105,706 research outputs found

    ATS-6 millimeter wavelength propagation experiment

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    The fixed 20/30 GHz ground terminal is described in detail; it is being used for path diversity measurements in the ATS-6 millimeter wavelength propagation experiment. The current status and summary of operations are reviewed

    CTS/Comstar communications link characterization experiment

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    Measurements of angle of arrival and amplitude fluctuations on millimeter wavelength Earth-space communication links are described. Measurement of rainfall attenuation and radiometric temperature statistics and the assessment of the performance of a self-phased array as a receive antenna on an Earth-space link are also included

    Primary reaction control system/remote manipulator system interaction with loaded arm. Space shuttle engineering and operations support

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    A study of the interaction between the orbiter primary reaction control system (PRCS) and the remote manipulator system (RMS) with a loaded arm is documented. This analysis was performed with the Payload Deployment and Retrieval Systems Simulation (PDRSS) program with the passive arm bending option. The passive-arm model simulates the arm as massless elastic links with locked joints. The study was divided into two parts. The first part was the evaluation of the response of the arm to step inputs (i.e. constant jet torques) about each of the orbiter body axes. The second part of the study was the evaluation of the response of the arm to minimum impulse primary RCS jet firings with both single pulse and pulse train inputs

    Determinism and inevitability

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    In Freedom Evolves, Dan Dennett embarks on his second book-length attempt to lay to rest the deep metaphysical concerns that many philosophers have expressed about the possibility of human freedom.One of his main objectives in the earlier chapters of the book is to make determinism appear less threatening to our prospects for free agency than it has sometimes seemed, by attempting to show that a deterministic universe would not necessarily be a universe of which it could truly be said that everything that occurs in it is inevitable. In this paper, I want to consider Dennett’s striking argument for this conclusion in some detail. I shall begin by suggesting that on its most natural interpretation, the argument is vulnerable to a serious objection. I shall then develop a second interpretation which is more promising than the first, but will argue that without placing more weight on etymological considerations than they can really bear, it can deliver, at best, only a significantly qualified version of the conclusion that Dennett is seeking. However, although I shall be arguing that his central argument fails, it is also part of the purpose of this paper to build on what I regard as some rather insightful and suggestive material which is developed by Dennett in the course of elaborating his views. His own development of these ideas is hampered, so I shall argue, by a framework for thinking about possibility that is too crude to accommodate the immense subtlety and complexity which is exhibited by the workings of the modal verb ‘can’ and its past tense form, ‘could’; and also, I believe, by the mistaken conviction, on Dennett’s part, that any naturalistically respectable solution to the problem of free will would have to be of a compatibilist stripe. I shall attempt, in the second half of the paper, to explain what seems to me to be wrong with the framework, and to make some points about the functioning of ‘can’ and ‘could’, which I believe any adequate replacement for Dennett’s framework must respect. Ironically, though, I shall argue that it is the rejection of Dennett’s own framework which holds the key to understanding how to defend the spirit (if not the letter) of his thoughts about the invulnerability of our ordinary modal thinking to alleged threats from determinism

    Use of active control technology to improve ride qualities of large transport aircraft

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    Analyses, construction and flight testing of two systems: Beta-vane and Modal Suppression Augmentation System (MSAS), which were developed to suppress gust induced lateral accelerations of large aircraft, are described. The 747 transport was used as the test vehicle. The purpose of the Beta-vane system is to reduce acceleration levels at the dutch roll frequency whereas the function of the MSAS system is to reduce accelerations due to flexible body motions caused by turbulence. Data from flight test, with both systems engaged shows a 50 to 70 percent reduction in lateral aft body acceleration levels. Furthermore, it is suggested that present day techniques used for developing dynamic equations of motion in the flexible mode region are limited

    ATS-6 millimeter wavelength propagation experiment

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    The Ohio State University participation in the ATS-6 Millimeter Wavelength Propagation Experiment is summarized. Attenuation was measured simultaneously at 20 and 30 GHz on earth space propagation paths to two ground terminals located at Columbus, Ohio. In addition, 20 and 30 GHz radiometric temperatures were measured along the same propagation paths; and the 20 GHz radiometric temperature was also measured at a third ground terminal. The results of these measurements are presented, and diversity gains for the four pairs of propagation paths are discussed. The scintillation characteristics of the received signals are also presented
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