Ion specificity and the theory of stability of colloidal suspensions

A theory is presented which allow us to accurately calculate the critical coagulation concentration (CCC) of hydrophobic colloidal suspensions. For positively charged particles the CCC's follow the Hofmeister (lyotropic) series. For negatively charged particles the series is reversed. We find that strongly polarizable chaotropic anions are driven towards the colloidal surface by electrostatic and hydrophobic forces. Within approximately one ionic radius from the surface, the chaotropic anions loose part of their hydration sheath and become strongly adsorbed. The kosmotropic anions, on the other hand, are repelled from the hydrophobic surface. The theory is quantitatively accurate without any adjustable parameters. We speculate that the same mechanism is responsible for the Hofmeister series that governs stability of protein solutions.Comment: Phys. Rev. Lett. (in press

The entropy of the noncommutative acoustic black hole based on generalized uncertainty principle

In this paper we investigate statistical entropy of a 3-dimensional rotating acoustic black hole based on generalized uncertainty principle. In our results we obtain an area entropy and a correction term associated with the noncommutative acoustic black hole when $\lambda$ introduced in the generalized uncertainty principle takes a specific value. However, in this method, it is not needed to introduce the ultraviolet cut-off and divergences are eliminated. Moreover, the small mass approximation is not necessary in the original brick-wall model.Comment: 9 pages, no figures; version to appear in PLB. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1210.773

A thorough analysis of the short- and mid-term activity-related variations in the solar acoustic frequencies

The frequencies of the solar acoustic oscillations vary over the activity cycle. The variations in other activity proxies are found to be well correlated with the variations in the acoustic frequencies. However, each proxy has a slightly different time behaviour. Our goal is to characterize the differences between the time behaviour of the frequency shifts and of two other activity proxies, namely, the area covered by sunspots and the 10.7cm flux. We define a new observable that is particularly sensitive to the short-term frequency variations. We then compare the observable when computed from model frequency shifts and from observed frequency shifts obtained with the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) for cycle 23. Our analysis shows that on the shortest time-scales the variations in the frequency shifts seen in the GONG observations are strongly correlated with the variations in the area covered by sunspots. However, a significant loss of correlation is still found. We verify that the times when the frequency shifts and the sunspot area do not vary in a similar way tend to coincide with the times of the maxima of the quasi-biennial variations seen in the solar seismic data. A similar analysis of the relation between the 10.7cm flux and the frequency shifts reveals that the short-time variations in the frequency shifts follow even more closely those of the 10.7cm flux than those of the sunspot area. However, a loss of correlation between frequency shifts and 10.7cm flux variations is still found around the same times.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

On the relation between activity-related frequency shifts and the sunspot distribution over the solar cycle 23

The activity-related variations in the solar acoustic frequencies have been known for 30 years. However, the importance of the different contributions is still not well established. With this in mind, we developed an empirical model to estimate the spot-induced frequency shifts, which takes into account the sunspot properties, such as area and latitude. The comparison between the model frequency shifts obtained from the daily sunspot records and those observed suggests that the contribution from a stochastic component to the total frequency shifts is about 30%. The remaining 70% is related to a global, long-term variation. We also propose a new observable to investigate the short- and mid-term variations of the frequency shifts, which is insensitive to the long-term variations contained in the data. On the shortest time scales the variations in the frequency shifts are strongly correlated with the variations in the total area covered by sunspots. However, a significant loss of correlation is still found, which cannot be fully explained by ignoring the invisible side of the Sun when accounting for the total sunspot area. We also verify that the times when the frequency shifts and the sunspot areas do not vary in a similar way tend to coincide with the times of the maximum amplitude of the quasi-biennial variations found in the seismic data.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, proceedings of the Joint TASC2 - KASC9 Workshop - SPACEINN - HELAS8 Conference "Seismology of the Sun and the Distant Stars 2016: Using Today's Successes to Prepare the Future". To be published by the EPJ Web of Conference

Radiação, especialmente a UV-B, como fator limitante à germinação de urediósporos de Hemileia vastatrix.

Objetivou-se avaliar a capacidade germinativa de urediniósporos de Hemileia vastatrix submetidos a diferentes doses de radiação UV-B. Urediniósporos de H. vastatrix coletados de lesões jovens da ferrugem do cafeeiro foram suspendidos em água contendo Tween 80 (0,02%), alíquotas de 20?L foram transferidas para placas de Petri contendo ágar-água. Os urediniósporos foram imediatamente expostos a seis diferentes doses de radiação UV-B e incubados durante 12 e 24 h. Avaliou-se um total de 300 urediniósporos/repetição considerando como germinado todos aqueles que apresentavam tubo germinativo formado com comprimento igual ou superior ao seu maior diâmetro. A inibição da germinação dos urediniósporos de H. vastatrix, mesmo decorridos 24h de sua germinação, foi diretamente proporcional ao aumento nos níveis de radiação UV-B. O decréscimo na germinação foi proporcional ao aumento das doses de UV-B, indicando que o aumento nos níveis de radiação UV-B pode constituir em um fator limitante para o desenvolvimento da infecção da ferrugem do cafeeiro

Comparison of Monomethylhydrazine/Hydroxypropylcellulose and Hydrocarbon/Silica Gels

Experimental studies have been performed to investigate rheology and droplet burning with different types of gelled propellants. Monomethylhydrazine has been gelled with organic hydroxypropylcellulose. JP-8 and RP-1 hydrocarbon gels have been produced with inorganic fumed silica particles. Rheological characterization showed the differences in terms of viscosity and yield stress behavior due to different types of gelling agents. Herschel-Bulkley and Carreau-Yasuda models have been used to characterize the gels with inorganic and organic gelling agents, respectively. First experiments with the Monomethylhydrazine/hydroxypropylcellulose gels showed a typical swelling process during combustion with a flexible viscous droplet surface. Contrary to that, the hydrocarbon/silica gels burned while a rigid silica structure was built, which remained unburned. Burning drop measurements have been compared to the d^2-squared law