A Comparison of Electrical Breakdown Characteristics of Composite Materials Prepared With Unmodified Micro and Nano Scale Barium Titanate

High permittivity polymer matrix composites (PMCs) have been widely researched, especially in the field of microelectronics. For this study, high permittivity materials were investigated for their potential to form part of a multi-layer electric field detector. The two main requirements for such composites were high permittivity and a dielectric strength comparable to most standard polymers used as dielectric materials. Polystyrene was selected as a host polymer due to its high dielectric strength and amorphous structure. Barium titanate, a ferroelectric ceramic from the perovskite family, was selected as a high permittivity filler. Polymer permittivity in PMCs is usually orders of magnitude lower compared to the filler permittivity, although the resultant permittivity of the composite is generally markedly lower than the permittivity of the filler may suggest. This is because very little energy is stored in the ceramic filler, such that any increase in composite permittivity is due to an increase in the average field with the polymer matrix.[1]Micro and nano scale barium titanate was blended into polystyrene in an effort to discern the initial differences between composites prepared with the two different filler types. It was found that the micro scale barium titanate was well dispersed and from studying SEM micrographs, appeared to have a good particle size distribution. The nanoscale barium titanate was found to be very poorly dispersed in polystyrene, with a wide particle size distributions formed of weakly bound aggregations and some seemingly chemically bonded agglomerations which were regular in shape with a surface texture which was indicative of tightly bound primary particles. Consistent with the differences in particle dispersion within the micro and nano composites, there was a marked difference in AC breakdown strength between the different materials. All electrical breakdown data was analysed using a 2 parameter Weibull distribution. Figure 1 compares the ? values for the micro and nano composites at different filler loadings.<br/

Geometric, aerodynamic, and kinematic characteristics of two twin keel parawings during deployment

Flight test data on geometric, aerodynamic, and kinematic characteristics of two twin keel parawings during deploymen

Smart Materials as Intelligent Insulation

In order to provide a robust infrastructure for the transmission and distribution of electrical power, understanding and monitoring equipment ageing and failure is of paramount importance. Commonly, failure is associated with degradation of the dielectric material; therefore the introduction of a smart moiety into the material is a potentially attractive means of continual condition monitoring. It is important that any introduction of smart groups into the dielectric does not have any detrimental effect on the desirable electrical and mechanical properties of the bulk material. Initial work focussed on the introduction of fluorophores into a model dielectric system. Fluorescence is known to be a visible effect even at very low concentrations of active fluorophores and therefore was thought well suited to such an application. It was necessary both to optimise the active fluorophore itself and to determine the most appropriate manner in which to introduce the fluorophores into the insulating system. This presentation will describe the effect of introducing fluorophores into polymeric systems on the dielectric properties of the material and the findings thus far [1]. Alternative smart material systems will also be discussed along with the benefits and limitations of smart materials as electric field sensors

A change in the X-ray spectrum of MK 421

HEAO-1 experiment A-2 observations of the BL Lac object MK421 in May 1978 show a marked spectral change from the OSO-8 observations of May 1977. The source was not detected above 10 keV in May 1978. The 2-10 keV spectrum could be well fit by a power law of energy slope 2.2 is less than or minus 4.2; thermal bremsstrahlung models with T less than 2 X 10 to the 7th power deg K are also acceptable. There was no indication of any low energy turnover, so that the inferred column density N sub H is less than 7 X 10 to the 21st power at/sq cm. The total flux is consistent with an extrapolation of the UV data from IUE, but the slope is not consistent with the UV slope. Possible models for the origin of the spectral transition are discussed

HEAO-1 spectra of X-ray emitting Seyfert 1 galaxies

The A-2 experiment on HEAO-1 determined spectral parameters for seven Seyfert 1 galaxies: NGC3783, NGC4151, NGC5548, NGC6814, MK509, MCG8-11-11, and ES0141-G55. The X-ray spectra above 5 keV can be well fit by power laws of energy index alpha between .3 and 1.0 and, with the exception of MK509, by a high temperature (kt 15 keV) thermal bremsstrahlung spectrum. The column densities, with the exception of NGC4151, are less than 5 x 10 to the 22nd power at/sq cm with only the low luminosity objects having measurable columns. Galaxy ES0141-G55 showed a strong soft X-ray excess in March 1978 similar to that seen in the BL lac object MK421. Variability on a six month time scale was exhibited by MCG8-11-11, NGC3783, and possibly NGC6814. Various correlations between optical and X-ray properties are discussed. Using the typical Seyfert 1 spectrum their contribution to the diffuse X-ray background above five keV is computed

Short-term temporal studies of the X ray emission from Cas A, Tycho and Sco X-1

No evidence for stable 2-10 keV periodic emission from Cas A or Tycho in the period range 1 msec to 10 sec is found. Upper limits to the pulsed fraction are presented as a function of the assumed light curve, with absolute 99% confidence upper limits of 0.089 and 0.195 for Cas A and Tycho, respectively. Previously reported transient 1-10 Hz oscillations from Sco X-1 are not observed

The X-ray spectrum of 3C 273

An X-ray spectral measurement of the quasar 3C 273 with the HEAO-A2 experiment in June/July 1978 is reported. The best power law fit to the photon flux over the range 2-60 keV gives a slope of 1.41 + or - 0.02. However, structure is observed, indicating a slope of 1.52 between 2 keV and 9 keV and a slight flattening between 9 keV and 30 keV. Observations with the same experiment in December 1977 and OSO-8 in June 1976 allows confirmation of 40% intensity variability on the time scale of months, although within limits provided by the poorer statistical quality of the additional data no spectral change is discerned. Absorption from the source is found to be low, with the 1978 data yielding a 90% confidence upper limit to the hydrogen column density of 4.5 x 10 to the 21st power atoms/sq cm

Three dimensional generalization of the J1J_1-J2J_2 Heisenberg model on a square lattice and role of the interlayer coupling JcJ_c

A possibility to describe magnetism in the iron pnictide parent compounds in terms of the two-dimensional frustrated Heisenberg $J_1$-$J_2$ model has been actively discussed recently. However, recent neutron scattering data has shown that the pnictides have a relatively large spin wave dispersion in the direction perpendicular to the planes. This indicates that the third dimension is very important. Motivated by this observation we study the $J_1$-$J_2$-$J_c$ model that is the three dimensional generalization of the $J_1$-$J_2$ Heisenberg model for $S = 1/2$ and S = 1. Using self-consistent spin wave theory we present a detailed description of the staggered magnetization and magnetic excitations in the collinear state. We find that the introduction of the interlayer coupling $J_c$ suppresses the quantum fluctuations and strengthens the long range ordering. In the $J_1$-$J_2$-$J_c$ model, we find two qualitatively distinct scenarios for how the collinear phase becomes unstable upon increasing $J_1$. Either the magnetization or one of the spin wave velocities vanishes. For $S = 1/2$ renormalization due to quantum fluctuations is significantly stronger than for S=1, in particular close to the quantum phase transition. Our findings for the $J_1$-$J_2$-$J_c$ model are of general theoretical interest, however, the results show that it is unlikely that the model is relevant to undoped pnictides.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures. Updated version, several references adde

Cas A X-ray spectrum: Evidence for iron line emission

A sensitive measurement by rocket borne detectors of the X-ray flux from Cas A has revealed a steep continuum and a broad spectral feature in the region where line radiation from iron nuclei would be expected. The flux in this feature is .0122 plus or minus .0017 photons/sq cm/s: the total energy flux from 2 to 10 KeV is 1.02 x 10 to the minus 9th power ergs/sq cm/s. The presence of broad iron lines is consistent with a model in which approximately 13 MeV/nucleon iron nuclei charge exchange with surrounding interstellar oxygen and other heavy atoms. The model suggests that a substantial fraction of the energy from the outburst has gone into low energy cosmic rays which produce the observed HII region surrounding the remnant

The X-ray emitting galaxy Cen-A

OSO-8 X-ray observations of Cen-A in 1975 and 1976 are reported. The source spectrum is well fit in both years by a power law of number index 1.62 and absorption due to 1.3 x 10 to the 23rd power at/sq cm. The total flux varied by a factor 2 between 1975 and 1976. In 1976 there were approximately 40% flux variations on a time scale of days. The 6.4 keV Fe fluorescent line and the 7.1 keV absorption edge were measured implying Fe/H approximately equals .000016. Simultaneous radio measurements show variation in phase with X-ray variability. Models considering radio, milimeter, IR and X-ray data show that all the data can be accounted for by a model in which the X-rays are due to a synchrotron self-Compton source embedded in a cold H(2) cloud