‘Islands’ Richard Ducker and Gibson/Martelli

Gallery text/reflection for Richard Ducker and Gibson/Martelli's show 'Islands' at Coleman Project Space, London

Godfried Donkor

Review of the Ghanaian artist Godfried Donkor, in a publication celebrating 20 years of the Camberwell Arts Festival

From Tall Story to Infinite Conversation: ‘The Head Fountain'

Catalogue Essay for show at West Lane South Gallery, London

Totally parallel multilevel algorithms

Four totally parallel algorithms for the solution of a sparse linear system have common characteristics which become quite apparent when they are implemented on a highly parallel hypercube such as the CM2. These four algorithms are Parallel Superconvergent Multigrid (PSMG) of Frederickson and McBryan, Robust Multigrid (RMG) of Hackbusch, the FFT based Spectral Algorithm, and Parallel Cyclic Reduction. In fact, all four can be formulated as particular cases of the same totally parallel multilevel algorithm, which are referred to as TPMA. In certain cases the spectral radius of TPMA is zero, and it is recognized to be a direct algorithm. In many other cases the spectral radius, although not zero, is small enough that a single iteration per timestep keeps the local error within the required tolerance

Heat sink effects on weld bead: VPPA process

An investigation into the heat sink effects due to weldment irregularities and fixtures used in the variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) process was conducted. A basic two-dimensional model was created to represent the net heat sink effect of surplus material using Duhamel's theorem to superpose the effects of an infinite number of line heat sinks of variable strength. Parameters were identified that influence the importance of heat sink effects. A characteristic length, proportional to the thermal diffusivity of the weldment material divided by the weld torch travel rate, correlated with heat sinking observations. Four tests were performed on 2219-T87 aluminum plates to which blocks of excess material were mounted in order to demonstrate heat sink effects. Although the basic model overpredicted these effects, it correctly indicated the trends shown in the experimental study and is judged worth further refinement

Heat sink effects in VPPA welding

The development of a model for prediction of heat sink effects associated with the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc (VPPA) Welding Process is discussed. The long term goal of this modeling is to provide means for assessing potential heat sink effects and, eventually, to provide indications as to changes in the welding process that could be used to compensate for these effects and maintain the desired weld quality. In addition to the development of a theoretical model, a brief experimental investigation was conducted to demonstrate heat sink effects and to provide an indication of the accuracy of the model

Microsomal nucleoprotein particles from pea seedlings

Ultracentrifugal analysis of an extract of pea epicotyls, previously freed of debris and larger particles by centrifugation at 40,000 g for 10 minutes, has revealed the presence of a major component which possesses a sedimentation coefficient of 74 S. This component constitutes about 25 per cent of the TCA-precipitable material in the clarified epicotyl extract and is estimated to make up 1 to 2 per cent of the dry weight of the original tissue. In size, chemical composition, and morphology, the 74 S component resembles the nucleoproteins of the microsomes from animal tissues. The 74 S component of pea epicotyl extracts has been purified by repeated cycles of differential centrifugation to yield a preparation which is 80 per cent homogeneous in the analytical ultracentrifuge. It has been found to contain 30 to 37 per cent RNA as judged by a variety of analytical techniques. Approximately 55 per cent of the weight of the material is protein and a further 4.5 per cent phospholipide. Electron micrographs of air-dried specimens of the purified preparation show the 74 S constituent to be flattened spheres with an average height of 180 A and an average diameter of approximately 280 A. The molecular weight of the 74 S particles is computed from sedimentation, viscosity, and partial specific volume data to be 4.5 million ± 10 per cent in agreement with the value estimated from electron micrographs. The 74 S or microsomal component of pea epicotyls is rapidly aggregated in the presence of low concentrations of Mg ions or by somewhat higher concentrations of Ca or K salts. ATP on the contrary causes resolution of electrolyte-induced microsomal aggregates with simultaneous degradation of the particles to an ultracentrifugally inhomogeneous mixture of lower molecular weight materials

Kinetics and Products of the Acid-Catalyzed Ring-Opening of Atmospherically Relevant Butyl Epoxy Alcohols

Epoxydiols are produced in the gas phase from the photo-oxidation of isoprene in the absence of significant mixing ratios of nitrogen oxides (NO_x). The reactive uptake of these compounds onto acidic aerosols has been shown to produce secondary organic aerosol (SOA). To better characterize the fate of isoprene epoxydiols in the aerosol phase, the kinetics and products of the acid-catalyzed ring-opening reactions of four hydroxy-substituted epoxides were studied by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. Polyols and sulfate esters are observed from the ring-opening of the epoxides in solutions of H_2SO_4/Na_2SO_4. Likewise, polyols and nitrate esters are produced in solutions of HNO_3/NaNO_3. In sulfuric acid, the rate of acid-catalyzed ring-opening is dependent on hydronium ion activity, sulfate ion, and bisulfate. The rates are much slower than the nonhydroxylated equivalent epoxides; however, the hydroxyl groups make them much more water-soluble. A model was constructed with the major channels for epoxydiol loss (i.e., aerosol-phase ring-opening, gas-phase oxidation, and deposition). In the atmosphere, SOA formation from epoxydiols will depend on a number of variables (e.g., pH and aerosol water content) with the yield of ring-opening products varying from less than 1% to greater than 50%

Process-evaluation of tropospheric humidity simulated by general circulation models using water vapor isotopologues: 1. Comparison between models and observations

The goal of this study is to determine how H_2O and HDO measurements in water vapor can be used to detect and diagnose biases in the representation of processes controlling tropospheric humidity in atmospheric general circulation models (GCMs). We analyze a large number of isotopic data sets (four satellite, sixteen ground-based remote-sensing, five surface in situ and three aircraft data sets) that are sensitive to different altitudes throughout the free troposphere. Despite significant differences between data sets, we identify some observed HDO/H_2O characteristics that are robust across data sets and that can be used to evaluate models. We evaluate the isotopic GCM LMDZ, accounting for the effects of spatiotemporal sampling and instrument sensitivity. We find that LMDZ reproduces the spatial patterns in the lower and mid troposphere remarkably well. However, it underestimates the amplitude of seasonal variations in isotopic composition at all levels in the subtropics and in midlatitudes, and this bias is consistent across all data sets. LMDZ also underestimates the observed meridional isotopic gradient and the contrast between dry and convective tropical regions compared to satellite data sets. Comparison with six other isotope-enabled GCMs from the SWING2 project shows that biases exhibited by LMDZ are common to all models. The SWING2 GCMs show a very large spread in isotopic behavior that is not obviously related to that of humidity, suggesting water vapor isotopic measurements could be used to expose model shortcomings. In a companion paper, the isotopic differences between models are interpreted in terms of biases in the representation of processes controlling humidity