber were operated satisfactorily. Also, the first tests were conducted to evaluate the effects of jet overexpansion and separation on performance of rocket thrust chambers with hydrogen-oxygen propellants
Community responses to climate change : Editorial call for submissions to UCL Open: Environment Special Series
Response of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate to a rotating elliptical trap
We investigate numerically the response of an atomic Bose-Einstein condensate
to a weakly-elliptical rotating trap over a large range of rotation
frequencies. We analyse the quadrupolar shape oscillation excited by rotation,
and discriminate between its stable and unstable regimes. In the latter case,
where a vortex lattice forms, we compare with experimental observations and
find good agreement. By examining the role of thermal atoms in the process, we
infer that the process is temperature-independent, and show how terminating the
rotation gives control over the number of vortices in the lattice. We also
study the case of critical rotation at the trap frequency, and observe large
centre-of-mass oscillations of the condensate.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1 stimulate the human immunodeficiency virus enhancer by activation of the nuclear factor kappa B.
Are the school prevention programmes - aimed at de-normalizing smoking among youths - beneficial in the long term? An example from the Smoke Free Class Competition in Italy
Tobacco smoking by young people is of great concern because it usually leads to regular smoking, nicotine addiction and quitting difficulties. Young people "hooked" by tobacco maintain the profits of the tobacco industry by replacing smokers who quit or die. If new generations could be tobacco-free, as supported by tobacco endgame strategies, the tobacco epidemic could end within decades. Smoking prevention programmes for teens are offered by schools with the aim to prevent or delay smoking onset. Among these, the Smoke Free Class Competition (SFC) was widely implemented in Europe. Its effectiveness yielded conflicting results, but it was only evaluated at short/medium term (6 - 18 months). The aim of this study is to evaluate its effectiveness after a longer follow-up (3 to 5 years) in order to allow enough time for the maturing of the students and the internalization of the experience and its contents. Fifteen classes were randomly sampled from two Italian high schools of Bologna province that regularly offered the SFC to first year students; 382 students (174 participating in the SFC and 208 controls) were retrospectively followed-up and provided their "smoking histories". At the end of their last year of school (after 5 years from the SFC), the percentage of students who stated that they were regular smokers was lower among the SFC students than in controls: 13.5% vs 32.9% (p=0.03). From the students' "smoking histories", statistically significant protective ORs were observed for SFC students at the end of 1st and 5th year: 0.42 (95% CI 0.19-0.93) and 0.32 (95% CI 0.11-0.91) respectively. Absence of smokers in the family was also a strongly statistically significant factor associated with being a non-smoker student. These results suggest that SFC may have a positive impact on lowering the prevalence of smoking in the long term (5 years)
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