Structure and dynamics of Yukawa dusty plasmas and dusty plasma mixtures

Dusty plasmas can be regarded as Yukawa system in a one-dimensional potential well. We extend the analysis on dusty plasmas to the two-dimensional Yukawa particles. At low temperatures, dust particles sit in a plane which is perpendicular to the gravitational field under appropriate conditions. When they are also confined laterally by an electrode, we have a finite two-dimensional system of Yukawa particles. The low temperature structures are obtained by molecular dynamics simulations and the results are reproduced by theoretical analyses. The correlation energy of the Yukawa particles has been shown to play an essential role in structure formations. As for dynamics of this system, the tendency of a change from the surface melting in systems with short-ranged interactions to possible surface freezing of Coulombic system is observed

PERFORMANCE AND PRACTICE: EXAMINING THE MACHINE TOOL INDUSTRIES OF JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES

Machine tool (MT) production is at the centre of most durable goods manufacturing and is in many ways, an indicator of a country's industrial prowess. Over the past three decades, the machine tool sectors of Japan and the United States have followed distinctly different trajectories. This paper compares and contrasts the performance and characteristics of the MT industries of both countries, with particular attention paid to several embedded differences in each country's manufacturing conditions at various levels. Once the world leader, the US MT industry is in a period of decline, despite signs of a rebound during the 1990s. Japanese MT producers continue to be among the world leaders in terms of both sales and technology, in the face of a recent domestic economic slowdown well over a decade long. The paper concludes with a discussion of the industry's future prospects. Copyright (c) 2006 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.