Experimental studies of glass refining

The basic components of the experimental apparatus were selected and acquired. Techniques were developed for the fabrication of the special crucibles necessary for the experiments. Arrangements were made for the analysis of glass and gas bubble samples for composition information. Donations of major equipment were received for this project from Owens, Illinois where a similar study had been conducted a few year ago. Decisions were made regarding the actual glass composition to be used, the gas to be used in the first experiments, and the temperatures at which the experiments should be conducted. A microcomputer was acquired, and work was begun on interfacing the video analyzer to it

The motion of bubbles inside drops in containerless processing

A theoretical model of thermocapillary bubble motion inside a drop, located in a space laboratory, due to an arbitrary axisymmetric temperature distribution on the drop surface was constructed. Typical results for the stream function and temperature fields as well as the migration velocity of the bubble were obtained in the quasistatic limit. The motion of bubbles in a rotating body of liquid was studied experimentally, and an approximate theoretical model was developed. Comparison of the experimental observations of the bubble trajectories and centering times with theoretical predictions lends qualified support to the theory

Red Giants in the Small Magellanic Cloud. II. Metallicity Gradient and Age-Metallicity Relation

We present results from the largest CaII triplet line metallicity study of Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) field red giant stars to date, involving 3037 objects spread across approximately 37.5 sq. deg., centred on this galaxy. We find a median metallicity of [Fe/H]=-0.99+/-0.01, with clear evidence for an abundance gradient of -0.075+/-0.011 dex / deg. over the inner 5 deg. We interpret the abundance gradient to be the result of an increasing fraction of young stars with decreasing galacto-centric radius, coupled with a uniform global age-metallicity relation. We also demonstrate that the age-metallicity relation for an intermediate age population located 10kpc in front of the NE of the Cloud is indistinguishable from that of the main body of the galaxy, supporting a prior conjecture that this is a stellar analogue of the Magellanic Bridge. The metal poor and metal rich quartiles of our RGB star sample (with complementary optical photometry from the Magellanic Clouds Photometric Survey) are predominantly older and younger than approximately 6Gyr, respectively. Consequently, we draw a link between a kinematical signature, tentatively associated by us with a disk-like structure, and the upsurges in stellar genesis imprinted on the star formation history of the central regions of the SMC. We conclude that the increase in the star formation rate around 5-6Gyr ago was most likely triggered by an interaction between the SMC and LMC.Comment: To appear in MNRA

Red Giants in the Small Magellanic Cloud. I. Disk and Tidal Stream Kinematics

We present results from an extensive spectroscopic survey of field stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). 3037 sources, predominantly first-ascent red giants, spread across roughly 37.5 sq. deg, are analysed. The line of sight velocity field is dominated by the projection of the orbital motion of the SMC around the LMC/Milky Way. The residuals are inconsistent with both a non-rotating spheroid and a nearly face on disk system. The current sample and previous stellar and HI kinematics can be reconciled by rotating disk models with line of nodes position angle, theta, ~ 120-130 deg., moderate inclination (i ~ 25-70 deg.), and rotation curves rising at 20-40 km/s/kpc. The metal-poor stars exhibit a lower velocity gradient and higher velocity dispersion than the metal-rich stars. If our interpretation of the velocity patterns as bulk rotation is appropriate, then some revision to simulations of the SMC orbit is required since these are generally tuned to the SMC disk line-of-nodes lying in a NE-SW direction. Residuals show strong spatial structure indicative of non-circular motions that increase in importance with increasing distance from the SMC centre. Kinematic substructure in the north-west part of our survey area is associated with the tidal tail or Counter-Bridge predicted by simulations. Lower line-of-sight velocities towards the Wing and the larger velocities just beyond the SW end of the SMC Bar are probably associated with stellar components of the Magellanic Bridge and Counter-Bridge, respectively. Our results reinforce the notion that the intermediate-age stellar population of the SMC is subject to substantial stripping by external forces.Comment: To appear in MNRA

The Orbital Structure of Dark Matter Halos with Gas

With the success of the Chandra and XMM missions and the maturation of gravitational lensing techniques, powerful constraints on the orbital structure of cluster dark matter halos are possible. I show that the X-ray emissivity and mass of a galaxy cluster uniquely specify the anisotropy and velocity dispersion profiles of its dark matter halo. I consider hydrostatic as well as cooling flow scenarios, and apply the formalism to the lensing cluster CL0024+16 and the cooling flow cluster Abell 2199. In both cases, the model predicts a parameter-free velocity dispersion profile that is consistent with independent optical redshift surveys of the clusters.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures; to appear in the Astrophysical Journa

Remote sensing study of soil hazards for Odendaalsrus in the Free State Province

Expansive soils are some of the most widely distributed and costly of geological hazards. This study examined ASTER satellite data, combined with standard remote sensing techniques, namely band ratios, in identifying these soils. Ratios designed to detect various clay minerals were calculated and possible expansive soils were detected, especially in the pans. It was also possible to delineate the mudrock that may act as a source for expansive soils. Moisture content clearly affected the ratios and it shows that remote sensing can detect where wetness leads to the development of problem soils. The fact that the area has relatively dry climatic conditions may explain why large areas of the mudrock have not yet weathered to clays. Because the ratios are not unique, results can be ambiguous, so care must be taken in the interpretation phase

Stochasticity of Bias and Nonlocality of Galaxy Formation: Linear Scales

If one wants to represent the galaxy number density at some point in terms of only the mass density at the same point, there appears the stochasticity in such a relation, which is referred to as ``stochastic bias''. The stochasticity is there because the galaxy number density is not merely a local function of a mass density field, but it is a nonlocal functional, instead. Thus, the phenomenological stochasticity of the bias should be accounted for by nonlocal features of galaxy formation processes. Based on mathematical arguments, we show that there are simple relations between biasing and nonlocality on linear scales of density fluctuations, and that the stochasticity in Fourier space does not exist on linear scales under a certain condition, even if the galaxy formation itself is a complex nonlinear and nonlocal precess. The stochasticity in real space, however, arise from the scale-dependence of bias parameter, $b$. As examples, we derive the stochastic bias parameters of simple nonlocal models of galaxy formation, i.e., the local Lagrangian bias models, the cooperative model, and the peak model. We show that the stochasticity in real space is also weak, except on the scales of nonlocality of the galaxy formation. Therefore, we do not have to worry too much about the stochasticity on linear scales, especially in Fourier space, even if we do not know the details of galaxy formation process.Comment: 24 pages, latex, including 2 figures, ApJ, in pres

Intracluster Comptonization of the CMB: Mean Spectral Distrortion and Cluster Number Counts

The mean sky-averaged Comptonization parameter, y, describing the scattering of the CMB by hot gas in clusters of galaxies is calculated in an array of flat and open cosmological and dark matter models. The models are globally normalized to fit cluster X-ray data, and intracluster gas is assumed to have evolved in a manner consistent with current observations. We predict values of y lower than the COBE/FIRAS upper limit. The corresponding values of the overall optical thickness to Compton scattering are < 10^{-4} for relevant parameter values. Of more practical importance are number counts of clusters across which a net flux (with respect to the CMB) higher than some limiting value can be detected. Such number counts are specifically predicted for the COBRAS/SAMBA and BOOMERANG missions.Comment: 23 pages, Latex, 11 PostScript figures, 5 PostScript tables, to appear in Ap

Beyond capitalism and liberal democracy: on the relevance of GDH Cole’s sociological critique and alternative

This article argues for a return to the social thought of the often ignored early 20th-century English thinker GDH Cole. The authors contend that Cole combined a sociological critique of capitalism and liberal democracy with a well-developed alternative in his work on guild socialism bearing particular relevance to advanced capitalist societies. Both of these, with their focus on the limitations on ‘free communal service’ in associations and the inability of capitalism to yield emancipation in either production or consumption, are relevant to social theorists looking to understand, critique and contribute to the subversion of neoliberalism. Therefore, the authors suggest that Cole’s associational sociology, and the invitation it provides to think of formations beyond capitalism and liberal democracy, is a timely and valuable resource which should be returned to