For multidisciplinary research on the application of remote sensing to water resources problems

Research on the application of remote sensing to problems of water resources was concentrated on sediments and associated nonpoint source pollutants in lakes. Further transfer of the technology of remote sensing and the refinement of equipment and programs for thermal scanning and the digital analysis of images were also addressed

Can the Arrow of Time be understood from Quantum Cosmology?

I address the question whether the origin of the observed arrow of time can be derived from quantum cosmology. After a general discussion of entropy in cosmology and some numerical estimates, I give a brief introduction into quantum geometrodynamics and argue that this may provide a sufficient framework for studying this question. I then show that a natural boundary condition of low initial entropy can be imposed on the universal wave function. The arrow of time is then correlated with the size of the Universe and emerges from an increasing amount of decoherence due to entanglement with unobserved degrees of freedom. Remarks are also made concerning the arrow of time in multiverse pictures and scenarios motivated by dark energy.Comment: 14 pages, to appear in "The Arrow of Time", ed. by L. Mersini-Houghton and R. Vaa

Measurement Theory and General Relativity

The theory of measurement is employed to elucidate the physical basis of general relativity. For measurements involving phenomena with intrinsic length or time scales, such scales must in general be negligible compared to the (translational and rotational) scales characteristic of the motion of the observer. Thus general relativity is a consistent theory of coincidences so long as these involve classical point particles and electromagnetic rays (geometric optics). Wave optics is discussed and the limitations of the standard theory in this regime are pointed out. A nonlocal theory of accelerated observers is briefly described that is consistent with observation and excludes the possibility of existence of a fundamental scalar field in nature.Comment: LaTeX springer style lamu.cls, 2 figures, 16 pages, published in: Black Holes: Theory and Observation: Proceedings of the 179th W.E. Heraeus Seminar, held August 1997 in Bad Honnef, Germany. F.W. Hehl et al.(eds). (Springer, Berlin Heidelberg 1998

Properties of cryogenically worked metals

A program was conducted to determine whether the mechanical properties of cryogenically worked 17-7PH stainless steel are suitable for service from ambient to cryogenic temperatures. It was determined that the stress corrosion resistance of the cryo-worked material is quite adequate for structural service. The tensile properties and fracture toughness at room temperature were comparable to titanium alloy 6Al-4V. However, at cryogenic temperatures, the properties were not sufficient to recommend consideration for structural service

Crogenic alloy screening Interim report

Evaluation of mechanical properties and fracture strength of aluminum alloys and stainless stee

Determination of low-temperature fatigue properties of structural metal alloys Final report, Jul. 1964 - Aug. 1965

Fatigue testing and determination of low temperature properties of structural metal alloys - aluminum alloy, stainless steel, and nickel alloy

Oral Interview of Jacob Kiefer

Kiefer, a native of Moorhead, discusses his involvement in a number of the community\u27s service organizations including the Legion club, the Rotary, and the Moorhead Chamber of Commerce.https://red.mnstate.edu/oral_interviews/1178/thumbnail.jp

Classical and quantum massive cosmology for the open FRW universe

In an open Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) space background, we study the classical and quantum cosmological models in the framework of the recently proposed nonlinear massive gravity theory. Although the constraints which are present in this theory prevent it from admitting the flat and closed FRW models as its cosmological solutions, for the open FRW universe, it is not the case. We have shown that, either in the absence of matter or in the presence of a perfect fluid, the classical field equations of such a theory adopt physical solutions for the open FRW model, in which the mass term shows itself as a cosmological constant. These classical solutions consist of two distinguishable branches: One is a contacting universe which tends to a future singularity with zero size, while another is an expanding universe having a past singularity from which it begins its evolution. A classically forbidden region separates these two branches from each other. We then employ the familiar canonical quantization procedure in the given cosmological setting to find the cosmological wave functions. We use the resulting wave function to investigate the possibility of the avoidance of classical singularities due to quantum effects. It is shown that the quantum expectation values of the scale factor, although they have either contracting or expanding phases like their classical counterparts, are not disconnected from each other. Indeed, the classically forbidden region may be replaced by a bouncing period in which the scale factor bounces from the contraction to its expansion eras. Using the Bohmian approach of quantum mechanics, we also compute the Bohmian trajectory and the quantum potential related to the system, which their analysis shows are the direct effects of the mass term on the dynamics of the universe.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, typos corrected, refs. adde

Time dependent Green functions from Wheeler De Witt solutions

The aim of this article is twofold. First we examine from a new angle the question of recovery of time in quantum cosmology. We construct Green functions for matter fields from the solutions of the Wheeler De Witt equation. For simplicity we work in a mini-superspace context. By evaluating these Green functions in a first order development of the energy ``increment'' induced by matrix elements of field operators, we show that the background geometry is the solution of Einstein equations driven by the mean matter energy and that it is this background which determines the time lapses separating the field operators. Then, by studying higher order corrections, we clarify the nature of the small dimensionless parameters which guarantee the validity of the approximations used. In this respect, we show that the formal expansion in the inverse Planck mass which is sometime presented as the ``standard procedure'' is illegitimate. Secondly, by the present analysis of Green functions, we prepare the study of quantum matter transitions in quantum cosmology. In a next article, we show that the time parametrization of transition amplitudes appears for the same reasons that it appeared in this article. This proves that the background is dynamically determined by the transition under examination.Comment: 25 pages, latex, no figure