2,969 research outputs found
Ni-cd Battery Life Expectancy in Geosynchronous Orbit
The feasibility of using nickel cadmium batteries as an alternate if flight qualified NiH2 batteries are not available is explored. Battery life expectancy data being a key element of power system design, an attempt is made to review the literature, life test data and in orbit performance data to develop an up to date estimate of life expectancy for NiCd batteries in a geosynchronous orbit
A system for early warning of bearing failure
System for detecting incipient failure in ball bearings is described. Ultrasonic equipment detects bearing system resonance and provides warning signal through electronic circuitry. Detector can be used to evaluate performance of newly installed bearings. Schematic diagram is provided to show components
Design and fabrication of prototype system for early warning of impending bearing failure
Ball bearing performance tests run on several identical ball bearings under a variety of load, speed, temperature, and lubrication conditions are reported. Bearing temperature, torque, vibration, noise, strain, cage speed, etc., were monitored to establish those measurements most suitable as indicators of ball bearing health. Tape records were made under steady-state conditions of a variety of speeds and loads. Sample sections were selected for narrowband spectral analysis with a real time analyzer. An artificial flow was created across the inner race surface of one bearing using an acid etch technique to produce the scratch. Tape records obtained before and after established a characteristic frequency response that identifies the presence of the flow. The signals found most useful as indicators of performance degradation were ultrasonic outputs
Observation of soliton explosions in a passively mode-locked fiber laser
Soliton explosions are among the most exotic dissipative phenomena studied in
mode-locked lasers. In this regime, a dissipative soliton circulating in the
laser cavity experiences an abrupt structural collapse, but within a few
roundtrips returns to its original quasi-stable state. In this work we report
on the first observation of such events in a fiber laser. Specifically, we
identify clear explosion signatures in measurements of shot-to-shot spectra of
an Yb-doped mode-locked fiber laser that is operating in a transition regime
between stable and noise-like emission. The comparatively long,
all-normal-dispersion cavity used in our experiments also permits direct
time-domain measurements, and we show that the explosions manifest themselves
as abrupt temporal shifts in the output pulse train. Our experimental results
are in good agreement with realistic numerical simulations based on an
iterative cavity map.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, submitte
Limits on the Position Wander of Sgr A*
We present measurements with the VLBA of the variability in the centroid
position of Sgr A* relative to a background quasar at 7-mm wavelength. We find
an average centroid wander of 71 +/- 45 micro-arcsec for time scales between 50
and 100 min and 113 +/- 50 micro-arcsec for timescales between 100 and 200 min,
with no secular trend. These are sufficient to begin constraining the viability
of the hot-spot model for the radio variability of Sgr A*. It is possible to
rule out hot spots with orbital radii above 15GM_SgrA*/c^2 that contribute more
than 30% of the total 7-mm flux. However, closer or less luminous hot spots
remain unconstrained. Since the fractional variability of Sgr A* during our
observations was ~20% on time scales of hours, the hot-spot model for Sgr A*'s
radio variability remains consistent with these limits. Improved monitoring of
Sgr A*'s centroid position has the potential to place significant constraints
upon the existence and morphology of inhomogeneities in a supermassive black
hole accretion flow.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures submitted to Ap
An extreme rotation measure in the high-redshift radio galaxy PKS B0529-549
We present the results of a radio polarimetric study of the high-redshift
radio galaxy PKS B0529-549 (z=2.575), based on high-resolution 12 mm and 3 cm
images obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The source
is found to have a rest-frame Faraday rotation measure of -9600 rad m^{-2}, the
largest seen thus far in the environment of a z > 2 radio galaxy. In addition,
the rest-frame Faraday dispersion in the screen responsible for the rotation is
calculated to be 5800 rad m^{-2}, implying rotation measures as large as -15400
rad m^{-2}. Using supporting near-IR imaging from the Very Large Telescope
(VLT), we suggest that the rotation measure originates in the Ly-alpha halo
surrounding the host galaxy, and estimate the magnetic field strength to be ~10
microGauss. We also present a new optical spectrum of PKS B0529-549 obtained
with the New Technology Telescope (NTT), and propose that the emission-line
ratios are best described by a photoionization model. Furthermore, the host
galaxy is found to exhibit both hot dust emission at 8.0 microns and
significant internal visual extinction (~1.6 mag), as inferred from Spitzer
Space Telescope near/mid-IR imaging.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Magneto-optical Kerr effect in
We have measured the magneto-optical Kerr rotation of ferromagnetic
with x=0.2 and 0.4, as well as of serving as
the non-magnetic reference material. As previously for , we could
identify a feature at 1 in the Kerr response which is related with
electronic transitions involving the localized 4f electron states. The absence
of this feature in the data for confirms the relevance of the
partially occupied 4f states in shaping the magneto-optical features of
-based hexaborides. Disorder by -doping broadens the itinerant charge
carrier contribution to the magneto-optical spectra
Color television study Final report, Nov. 1965 - Mar. 1966
Color television camera for transmission from lunar and earth orbits and lunar surfac
The Search for Signatures Of Transient Mass Loss in Active Stars
The habitability of an exoplanet depends on many factors. One such factor is
the impact of stellar eruptive events on nearby exoplanets. Currently this is
poorly constrained due to heavy reliance on solar scaling relationships and a
lack of experimental evidence. Potential impacts of Coronal Mass Ejections
(CMEs), which are a large eruption of magnetic field and plasma from a star,
are space weather and atmospheric stripping. A method for observing CMEs as
they travel though the stellar atmosphere is the type II radio burst, and the
new LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) provides a means for detection. We report on 15
hours of observation of YZ Canis Minoris (YZ CMi), a nearby M dwarf flare star,
taken in LOFAR's beam-formed observation mode for the purposes of measuring
transient frequency-dependent low frequency radio emission. The observations
utilized Low-Band Antenna (10-90 MHz) or High-Band Antenna (110-190 MHz) for
five three-hour observation periods. In this data set, there were no confirmed
type II events in this frequency range. We explore the range of parameter space
for type II bursts constrained by our observations Assuming the rate of shocks
is a lower limit to the rate at which CMEs occur, no detections in a total of
15 hours of observation places a limit of shocks/hr for YZ CMi due to the stochastic nature of the events and
limits of observational sensitivity. We propose a methodology to interpret
jointly observed flares and CMEs which will provide greater constraints to CMEs
and test the applicability of solar scaling relations
Osteoporotic Hip Fractures: The Burden of Fixation Failure
Osteoporotic hip fractures are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Furthermore, reduced implant anchorage in osteoporotic bone predisposes towards fixation failure and with an ageing population, even low failure rates represent a significant challenge to healthcare systems. Fixation failure in fragility fractures of the hip ranges from 5% in peritrochanteric fractures through to 15% and 41% in undisplaced and displaced fractures of the femoral neck, respectively. Our findings, in general, support the view that failed internal fixation of these fragility fractures carries a poor prognosis: it leads to a twofold increase in the length of hospital stay and a doubling of healthcare costs. Patients are more likely to suffer a downgrade in their residential status upon discharge with a consequent increase in social dependency. Furthermore, the marked disability and reduction in quality of life evident before salvage procedures may persist at long-term followup. The risk, of course, for the elderly patient with a prolonged period of decreased functioning is that the disability becomes permanent. Despite this, however, no clear link between revision surgery and an increase in mortality has been demonstrated in the literature
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