Balloon-borne infrared coronagraph

The use of balloon vehicles to observe the solar corona with an infrared coronagraph is reviewed. The scientific results and the instruments employed are discussed. A parallel is drawn between the required functions of a coronagraph and of a far-infrared cold telescope

Balloon telescope studies of Venus

Determination of ice clouds and water vapor in Venus atmosphere from balloon observation

Stirring apparatus for plural test tubes Patent

Design of mechanical device for stirring several test tubes simultaneousl

Memory device for two-dimensional radiant energy array computers

A memory device for two dimensional radiant energy array computers was developed, in which the memory device stores digital information in an input array of radiant energy digital signals that are characterized by ordered rows and columns. The memory device contains a radiant energy logic storing device having a pair of input surface locations for receiving a pair of separate radiant energy digital signal arrays and an output surface location adapted to transmit a radiant energy digital signal array. A regenerative feedback device that couples one of the input surface locations to the output surface location in a manner for causing regenerative feedback is also include

A comprehensive WebCT integration system

Murdoch University, in collaboration with industry partners, has developed a sophisticated middleware application (WebCTMan) between WebCT and other corporate systems, such as the Callista student records system, the Concept 1 human resources system and Murdoch’s own authentication system. This presentation will describe the architecture and functionality of this system. The impetus for WebCTMan was to enable Murdoch to change its student records database with minimal impact on our WebCT installation. However, WebCTMan now gives us great flexibility in managing our WebCT installation, enabling us to manage courses across teaching periods, and upgrade easily. This paper describes the context in which this system was built and gives an overview of its architecture. Courses in WebCTMan can have a status of active (where student details are updated nightly), inactive (where all students are orphans), and static (where student accounts are valid but not updated). Tools are available to change this status, and easily activate and deactivate courses. Different versions of courses are maintained for each teaching period, resolving the problem of overlap between semesters, when some students still have deferred examinations after the start of a new semester. In addition to managing students, WebCTMan provides functionality to manage staff and courses. Staff can request courses to be created or cloned from other courses. They can also create their own guest accounts and allocate tutors and markers to courses, and download class lists. Operators can create or rename courses on demand, as well as changing the roles of staff, including primary and secondary designers. A subset of functions is available to helpdesk operators, who can lookup details of both students and staff within the system

Altitude characteristics of selected air quality analyzers

The effects of altitude (pressure) on the operation and sensitivity of various air quality analyzers frequently flown on aircraft were analyzed. Two ozone analyzers were studied at altitudes from 600 to 7500 m and a nitrogen oxides chemiluminescence detector and a sulfur dioxide flame photometric detector were studied at altitudes from 600 to 3000 m. Calibration curves for altitude corrections to the sensitivity of the instruments are presented along with discussion of observed instrument behavior

Preparation, analysis and release of simulated interplanetary grains into low Earth orbit

Astronomical observations which reflect the optical and dynamical properties of interstellar and interplanetary grains are the primary means of identifying the shape, size, and the chemistry of extraterrestrial grain materials. Except for recent samplings of extraterrestrial particles in near-Earth orbit and in the stratosphere observations were the only method of deducing the properties of extraterrestrial particles. In order to elucidate the detailed characteristics of observed dust, the observations must be compared with theoretical studies, some of which are discussed in this volume, or compared with terrestrial laboratory experiments. The formation and optical characterization of simulated interstellar and interplanetary dust with particular emphasis on studying the properties on irregularly shaped particles were discussed. Efforts to develop the techniques to allow dust experiments to be carried out in low-Earth orbit were discussed, thus extending the conditions under which dust experiments may be performed