Development of polymer network of phenolic and epoxies resins mixed with linseed oil: pilot study

Epoxy resin was mixed with phenolic resins in different percentages by weight. Composite 40/60 means the proportion by weight of epoxy resin is 40 percent. It was found that only composites 50/50 and 40/60 could be cured in ambient conditions. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that only these two composites form interpenetrating polymer network. The addition of linseed oil to the two resins results also in the formation of interpenetrating network irrespective of proportion by weight of the resins; the mechanical properties will only be better when the percentage by weight of epoxy resin is higher; the aim of reducing cost and at the same time maintaining the mechanical properties cannot be fully achieved because epoxy resin is much more expensive than its counterpart

A Clifford analysis approach to superspace

A new framework for studying superspace is given, based on methods from Clifford analysis. This leads to the introduction of both orthogonal and symplectic Clifford algebra generators, allowing for an easy and canonical introduction of a super-Dirac operator, a super-Laplace operator and the like. This framework is then used to define a super-Hodge coderivative, which, together with the exterior derivative, factorizes the Laplace operator. Finally both the cohomology of the exterior derivative and the homology of the Hodge operator on the level of polynomial-valued super-differential forms are studied. This leads to some interesting graphical representations and provides a better insight in the definition of the Berezin-integral.Comment: 15 pages, accepted for publication in Annals of Physic

A role in world affairs at M.U.

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Estimates of the optimal density and kissing number of sphere packings in high dimensions

The problem of finding the asymptotic behavior of the maximal density of sphere packings in high Euclidean dimensions is one of the most fascinating and challenging problems in discrete geometry. One century ago, Minkowski obtained a rigorous lower bound that is controlled asymptotically by $1/2^d$, where $d$ is the Euclidean space dimension. An indication of the difficulty of the problem can be garnered from the fact that exponential improvement of Minkowski's bound has proved to be elusive, even though existing upper bounds suggest that such improvement should be possible. Using a statistical-mechanical procedure to optimize the density associated with a "test" pair correlation function and a conjecture concerning the existence of disordered sphere packings [S. Torquato and F. H. Stillinger, Experimental Math. {\bf 15}, 307 (2006)], the putative exponential improvement was found with an asymptotic behavior controlled by $1/2^{(0.77865...)d}$. Using the same methods, we investigate whether this exponential improvement can be further improved by exploring other test pair correlation functions correponding to disordered packings. We demonstrate that there are simpler test functions that lead to the same asymptotic result. More importantly, we show that there is a wide class of test functions that lead to precisely the same exponential improvement and therefore the asymptotic form $1/2^{(0.77865...)d}$ is much more general than previously surmised.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

The Star : A Fragment From Plato

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Optimizing spread dynamics on graphs by message passing

Cascade processes are responsible for many important phenomena in natural and social sciences. Simple models of irreversible dynamics on graphs, in which nodes activate depending on the state of their neighbors, have been successfully applied to describe cascades in a large variety of contexts. Over the last decades, many efforts have been devoted to understand the typical behaviour of the cascades arising from initial conditions extracted at random from some given ensemble. However, the problem of optimizing the trajectory of the system, i.e. of identifying appropriate initial conditions to maximize (or minimize) the final number of active nodes, is still considered to be practically intractable, with the only exception of models that satisfy a sort of diminishing returns property called submodularity. Submodular models can be approximately solved by means of greedy strategies, but by definition they lack cooperative characteristics which are fundamental in many real systems. Here we introduce an efficient algorithm based on statistical physics for the optimization of trajectories in cascade processes on graphs. We show that for a wide class of irreversible dynamics, even in the absence of submodularity, the spread optimization problem can be solved efficiently on large networks. Analytic and algorithmic results on random graphs are complemented by the solution of the spread maximization problem on a real-world network (the Epinions consumer reviews network).Comment: Replacement for "The Spread Optimization Problem

TMDlib and TMDplotter: library and plotting tools for transverse-momentum-dependent parton distributions

Transverse-momentum-dependent distributions (TMDs) are central in high-energy physics from both theoretical and phenomenological points of view. In this manual we introduce the library, TMDlib, of fits and parameterisations for transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions (TMD PDFs) and fragmentation functions (TMD FFs) together with an online plotting tool, TMDplotter. We provide a description of the program components and of the different physical frameworks the user can access via the available parameterisations.Comment: version 2, referring to TMDlib 1.0.2 - comments and references adde

Computer mapping of LANDSAT data for environmental applications

The author has identified the following significant results. Land cover overlays and maps produced from LANDSAT are providing information on existing land use and resources throughout the 208 study area. The overlays are being used to delineate drainage areas of a predominant land cover type. Information on cover type is also being combined with other pertinent data to develop estimates of sediment and nutrients flows from the drainage area. The LANDSAT inventory of present land cover together with population projects is providing a basis for developing maps of anticipated land use patterns required to evaluate impact on water quality which may result from these patterns. Overlays of forest types were useful for defining wildlife habitat and vegetational resources in the region. LANDSAT data and computer assisted interpretation was found to be a rapid cost effective procedure for inventorying land cover on a regional basis. The entire 208 inventory which include acquisition of ground truth, LANDSAT tapes, computer processing, and production of overlays and coded tapes was completed within a period of 2 months at a cost of about 0.6 cents per acre, a significant improvement in time and cost over conventional photointerpretation and mapping techniques

A principled approach to the measurement of situation awareness in commercial aviation

The issue of how to support situation awareness among crews of modern commercial aircraft is becoming especially important with the introduction of automation in the form of sophisticated flight management computers and expert systems designed to assist the crew. In this paper, cognitive theories are discussed that have relevance for the definition and measurement of situation awareness. These theories suggest that comprehension of the flow of events is an active process that is limited by the modularity of attention and memory constraints, but can be enhanced by expert knowledge and strategies. Three implications of this perspective for assessing and improving situation awareness are considered: (1) Scenario variations are proposed that tax awareness by placing demands on attention; (2) Experimental tasks and probes are described for assessing the cognitive processes that underlie situation awareness; and (3) The use of computer-based human performance models to augment the measures of situation awareness derived from performance data is explored. Finally, two potential example applications of the proposed assessment techniques are described, one concerning spatial awareness using wide field of view displays and the other emphasizing fault management in aircraft systems