28,443 research outputs found
Silent emergency alarm system for schools and the like
An emergency alert system is described. In a school each classroom (or other area) is instrumented with a hidden microphone and receiver tuned to a non-audible frequency. The receivers' outputs are connected to a central display unit in the school's administrative office. Each instructor is provided with a small concealable transmitter which, when hand activated by the instructor upon the occurrance of any emergency, generates a non-audible signal at the receiver's tuned frequency
A Unification of Models of Tethered Satellites
In this paper, different conservative models of tethered satellites are related mathematically, and it is established in what limit they may provide useful insight into the underlying dynamics. An infinite dimensional model is linked to a finite dimensional model, the slack-spring model, through a conjecture on the singular perturbation of tether thickness. The slack-spring model is then naturally related to a billiard model in the limit of an inextensible spring. Next, the motion of a dumbbell model, which is lowest in the hierarchy of models, is identified within the motion of the billiard model through a theorem on the existence of invariant curves by exploiting Moser's twist map theorem. Finally, numerical computations provide insight into the dynamics of the billiard model
Garnetâmonazite rare earth element relationships in sub-solidus metapelites: a case study from Bhutan
A key aim of modern metamorphic geochronology is to constrain precise and accurate rates and timescales of tectonic processes. One promising approach in amphibolite and granulite-facies rocks links the geochronological information recorded in zoned accessory phases such as monazite to the pressureâtemperature information recorded in zoned major rock-forming minerals such as garnet. Both phases incorporate rare earth elements (REE) as they crystallize and their equilibrium partitioning behaviour potentially provides a useful way of linking time to temperature. We report REE data from sub-solidus amphibolite-facies metapelites from Bhutan, where overlapping ages, inclusion relationships and Gd/Lu ratios suggest that garnet and monazite co-crystallized. The garnetâmonazite REE relationships in these samples show a steeper pattern across the heavy (H)REE than previously reported. The difference between our dataset and the previously reported data may be due to a temperature-dependence on the partition coefficients, disequilibrium in either dataset, differences in monazite chemistry or the presence or absence of a third phase that competed for the available REE during growth. We urge caution against using empirically-derived partition coefficients from natural samples as evidence for, or against, equilibrium of REE-bearing phases until monaziteâgarnet partitioning behaviour is better constrained
An Expansion Term In Hamilton's Equations
For any given spacetime the choice of time coordinate is undetermined. A
particular choice is the absolute time associated with a preferred vector
field. Using the absolute time Hamilton's equations are
+ (\delta H_{c})/(\delta \pi)=\dot{q}\Theta = V^{a}_{.;a}N\equiv exp(-\int\Theta d \ta)\pi^{N}\pi^N$. Briefly the possibility of a non-standard sympletic form
and the further possibility of there being a non-zero Finsler curvature
corresponding to this are looked at.Comment: 10 page
Multiwavelength Studies of PSR J1420-6048, a Young Pulsar in the Kookaburra
We present X-ray, radio, and infrared observations of the 68 ms pulsar PSR
J1420-6048 and its surrounding nebula, a possible counterpart of the gamma-ray
source GeV J1417-6100/3EG J1420-6038. Pulsed X-ray emission at the radio period
is marginally detected by ASCA from a source embedded in the hard spectrum
X-ray nebula AX J1420.1-6049. At radio wavelengths, the pulsar is found to be
strongly linearly and circularly polarized, and the polarization sweep is
measured. A comparison of high resolution ATCA radio imaging of the
Kookaburra's upper wing (G313.6+0.3), which contains the pulsar and the X-ray
nebula, with infrared images suggests the radio emission is partly non-thermal.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Astrophysical Journal Letter
Improvement of oral reports through the students' use of audio-visual aids
Author misnumbered thesis. Please note that there are TWO page 108s, but the continuity is the same. Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit
Meson spectroscopy and properties using Dyson-Schwinger equations
We study pseudoscalar and scalar mesons using a practical and symmetry
preserving truncation of QCD's Dyson-Schwinger equations. We investigate and
compare properties of ground and radially excited meson states. In addition to
exact results for radial meson excitations we also present results for meson
masses and decay constants from the chiral limit up to the charm-quark mass, e.
g., the mass of the chi_{c0} (2P) meson.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, To appear in the proceedings of 9th International
Workshop on Meson Production, Properties and Interaction (Meson2006), Krakow,
Poland, 9 - 13 June 200
Stability of Negative Image Equilibria in Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity
We investigate the stability of negative image equilibria in mean synaptic
weight dynamics governed by spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP). The
neural architecture of the model is based on the electrosensory lateral line
lobe (ELL) of mormyrid electric fish, which forms a negative image of the
reafferent signal from the fish's own electric discharge to optimize detection
of external electric fields. We derive a necessary and sufficient condition for
stability, for arbitrary postsynaptic potential functions and arbitrary
learning rules. We then apply the general result to several examples of
biological interest.Comment: 13 pages, revtex4; uses packages: graphicx, subfigure; 9 figures, 16
subfigure
Structuring Judicial Discretion in China: Exploring the 2014 Sentencing Guidelines
In recent years, a range of western jurisdictions has introduced reforms designed to restrict and guide judicial discretion at sentencing. The reforms enacted include mandatory sentencing laws and guiding statutes prescribing sentencing purposes and principles as well as important aggravating and mitigating factors. However, formal guidelines are the most promising and well-studied innovation. We may now add China to the growing list of countries that have recognized the utility of guidelines. Over the past decade, China has slowly developed sentencing guidelines for its courts. The new guidelines contain both general directions with respect to the determination of sentence as well as specific numerical guidelines for common offences. The guidelines do not follow the approach taken by the US schemes, many of which employ a two-dimensional sentencing grid. Instead, China has adopted a strategy consisting of âStarting Pointâ sentences which are then adjusted by the court to reflect relevant mitigating and aggravating factors. This approach is much closer to the guidelines developed in England and Wales and those proposed but not yet implemented in New Zealand and Israel. In this article, we explore the new Chinese guidelines and provide a limited comparative analysis with guidelines in other jurisdictions. England and Wales is selected as the principal comparator since it has developed and implemented a comprehensive system consisting of both offence-specified guidelines as well as generic guidelines
The GBT350 Survey of the Northern Galactic Plane for Radio Pulsars and Transients
Using the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and Pulsar Spigot at 350MHz, we have
surveyed the Northern Galactic Plane for pulsars and radio transients. This
survey covers roughly 1000 square degrees of sky within 75 deg < l < 165 deg
and |b| < 5.5 deg, a region of the Galactic Plane inaccessible to both the
Parkes and Arecibo multibeam surveys. The large gain of the GBT along with the
high time and frequency resolution provided by the Spigot make this survey more
sensitive by factors of about 4 to slow pulsars and more than 10 to millisecond
pulsars (MSPs), compared with previous surveys of this area. In a preliminary,
reduced-resolution search of all the survey data, we have discovered 33 new
pulsars, almost doubling the number of known pulsars in this part of the
Galaxy. While most of these sources were discovered by normal periodicity
searches, 5 of these sources were first identified through single, dispersed
bursts. We discuss the interesting properties of some of these new sources.
Data processing using the data's full-resolution is ongoing, with the goal of
uncovering MSPs missed by our first, coarse round of processing.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of "Forty Years of Pulsars: Millisecond
Pulsars, Magnetars and More" held in Montreal, Canada, August 12-17, 2007. 3
pages, 2 figure
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