Testing Inflation: A Bootstrap Approach

We note that the essential idea of inflation, that the universe underwent a brief period of accelerated expansion followed by a long period of decelerated expansion, can be encapsulated in a "closure condition" which relates the amount of accelerated expansion during inflation to the amount of decelerated expansion afterward. We present a protocol for systematically testing the validity of this condition observationally.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, matches Phys. Rev. Lett. versio

Analytical studies of in-reactor tests of a nuclear light bulb unit cell

Analytical studies of in-reactor tests of nuclear light bulb unit cell using Pewee, nuclear furnace, and high flux isotope reactor

Analytical design and performance studies of the nuclear light bulb engine

Analytical studies were conducted to investigate in detail the heat balance characteristics of the nuclear light bulb engine. Distributions of energy deposition to all engine components from the fission process, conduction and convection, and thermal radiation were considered. Where uncertainties in basic data or heat transfer characteristics were encountered, ranges of heat loads were calculated and reference values were selected. The influence of these heat loads on engine performance, space radiator requirements, and cooling sequence and cooling circuit designs was determined. The analyses resulted in revisions to the previously reported reference engine characteristics, principally in the heat loads to some engine components and in the cooling sequence. These revisions were incorporated in the engine dynamics digital computer simulation program. No significant changes occurred in the dynamic response of the engine to perturbations in fuel injection rate, reactivity or exhaust nozzle area

Why it pays to think outside the box when looking for a job

Mainly for students: Stephanie Latham provides tips and advice on how students can enhance their employability skills

Analytical studies of nuclear light bulb engine radiant heat transfer and performance characteristics

Analytical model of nuclear light bulb engine radiant heat transfer and engine performance, dynamics and control, heat loads and shutdown characteristic

Comic Books vs. Greek Mythology: the Ultimate Crossover for the Classical Scholar

The modern, serialized comic book is one of the most underutilized genres of literature in literary criticism today. While it is true that some graphic novels such as Alan Moore\u27s Watchmen and Frank Miller\u27s The Dark Knight Returns receive scholarly criticism, many monthly titles such as Action Comics or Batman are neglected by most of the scholarly community. The reason for this neglect cannot be traced to one single source, but it is unfortunate considering how valuable serialized comic books can be to modern scholars, particularly classical scholars studying Greek mythology. The similarities between the superheroes of serialized comic books and the heroes of Greek mythology result in an interesting genre of literature that can allow classical scholars to observe how modern writers reinterpret the classical texts of Greek mythology. It is the purpose of this thesis to examine various intersecting similarities between mythological heroes and modern superheroes in the hopes of encouraging further discussion of modern serialized comic books in the scholarly world

The effect of outlines, headings and summaries on the recall of informational text

The purpose of this study was to investigate various text-based ways of assisting Year Seven readers to enhance their recall of informational texts. The theory that was tested in this investigation is that text-based reading aids which secure the activation and rehearsal of relevant form and/or content schemata for written texts will enhance the recall of the content and structure of those texts. To investigate the comparative impact of the text conditions, 105 Year Seven students from a large primary school in a northern suburb of the Perth Metropolitan Area were ranked on the basis of their reading comprehension scores. They were systematically assigned to each of the five groups to create five approximately heterogeneous groups thus creating a stratified sample. Two separate experiments were conducted. The dependent variable for the first was the recall of content, while for the second, it was the ability to show a knowledge of the text’s structure. It was concluded that, for this sample of Year Seven students, the quantity of content recalled was enhanced to about the same significant degree by the use of in-text headings or the use of a pre-text outline when compared with the no text-based aids condition. Further, it was concluded that the use of in-text headings and a pre-text outline enhanced the recall of text content about as well as the use of in-text headings, a pre-text outline and a post-text summary. Both produced significantly enhanced recall when compared with the no text-based aids condition the in-text headings condition and the pre-text outline condition. As a result of experiment two, it was concluded that the recall of text structure was not enhanced by the use of in-text headings. It was further concluded that the use of a pre-text outline, the use of a pre-text outline with in-text headings, and the use of a pre-text outline with in-text headings and a post-text summary produced equal scores on the recall of text structure. All three of these conditions produced significantly enhanced recall of text structure when compared with the no text-based aids condition and the in-text headings condition. Since the pre-text outline was the variable common to all of these conditions, it was concluded that the use of a pre-text outline had a significant, beneficial effect upon the recall of text structure. It is clear from the findings of this study that the recall of the content and structure of informational texts by Year Seven students, like those in the sample used in this study could be significantly enhanced if texts were produced with carefully formulated pre-text outlines and in-text headings

Studies of nuclear light bulb start-up conditions and engine dynamics

Deep Space Network for two-way communications with unmanned spacecraft at planetary distances - Vol.