System Design for a Nuclear Electric Spacecraft Utilizing Out-of-core Thermionic Conversion

Basic guidelines are presented for a nuclear space power system which utilizes heat pipes to transport thermal power from a fast nuclear reactor to an out of core thermionic converter array. Design parameters are discussed for the nuclear reactor, heat pipes, thermionic converters, shields (neutron and gamma), waste heat rejection systems, and the electrical bus bar-cable system required to transport the high current/low voltage power to the processing equipment. Dimensions are compatible with shuttle payload bay constraints

The history of Newport (Essex) grammar school 1588 - 1938

Newport (Essex) Grammar School was founded in 1588 by Mrs. Joyce Frankland, a wealthy patroness of learning, who endowed the school with tithes at Banstead and property in London and .Hoddesdon. The history of the school shows the changes in its function within the local community and in the developments which took place in the curriculum, organisation and social composition of the school as a result of policies laid down by the Trustees, Charity Commissioners, Governors, and by legislation both local and national. As an important support of civil and ecclesiastical policy the school flourished, providing a narrow, ' linguistic curriculum for local boys, the sons of clerics and of the gentry of Essex and neighbouring counties, many of whom proceeded to Cambridge. With the growth of industry and commerce during the 18th century, new forms of secondary education came into being and private academies offered a vocational or commercial curriculum. As a result, grammar schools declined. At Newport however, in 1779 a successful boarding side was developed by James Buck, with many able boys proceeding to Cambridge. With his departure, boarding was discontinued and the trustees authorised an elementary curriculum. In 1828 the Charity commissioners encouraged a revival in boarding in order to establish a classics side and a new building was authorised. A small Latin class was developed while, with the coming of the railway and the growth of business in neighbouring towns, "merchants' accounts was introduced-into the curriculum. Three masters followed in quick succession an4, while the Schools Inquiry CoJrtmission deliberated on its future, the school was placed under the charge of the usher with the result . that numbers declined sharply. The new scheme of 187 4 envisaged a Second Grade School at Newport and under Mr Waterhouse a new building was opened to provide a practical education for boys up to fifteen. Boarding was again successfully introduced and, with the provision of a swimming bath, gymnasium, and several acres of playing fields, sport was fostered laboratory was added in 1896 and a strong science side developed, while the increasing number of boys entering the universities and professions indicated that the school had grown beyond its second grade status. Thus when, in 1910, financial difficulties forced the Governors to apply for secondary status under the 1902 Act, this was readily granted. During his: period of office, Dr. Wyeth faced the problem of rising numbers and overcrowding and also. engaged in a struggle to lengthen school life and develop advanced work; these problems were aggravated by war. and the . subsequent economic depression. After 1916 the school experienced a rapid expansion that was so marked a feature of secondary education during and after the war. In 1937, two further laboratories and classrooms were built. Advanced work developed slowly and it was in. the 1920's, with the reorganisation of school leaving examinations and the incentive of financial inducements by the Board, that a. small sixth form was established. Since reorganisation in 1910, the school had been supported by direct grant and also aided by the local authority. In 1922 the Board's grant regulations were changed and as the introduction of the Burnham scale of salaries had increased the deficit and the Essex Education Committee's contribution now exceeded all other sources of income, the school was classified as a deficiency grant school. From then on, the school' s financial dependence on the L.E.A. increased. To accord with the L.E.A's policy in its own secondary schools, all places were made special places from September 1935, when all boys had to pass the General Admission Examination, and the school lost control over its admissions. After some 'initial friction the school governors and the L.E.A. worked closely together until the end of the arrangements in 1947

Morphological Phase Diagram for Lipid Membrane Domains with Entropic Tension

Circular domains in phase-separated lipid vesicles with symmetric leaflet composition commonly exhibit three stable morphologies: flat, dimpled, and budded. However, stable dimples (i.e., partially budded domains) present a puzzle since simple elastic theories of domain shape predict that only flat and spherical budded domains are mechanically stable in the absence of spontaneous curvature. We argue that this inconsistency arises from the failure of the constant surface tension ensemble to properly account for the effect of entropic bending fluctuations. Formulating membrane elasticity within an entropic tension ensemble, wherein tension represents the free energy cost of extracting membrane area from thermal bending of the membrane, we calculate a morphological phase diagram that contains regions of mechanical stability for each of the flat, dimpled, and budded domain morphologies

Statistical Power, the Bispectrum and the Search for Non-Gaussianity in the CMB Anisotropy

We use simulated maps of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy to quantify the ability of different statistical tests to discriminate between Gaussian and non-Gaussian models. Despite the central limit theorem on large angular scales, both the genus and extrema correlation are able to discriminate between Gaussian models and a semi-analytic texture model selected as a physically motivated non-Gaussian model. When run on the COBE 4-year CMB maps, both tests prefer the Gaussian model. Although the bispectrum has comparable statistical power when computed on the full sky, once a Galactic cut is imposed on the data the bispectrum loses the ability to discriminate between models. Off-diagonal elements of the bispectrum are comparable to the diagonal elements for the non-Gaussian texture model and must be included to obtain maximum statistical power.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 20 pages, 6 figures, uses AASTeX v5.

Partial Information Decomposition as a Unified Approach to the Specification of Neural Goal Functions

In many neural systems anatomical motifs are present repeatedly, but despite their structural similarity they can serve very different tasks. A prime example for such a motif is the canonical microcircuit of six-layered neo-cortex, which is repeated across cortical areas, and is involved in a number of different tasks (e.g.sensory, cognitive, or motor tasks). This observation has spawned interest in finding a common underlying principle, a 'goal function', of information processing implemented in this structure. By definition such a goal function, if universal, cannot be cast in processing-domain specific language (e.g. 'edge filtering', 'working memory'). Thus, to formulate such a principle, we have to use a domain-independent framework. Information theory offers such a framework. However, while the classical framework of information theory focuses on the relation between one input and one output (Shannon's mutual information), we argue that neural information processing crucially depends on the combination of \textit{multiple} inputs to create the output of a processor. To account for this, we use a very recent extension of Shannon Information theory, called partial information decomposition (PID). PID allows to quantify the information that several inputs provide individually (unique information), redundantly (shared information) or only jointly (synergistic information) about the output. First, we review the framework of PID. Then we apply it to reevaluate and analyze several earlier proposals of information theoretic neural goal functions (predictive coding, infomax, coherent infomax, efficient coding). We find that PID allows to compare these goal functions in a common framework, and also provides a versatile approach to design new goal functions from first principles. Building on this, we design and analyze a novel goal function, called 'coding with synergy'. [...]Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, appendi

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement of valence-band offsets for Mg-based semiconductor compounds

We have used x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to measure the valence-band offsets for the lattice matched MgSe/Cd0.54Zn0.46Se and MgTe/Cd0.88Zn0.12Te heterojunctions grown by molecular beam epitaxy. By measuring core level to valence-band maxima and core level to core level binding energy separations, we obtain values of 0.56+/-0.07 eV and 0.43+/-0.11 eV for the valence-band offsets of MgSe/Cd0.54Zn0.46Se and MgTe/Cd0.88Zn0.12Te, respectively. Both of these values deviate from the common anion rule, as may be expected given the unoccupied cation d orbitals in Mg. Application of our results to the design of current II-VI wide band-gap light emitters is discussed

Coupling of Two Motor Proteins: a New Motor Can Move Faster

We study the effect of a coupling between two motor domains in highly-processive motor protein complexes. A simple stochastic discrete model, in which the two parts of the protein molecule interact through some energy potential, is presented. The exact analytical solutions for the dynamic properties of the combined motor species, such as the velocity and dispersion, are derived in terms of the properties of free individual motor domains and the interaction potential. It is shown that the coupling between the motor domains can create a more efficient motor protein that can move faster than individual particles. The results are applied to analyze the motion of helicase RecBCD molecules

Grain Survival in Supernova Remnants and Herbig-Haro Objects

By using the flux ratio [FeII]8617/[OI]6300, we demonstrate that most of the interstellar dust grains survive in shocks associated with supernova remnants and Herbig-Haro objects. The [FeII]/[OI] flux ratio is sensitive to the gas-phase Fe/O abundance ratio, but is insensitive to the ionization state, temperature, and density of the gas. We calculate the [FeII]/[OI] flux ratio in shocks, and compare the results with the observational data. When only 20% of iron is in the gas phase, the models reproduce most successfully the observations. This finding is in conflict with the current consensus that shocks destroy almost all the grains and 100% of metals are in the gas phase. We comment on previous works on grain destruction, and discuss why grains are not destroyed in shocks.Comment: 8 pages (AASTex v5.0), 3 figures. To be published in ApJ Letters (accepted 3/10/2000

The 60-μm extragalactic background radiation intensity, dust-enshrouded active galactic nuclei and the assembly of groups and clusters of galaxies

Submillimetre- (submm-) wave observations have revealed a cosmologically significant population of high-redshift dust-enshrouded galaxies. The form of evolution inferred for this population can be reconciled easily with COBE FIRAS and DIRBE measurements of the cosmic background radiation (CBR) intensity at wavelengths longer than ~100 μm. At shorter wavelengths, however, the 60-μm CBR intensity reported by Finkbeiner, Davis & Schlegel is less easily accounted for. Lagache et al. have proposed that this excess CBR emission is a warm Galactic component, and the detection of the highest-energy γ-rays from blazars limits the CBR intensity at these wavelengths, but here we investigate possible sources of this excess CBR emission, assuming that it has a genuine extragalactic origin. We propose and test three explanations, each involving additional populations of luminous, evolving galaxies not readily detected in existing submm-wave surveys. First, an additional population of dust-enshrouded galaxies with hot dust temperatures, perhaps dust-enshrouded, Compton-thick active galactic nuclei (AGN) as suggested by recent deep Chandra surveys. Secondly, a population of dusty galaxies with temperatures more typical of the existing submm-selected galaxies, but at relatively low redshifts. These could plausibly be associated with the assembly of groups and clusters of galaxies. Thirdly, a population of low-luminosity, cool, quiescent spiral galaxies. Hot AGN sources and the assembly of galaxy groups can account for the excess 60-μm background. There are significant problems with the cluster assembly scenario, in which too many bright 60-μm IRAS sources are predicted. Spiral galaxies have the wrong spectral energy distributions to account for the excess. Future wide-field far-infrared (IR) surveys at wavelengths of 70 and 250 μm using the SIRTF and Herschel space missions will sample representative volumes of the distant Universe, allowing any hot population of dusty AGNs and forming groups to be detected

Computer-aided space shuttle orbiter wing design study

An analytical and experimental investigation has been made to provide a space shuttle orbiter wing design that met the guideline requirements of landing performance, stability, and hypersonic trim for a specified center-of-gravity envelope. The analytical study was facilitated by the use of the Optimal Design Integration system (ODIN) and the experimental part of the investigation was conducted in the Langley low-turbulence pressure tunnel and the Langley continuous-flow hypersonic tunnel