7,562 research outputs found
Atmospheric particulate measurements in Norfolk, Virginia
Characterization of atmospheric particulates was conducted at a site near the center of Norfolk, Virginia. Air quality was measured in terms of atmospheric mass loading, particle size distribution, and particulate elemental composition for a period of 2 weeks. The objectives of this study were (1) to establish a mean level of air quality and deviations about this mean, (2) to ascertain diurnal changes or special events in air quality, and (3) to evaluate instrumentation and sampling schedules. Simultaneous measurements were made with the following instruments: a quartz crystal microbalance particulate monitor, a light-scattering multirange particle counter, a high-volume air sampler, and polycarbonate membrane filters. To assess the impact of meteorological conditions on air quality variations, continuous data on temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction were recorded. Particulate elemental composition was obtained from neutron activation and scanning electron microscopy analyses of polycarbonate membrane filter samples. The measured average mass loading agrees reasonably well with the mass loadings determined by the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board. There are consistent diurnal increases in atmospheric mass loading in the early morning and a sample time resolution of 1/2 hour seems necessary to detect most of the significant events
Effluent sampling of Scout D and Delta launch vehicle exhausts
Characterization of engine-exhaust effluents (hydrogen chloride, aluminum oxide, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide) has been attempted by conducting field experiments monitoring the exhaust cloud from a Scout-Algol III vehicle launch and a Delta-Thor vehicle launch. The exhaust cloud particulate size number distribution (total number of particles as a function of particle diameter), mass loading, morphology, and elemental composition have been determined within limitations. The gaseous species in the exhaust cloud have been identified. In addition to the ground-based measurements, instrumented aircraft flights through the low-altitude, stabilized-exhaust cloud provided measurements which identified CO and HCI gases and Al2O3 particles. Measurements of the initial exhaust cloud during formation and downwind at several distances have established sampling techniques which will be used for experimental verification of model predictions of effluent dispersion and fallout from exhaust clouds
Laminar flow of two miscible fluids in a simple network
When a fluid comprised of multiple phases or constituents flows through a
network, non-linear phenomena such as multiple stable equilibrium states and
spontaneous oscillations can occur. Such behavior has been observed or
predicted in a number of networks including the flow of blood through the
microcirculation, the flow of picoliter droplets through microfluidic devices,
the flow of magma through lava tubes, and two-phase flow in refrigeration
systems. While the existence of non-linear phenomena in a network with many
inter-connections containing fluids with complex rheology may seem
unsurprising, this paper demonstrates that even simple networks containing
Newtonian fluids in laminar flow can demonstrate multiple equilibria.
The paper describes a theoretical and experimental investigation of the
laminar flow of two miscible Newtonian fluids of different density and
viscosity through a simple network. The fluids stratify due to gravity and
remain as nearly distinct phases with some mixing occurring only by diffusion.
This fluid system has the advantage that it is easily controlled and modeled,
yet contains the key ingredients for network non-linearities. Experiments and
3D simulations are first used to explore how phases distribute at a single
T-junction. Once the phase separation at a single junction is known, a network
model is developed which predicts multiple equilibria in the simplest of
networks. The existence of multiple stable equilibria is confirmed
experimentally and a criteria for their existence is developed. The network
results are generic and could be applied to or found in different physical
systems
ORFEUS II and IUE Spectroscopy of EX Hydrae
Using ORFEUS-SPAS II FUV spectra, IUE UV spectra, and archival EUVE deep
survey photometry, we present a detailed picture of the behavior of the
magnetic cataclysmic variable EX Hydrae. Like HUT spectra of this source, the
FUV and UV spectra reveal broad emission lines of He II, C II-IV, N III and V,
O VI, Si III-IV, and Al III superposed on a continuum which is blue in the UV
and nearly flat in the FUV. Like ORFEUS spectra of AM Her, the O VI doublet is
resolved into broad and narrow emission components. Consistent with its
behavior in the optical, the FUV and UV continuum flux densities, the FUV and
UV broad emission line fluxes, and the radial velocity of the O VI broad
emission component all vary on the spin phase of the white dwarf, with the
maximum of the FUV and UV continuum and broad emission line flux light curves
coincident with maximum blueshift of the broad O VI emission component. On the
binary phase, the broad dip in the EUV light curve is accompanied by strong
eclipses of the UV emission lines and by variations in both the flux and radial
velocity of the O VI narrow emission component. The available data are
consistent with the accretion funnel being the source of the FUV and UV
continuum and the O VI broad emission component, and the white dwarf being the
source of the O VI narrow emission component.Comment: 21 pages, 10 Postscript figures; LaTeX format, uses aaspp4.sty;
table2.tex included separately because it must be printed sideways - see
instructions in the file; accepted on 1999 Feb 20 for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
Dynamic instability of a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate
We consider a Bose-Einstein condensate subject to a rotating harmonic
potential, in connection with recent experiments leading to the formation of
vortices. We use the classical hydrodynamic approximation to the non-linear
Schr\"odinger equation to determine almost analytically the evolution of the
condensate. We predict that this evolution can exhibit dynamical instabilities,
for the stirring procedure previously demonstrated at ENS and for a new
stirring procedure that we put forward. These instabilities take place within
the range of stirring frequency and amplitude for which vortices are produced
experimentally. They provide therefore an initiating mechanism for vortex
nucleation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, last version including comparison with
experiment
Spectral features of lightning-induced ion cyclotron waves at low latitudes: DEMETER observations and simulation
International audience[1] We use a comprehensive analysis of 6-component ELF wave data from the DEMETER satellite to study proton whistlers, placing emphasis on low-latitude events originating from lightning strokes in the hemisphere opposite to the hemisphere of observation. In this case, the formation of proton whistlers does not involve mode conversion caused by a strong mode coupling at a crossover frequency, although a polarization reversal remains an important element in formation of the phenomenon. DEMETER measurements of the six electromagnetic field components in the frequency band below 1000 Hz make it possible to determine not only the dynamic spectrum, but also the wave polarization, the wave normal angle, and the normalized parallel component of the Poynting vector. This permits us to address fine features of proton whistlers, in particular, we show that the deviation of the upper cutoff frequency from the equatorial cyclotron frequency is related to the Doppler shift. Experimental study of proton whistlers is supplemented by an investigation of ion cyclotron wave propagation in a multicomponent magnetoplasma and by numerical modeling of spectrograms, both in the frame of geometrical optics
Consequence of superfluidity on the expansion of a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate
We study the time evolution of a rotating condensate, that expands after
being suddenly released from the confining trap, by solving the hydrodynamic
equations of irrotational superfluids. For slow initial rotation speeds,
, we find that the condensate's angular velocity increases rapidly
to a maximum value and this is accompanied by a minimum in the deformation of
the condensate in the rotating plane. During the expansion the sample makes a
global rotation of approximately , where the exact value depends on
. This minimum deformation can serve as an easily detectable
signature of superfluidity in a Bose--Einstein condensate.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR
MERLIN radio detection of an interaction zone within a binary Orion proplyd system
Presented here are high angular resolution MERLIN 5 GHz (6 cm) continuum
observations of the binary proplyd system, LV 1 in the Orion nebula, which
consists of proplyd 168--326SE and its binary proplyd companion 168--326NW
(separation 0.4 arcsec). Accurate astrometric alignment allows a detailed
comparison between these data and published HST PC Halpha and [Oiii] images.
Thermal radio sources coincide with the two proplyds and originate in the
ionized photoevaporating flows seen in the optical emission lines. Flow
velocities of approx 50 km/s from the ionized proplyd surfaces and \geq 100
km/s from a possible micro-jet have been detected using the Manchester Echelle
spectrometer.
A third radio source is found to coincide with a region of extended, high
excitation, optical line emission that lies between the binary proplyds
168--326SE/326NW . This is modelled as a bowshock due to the collision of the
photoevaporating flows from the two proplyds. Both a thermal and a non-thermal
origin for the radio emission in this collision zone are considered.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, accepted by Ap
Time on a Rotating Platform
Traditional clock synchronisation on a rotating platform is shown to be
incompatible with the experimentally established transformation of time. The
latter transformation leads directly to solve this problem through noninvariant
one-way speed of light. The conventionality of some features of relativity
theory allows full compatibility with existing experimental evidence.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, no figure. Copies available at [email protected]
accepted for publication in Found. Phys. Let
Anomalous radio emission from dust in the Helix
A byproduct of experiments designed to map the CMB is the recent detection of
a new component of foreground Galactic emission. The anomalous foreground at ~
10--30 GHz, unexplained by traditional emission mechanisms, correlates with
100um dust emission. We report that in the Helix the emission at 31 GHz and
100um are well correlated, and exhibit similar features on sky images, which
are absent in H\beta. Upper limits on the 250 GHz continuum emission in the
Helix rule out cold grains as candidates for the 31 GHz emission, and provide
spectroscopic evidence for an excess at 31 GHz over bremsstrahlung. We estimate
that the 100um-correlated radio emission, presumably due to dust, accounts for
at least 20% of the 31 GHz emission in the Helix. This result strengthens
previous tentative interpretations of diffuse ISM spectra involving a new dust
emission mechanism at radio frequencies. Very small grains have not been
detected in the Helix, which hampers interpreting the new component in terms of
spinning dust. The observed iron depletion in the Helix favors considering the
identity of this new component to be magnetic dipole emission from hot
ferromagnetic grains. The reduced level of free-free continuum we report also
implies an electronic temperature of Te=4600\pm1200K for the free-free emitting
material, which is significantly lower than the temperature of 9500\pm500K
inferred from collisionally-excited lines (abridged).Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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