A video display interface for the LORAN-C navigation receiver development system

A microprocessor-based development system was designed and fabricated for prototype test of navigation receiver designs. During use of this system in the development of low-cost LORAN-C receiver/processor concepts, the limitations of the integral KIM-1 display were severely felt. It was to augment this numerical display that the video character display was produced. The circuit design presented meets the need for a flexible-format display capable of driving a small standard video monitor with only minimal demands upon microprocessor memory and MPU cycles

Testing and evaluation of solid lubricants for gas bearings

The testing and results of testing solid film lubricants for gas lubricated bearing applications are reported. The tests simulated operational hazards of tilting pad gas bearings. The presence of a low coefficient of friction and the endurance of the solid film lubricant were the criteria for judging superior performance. All solid lubricants tested were applied to a plasma sprayed chrome oxide surface. Molybdenum disulfide and graphite fluoride were the solid lubricants tested; other test parameters included the method of application of the solid lubricant and the surface finish of the plasma sprayed coating. In general, the application of a solid film lubricant was found to significantly improve the coefficient of friction of the rubbing surfaces

Rayleigh-Benard Convection with a Radial Ramp in Plate Separation

Pattern formation in Rayleigh-Benard convection in a large-aspect-ratio cylinder with a radial ramp in the plate separation is studied analytically and numerically by performing numerical simulations of the Boussinesq equations. A horizontal mean flow and a vertical large scale counterflow are quantified and used to understand the pattern wavenumber. Our results suggest that the mean flow, generated by amplitude gradients, plays an important role in the roll compression observed as the control parameter is increased. Near threshold the mean flow has a quadrupole dependence with a single vortex in each quadrant while away from threshold the mean flow exhibits an octupole dependence with a counter-rotating pair of vortices in each quadrant. This is confirmed analytically using the amplitude equation and Cross-Newell mean flow equation. By performing numerical experiments the large scale counterflow is also found to aid in the roll compression away from threshold but to a much lesser degree. Our results yield an understanding of the pattern wavenumbers observed in experiment away from threshold and suggest that near threshold the mean flow and large scale counterflow are not responsible for the observed shift to smaller than critical wavenumbers.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figure

Analytic structure of the Landau gauge gluon propagator

The results of different non-perturbative studies agree on a power law as the infrared behavior of the Landau gauge gluon propagator. This propagator violates positivity and thus indicates the absence of the transverse gluons from the physical spectrum, i.e. gluon confinement. A simple analytic structure for the gluon propagator is proposed capturing all of its features. We comment also on related investigations for the Landau gauge quark propagator.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, talk given by R.A. at 6th Conference on Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum, Villasimius, Sardinia, Italy, 21-25 Sep 200

Assessment of the potential of MERIS near-infrared water vapour products to correct ASAR interferometric measurements

Atmospheric water vapour is a major limitation for high precision Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) applications due to its significant impact on microwave signals. We propose a statistical criterion to test whether an independent water vapour product can reduce water vapour effects on InSAR interferograms, and assess the potential of the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) near-infrared water vapour products for correcting Advanced SAR (ASAR) data. Spatio-temporal comparisons show c. 1.1mm agreement between MERIS and GPS/radiosonde water vapour products in terms of standard deviations. One major limitation with the use of MERIS water vapour products is the frequency of cloud free conditions. Our analysis indicates that in spite of the low global cloud free conditions (~25%), the frequency can be much higher for certain areas such as Eastern Tibet (~38%) and Southern California (~48%). This suggests that MERIS water vapour products show potential for correcting ASAR interferometric measurements in certain regions

Energy transfer within phycocyanin trimers of Mastigocladus laminosus studied by picosecond time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy

The transient absorption recovery induced in phycocyanin trimers by picosecond pulses of variable wavelength (570 — 620 nm) has been recorded and analyzed by applying a least-squares multi-exponential fit procedure. The results suggest that in native PC trimers the chromophores exhibit a microheterogeneity with the effect that the derived apparent lifetimes are functions of excitation and probing wavelength. It is suggested that, due to strong excitonic coupling between a-84 and ß-84 chromophores, the lifetime of the terminal acceptor state is reduced to about 900 ps; the apparent energy transfer time from chromophore β-155 to a-84 and ß-84 chromophores varies between 20—50 ps depending on the actual chromophore-protein arrangement (microheterogeneity)