Application of a magnetic mass spectrometer to ionization studies in impure shock-heated argon

A study of the unique role of impurities in the initial stages of ionization relaxation in shock-heated argon, using a sampling mass spectrometer to determine the ionic products of the reaction, is described. The ions are extracted from the shock tube through a small orifice in the end wall after they have diffused through the dense thermal layer adjacent to the wall from the ionizing gas behind the reflected shock wave. The ion diffusion is analysed in detail to assess the possibility that the sampling process alters the reaction products. It is shown that this is unlikely because the impurities are in dilute concentration and the reaction is studied in its initial stages. This mode of sampling is compared with others. The experiments were conducted in argon at temperature of 16,600 °K and pressure of 16 mmHg with an estimated impurity level of 300 parts per million. A surprisingly large number of different ions were detected during the initial stages of ionization. O+ and H+ were found in much greater amounts than any of the other products, each being about five times more abundant than A+. The results suggest that H2O is probably quite generally the most important impurity in thermal-ionization experiments, and that ionization ‘incubation’ is due to dissociation of molecular impurities (especially H2O) before ionization commences. Possible explanations of the well-known efficiency of small amounts of impurities in initiating ionization are discussed

High mutation frequency induced by hybridization

The increase in variability that is a familiar result of the rearing of second generations from crosses between different races is certainly due chiefly to segregation and recombination of genes in which the parental races differed. There is, however, a persistent feeling that perhaps interracial crossing also induces the production of new mutations. The first attempt to test this view experimentally with Drosophila led to negative results (Duncan 1915). Belgovsky (1937) reported an increased frequency of somatic mutations in the hybrids between D. melanogaster and D. simulans, in x-ray experiments. The differences reported were not very striking, and in any case have little bearing on questions concerning spontaneous frequencies

A new inherited character in man

Observations on more than 280 human subjects show the existence of two fairly distinct classes with respect to the ability to turn up the lateral edges of the tongue. In typical positive cases the edges can be rolled together over a considerable portion of the distal area of the tongue, while the organ is slightly protruded. In negative cases there is no turning up of the edges at all. A few intermediates have been encountered; and in numerous cases the ability, at first absent, has been acquired by practice. This latter phenomenon is most frequent in children, only one clear case having been found in an adult-and here prolonged efforts were necessary, whereas in children a few hours are sometimes enough. One man reports that he learned the trick as a child, but now has forgotten it and can no longer do it. It should be added that some children, like most negative adults, appear to be unable to learn. In the data that follow, all cases where the ability was at first absent are entered as negative

Experiments on the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability: Small-scale perturbations on a plane interface

This paper reports the results of measurements of the "visual thickness," obtained from flow visualization experiments by the schlieren method, of initially plane interfaces between two gases under impulsive accelerations. It is found that when such interfaces are processed by just one incident shock wave of strength of order Ms=1.5, their thickness increases slowly and they require observation over extended times; their growth rates are found to slow down with time, in agreement with simple theoretical arguments. The observed growth rates of thin interfaces formed by plastic membranes have been found to be substantially smaller than that reported by previous investigators. Also, thick, diffusively smoothed interfaces initially grow much more slowly than the discontinuous ones do. In these experiments, it is found that wall vortices formed by shock wave/boundary-layer interaction at the interface grow much more rapidly than the shock-processed interfaces in the bulk of the fluid. These wall structures can reduce the apparent growth of interfaces by vorticity-induced strain and impair the observation of the relevant interface phenomena

X-ray measurements of growth rates at a gas interface accelerated by shock waves

A new experimental technique to measure the density of a high atomic number gas at a shock-accelerated interface has been developed and demonstrated. It is based on the absorption of x rays by the high atomic number gas, and it was implemented in a vertical square shock tube. The object of the study was the turbulent entrainment and mixing of shock-accelerated air/xenon interfaces prepared by retracting a metal plate, initially separating the two gases, prior to the release of the shock wave. Interfaces of two types, quasi-sinusoidal and nominally flat, were examined. The amplitude of large wavelength (25–100 mm) perturbations on the interface, and the thickness of the interface were measured. An integral definition for the interface mean line was adopted, making it possible to study and time evolution of the individual Fourier modes of the perturbations. A new integral definition for the interface thickness was proposed, making it feasible to study for the first time the time evolution of the thickness of quasi-sinusoidal interfaces. Images of interfaces after interacting with a series of weak waves reverberating between the interface and the shock tube end wall were obtained. The perturbations are studied at the late stages of their evolution, when their amplitude is no longer small compared to their wavelength. Consequently, the measured growth rates of the modal amplitudes are smaller than those predicted by the impulsive model based on the small amplitude approximation. In the case of nominally flat interfaces, the thickness is observed to grow linearly at rates comparable to values previously reported

Propagation of weak shocks through a random medium

The propagation of weak shock waves (M_s = 1.007, 1.03 and 1.1) through a statistically uniform random medium has been investigated experimentally in a shock tube. The wave-from geometry, rise time and amplitude of initially plane shocks which have propagated through a random mixture of helium and refrigerant 12 are measured. The effect of shock propagation on the properties of the random medium is visualized with schlieren and shadow photography. The pressure histories of the distorted shock waves reflecting from a normal end wall are observed to be both peaked and rounded. In the rounded case the perturbed shock is found to be made up of a succession of weak, slightly curved fronts with a total effective rise time orders of magnitude greater than the classical Taylor thickness. The radius of curvature of the weakest shocks after propagating through the random medium is inferred from observations at two downstream stations to be about 7 times the integral scale of the gas inhomogeneities. It is concluded that the observed distortions of the wave fronts can best be explained in terms of random focusing and defocusing of the front by the inhomogeneities in the medium. A ray-tracing calculation has been used to interpret the experimental observations. It is found that geometrical considerations are sufficient to account for many of the effects observed on the shocks

Shock wave focusing using geometrical shock dynamics

A finite-difference numerical method for geometrical shock dynamics has been developed based on the analogy between the nonlinear ray equations and the supersonic potential equation. The method has proven to be an efficient and inexpensive tool for approximately analyzing the focusing of weak shock waves, where complex nonlinear wave interactions occur over a large range of physical scales. The numerical results exhibit the qualitative behavior of strong, moderate, and weak shock focusing observed experimentally. The physical mechanisms that are influenced by aperture angle and shock strength are properly represented by geometrical shock dynamics. Comparison with experimental measurements of the location at which maximum shock pressure occurs shows good agreement, but the maximum pressure at focus is overestimated by about 60%. This error, though large, is acceptable when the speed and low cost of the method is taken into consideration. The error is primarily due to the under prediction of disturbance speed on weak shock fronts. Adequate resolution of the focal region proves to be particularly important to properly judge the validity of shock dynamics theory, under-resolution leading to overly optimistic conclusions

Dependence of shock-tube boundary layers on shock strength

Using familiar considerations of vorticity transport, the essential behavior of shock-tube boundary layers is explicitly exhibited; the nearly constant functions that cannot be calculated analytically are evaluated numerically and compared with Mirels' correlations

Inversions in the third chromosome of wild races of Drosophila pseudoobscura, and their use in the study of the history of the species

Genetic studies showed several years ago that the third chromosomes of wild strains of Drosophila pseudoobscura often carry suppressors of crossing-over. The salivary gland chromosome technique has made it possible to demonstrate not only that these are inverted sections, but also that there are many different inversions present in wild populations inhabiting different geographical regions. So far we have found at least fourteen different gene-sequences in wild stocks, and have found that in most geographical regions several sequences are present, though no single sequence appears to occur throughout the range of the species. There are a number of problems raised by these facts, most of which need further study; the present account is to be regarded only as a preliminary note