16,706 research outputs found
Ride quality evaluation 1: Questionnaire studies of airline passenger comfort
As part of a larger effort to assess passenger comfort in aircraft, two questionnaires were administered: one to ground-based respondents; the other to passengers in flight. Respondents indicated the importance of various factors influencing their satisfaction with a trip, the perceived importance of various physical factors in determining their level of comfort, and the ease of time spent performing activities in flight. The in-flight sample also provided a rating of their level of comfort and of their willingness to fly again. Comfort ratings were examined in relation to (1) type of respondent, (2) type of aircraft, (3) characteristics of the passengers, (4) ease of performing activities, and (5) willingness to fly again
Spatial imaging of modifications to fluorescence lifetime and intensity by individual Ag nanoparticles
Highly ordered periodic arrays of silver nanoparticles have been fabricated
which exhibit surface plasmon resonances in the visible spectrum. We
demonstrate the ability of these structures to alter the fluorescence
properties of vicinal dye molecules by providing an additional radiative decay
channel. Using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), we have created
high resolution spatial maps of the molecular lifetime components; these show
an order of magnitude increase in decay rate from a localized volume around the
nanoparticles, resulting in a commensurate enhancement in the fluorescence
emission intensity.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, submitted Applied Physics Letter
Plasmonic engineering of metal nanoparticles for enhanced fluorescence and Raman scattering
We have investigated the effects of tuning the localized surface plasmon
resonances (LSPRs) of silver nanoparticles on the fluorescence intensity,
lifetime, and Raman signal from nearby fluorophores. The presence of a metallic
structure can alter the optical properties of a molecule by increasing the
excitation field, and by modifying radiative and non-radiative decay
mechanisms. By careful choice of experimental parameters we have been able to
decouple these effects. We observe a four-fold increase in fluorescence
enhancement and an almost 30-fold increase in decay rate from arrays of Ag
nanoparticles, when the LSPR is tuned to the emission wavelength of a locally
situated fluorophore. This is consistent with a greatly increased efficiency
for energy transfer from fluorescence to surface plasmons. Additionally,
surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements show a maximum
enhancement occurs when both the incident laser light and the Raman signal are
near resonance with the plasmon energy. Spatial mapping of the SERS signal from
a nanoparticle array reveals highly localized differences in the excitation
field resulting from small differences in the LSPR energy.Comment: Submitted to Plasmonics (Springer
Passenger ride quality determined from commercial airline flights
The University of Virginia ride-quality research program is reviewed. Data from two flight programs, involving seven types of aircraft, are considered in detail. An apparatus for measuring physical variations in the flight environment and recording the subjective reactions of test subjects is described. Models are presented for predicting the comfort response of test subjects from the physical data, and predicting the overall comfort reaction of test subjects from their moment by moment responses. The correspondence of mean passenger comfort judgments and test subject response is shown. Finally, the models of comfort response based on data from the 5-point and 7-point comfort scales are shown to correspond
Application of ride quality technology to predict ride satisfaction for commuter-type aircraft
A method was developed to predict passenger satisfaction with the ride environment of a transportation vehicle. This method, a general approach, was applied to a commuter-type aircraft for illustrative purposes. The effect of terrain, altitude and seat location were examined. The method predicts the variation in passengers satisfied for any set of flight conditions. In addition several noncommuter aircraft were analyzed for comparison and other uses of the model described. The method has advantages for design, evaluation, and operating decisions
Transportation systems evaluation methodology development and applications, phase 3
Transportation systems or proposed changes in current systems are evaluated. Four principal evaluation criteria are incorporated in the process, operating performance characteristics as viewed by potential users, decisions based on the perceived impacts of the system, estimating what is required to reduce the system to practice; and predicting the ability of the concept to attract financial support. A series of matrix multiplications in which the various matrices represent evaluations in a logical sequence of the various discrete steps in a management decision process is used. One or more alternatives are compared with the current situation, and the result provides a numerical rating which determines the desirability of each alternative relative to the norm and to each other. The steps in the decision process are isolated so that contributions of each to the final result are readily analyzed. The ability to protect against bias on the part of the evaluators, and the fact that system parameters which are basically qualitative in nature can be easily included are advantageous
The effect of parallel static and microwave electric fields on excited hydrogen atoms
Motivated by recent experiments we analyse the classical dynamics of a
hydrogen atom in parallel static and microwave electric fields. Using an
appropriate representation and averaging approximations we show that resonant
ionisation is controlled by a separatrix, and provide necessary conditions for
a dynamical resonance to affect the ionisation probability.
The position of the dynamical resonance is computed using a high-order
perturbation series, and estimate its radius of convergence. We show that the
position of the dynamical resonance does not coincide precisely with the
ionisation maxima, and that the field switch-on time can dramatically affect
the ionisation signal which, for long switch times, reflects the shape of an
incipient homoclinic. Similarly, the resonance ionisation time can reflect the
time-scale of the separatrix motion, which is therefore longer than
conventional static field Stark ionisation. We explain why these effects should
be observed in the quantum dynamics.
PACs: 32.80.Rm, 33.40.+f, 34.10.+x, 05.45.Ac, 05.45.MtComment: 47 pages, 20 figure
Sub-au imaging of water vapour clouds around four Asymptotic Giant Branch stars
We present MERLIN maps of the 22-GHz H2O masers around four low-mass
late-type stars (IK Tau U Ori, RT Vir and U Her), made with an angular
resolution of ~ 15 milliarcsec and a velocity resolution of 0.1 km s-1. The H2O
masers are found in thick expanding shells with inner radii ~ 6 to 16 au and
outer radii four times larger. The expansion velocity increases radially
through the H2O maser regions, with logarithmic velocity gradients of 0.5--0.9.
IK Tau and RT Vir have well-filled H2O maser shells with a spatial offset
between the near and far sides of the shell, which suggests that the masers are
distributed in oblate spheroids inclined to the line of sight. U Ori and U Her
have elongated poorly-filled shells with indications that the masers at the
inner edge have been compressed by shocks; these stars also show OH maser
flares. MERLIN resolves individual maser clouds, which have diameters of 2 -- 4
au and filling factors of only ~ 0.01 with respect to the whole H2O maser
shells. The CSE velocity structure gives additional evidence the maser clouds
are density bounded. Masing clouds can be identified over a similar timescale
to their sound crossing time (~2 yr) but not longer. The sizes and observed
lifetimes of these clouds are an order of magnitude smaller than those around
red supergiants, similar to the ratio of low-mass:high-mass stellar masses and
sizes. This suggests that cloud size is determined by stellar properties, not
local physical phenomena in the wind.Comment: 21 pages, including 14 figures and 8 tables. Accepted for publication
in MNRA
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