723 research outputs found
Dynamics of Water Entry
The hydrodynamics associated with water-entry of spheres can be highly
variable with respect to the material and kinematic properties of the sphere.
This series of five fluid dynamics videos illustrates several subtle but
interesting variations. The first series of videos contrasts the nature of
impact between a hydrophilic and hydrophobic sphere, and illustrates how
surface coating can affect whether or not an air cavity is formed. The second
video series illustrates how spin and surface treatments can alter the splash
and cavity formation following water entry. The spinning sphere causes a wedge
of fluid to be drawn into the cavity due to the no-slip condition and follows a
curved trajectory. The non-spinning sphere has two distinct surface treatments
on the left and right hemispheres: the left hemisphere is hydrophobic and the
right hemisphere is hydrophilic . Interestingly, the cavity formation for the
half-and-half sphere has many similarities to that of the spinning sphere
especially when viewed from above. The third video series compares two
millimetric nylon spheres impacting at slightly different impact speeds (Uo =
40 and 45 cm/s); the faster sphere fully penetrates the free surface, forming a
cavity, whereas the slower sphere does not. The fourth series shows the
instability of an elongated water-entry cavity formed by a millimetric steel
sphere with a hydrophobic coating impacting at Uo = 600 cm/s. The elongated
cavity forms multiple pinch-off points along its decent. Finally, a millimetric
steel sphere with a hydrophobic coating breaks the free surface with an impact
speed of Uo = 350 cm/s. The cavity pinches-off below the surface, generating a
Worthington jet that pinches into droplets owing to the Rayleigh-Plateau
instability.Comment: American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics Gallery of Fluid
Motion Video Entry Replaced previous version because abstract had LaTex
markup and was too lon
Quantitative Flow Field Imaging about a Hydrophobic Sphere Impacting on a Free Surface
This fluid dynamics video shows the impact of a hydrophobic sphere impacting
a water surface. The sphere has a mass ratio of m* = 1.15, a wetting angle of
110 degrees, a diameter of 9.5 mm, and impacts the surface with a Froude number
of Fr = 9.2. The first sequence shows an impact of a sphere on the free surface
illustrating the formation of the splash crown and air cavity. The cavity grows
both in the axial and radial direction until it eventually collapses at a point
roughly half of the distance from the free surface to the sphere, which is
known as the pinch-off point. The second set of videos shows a sphere impacting
the free surface under the same conditions using Particle Image Velocimetry
(PIV) to quantify the flow field. A laser sheet illuminates the mid-plane of
the sphere, and the fluid is seeded with particles whose motion is captured by
a high-speed video camera. Velocity fields are then calculated from the images.
The video sequences from left to right depict the radial velocity, the axial
velocity, and the vorticity respectively in the flow field. The color bar on
the far left indicates the magnitude of the velocity and vorticity. All videos
were taken at 2610 fps and the PIV data was processed using a 16 x 16 window
with a 50% overlap.Comment: American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics 2008 Annual
Meeting Replaced previous version because abstract had LaTex markup and was
too long, missing periods on middle initial of first two name
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Enhancing Small Group Teaching in Plant Sciences: A Research and Development Project in Higher Education
The Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge uses a range of learning and teaching environments including lectures, practical laboratories and small group tutorials'. Under the auspices of the Cambridge-MIT Institute's Pedagogy Programme, a two-year research and development project concerned with the development of small-group teaching is being undertaken. The research element of this project endeavours to illuminate current practice and identify areas in which evidence-based development might take place. The development element will include professional development activities and the production of curriculum resources including appropriate online material. This is a multi-method study including a series of student questionnaires; focus groups of students; semi-structured interviews with staff members; and the collection of video of small group teaching. In this paper we report selected findings from the 'student data' of the first year of this project.The questionnaire, conducted with two cohorts of students (2nd and 3rd year Undergraduates), used a double-scale questionnaire in which students were asked to report both on the prevalence of a range of teaching and learning practices and on how valuable these were in supporting their learning. This type of questionnaire instrument is particularly appropriate because the data it generates is suggestive of areas for changes in practice. The gaps between 'practices' and 'values' (across both cohorts) suggested that students valued activities which improved their understanding of how elements of the course were interrelated; which related course content to 'authentic' examples; and those in which teachers made explicit the characteristics of 'high quality' student work. Small group teaching, in the view of most students, was best used to extend and explore concepts introduced in lectures rather than simply reinforcing them or assessing student understanding.Data gathered through focus group activities illuminated the questionnaire data, providing detailed accounts of how students managed their own learning, and the roles played in this by lectures, small group teaching and other resources. Students identified the processes of planning and writing essays as key learning activities during which they integrated diverse course content and reflected on problematic knowledge. Questionnaire and focus group data suggested that students had less clear views regarding the value of collaborative learning, peer-assessment or activities such as making presentations to other students. When students talked in positive terms about these activities, they often referred to the learning benefits of preparation for the tasks rather than of the collaborative activities themselves. These views may provide indications of potential barriers to changes in learning and teaching environments, and suggest that any such changes may have to be carefully justified to students in terms of benefits to their own learning. Many of our findings are broadly in accord with other work on teaching and learning in Higher Education settings (such as the 'Oxford Learning Context Project' and the 'Enhancing Teaching-Learning Environments in Undergraduate Courses' Project) in that 'deep learning' and 'authenticity' in learning activities are valued by students, and that the introduction of specific formative practices (such as sharing notions of 'quality') would be welcomed. At the same time, amongst the students in our sample, a view of learning as an individual process of 'learning-as-acquisition' predominates over a view that it is a social process of 'learning-as-participation', and this will inform the planning of the 'development' aspect of the project. We conclude with a discussion of how the approach we have used might be more widely applied both within and beyond the Cambridge-MIT partnership. We also identify potential affordances of, and barriers to, the development of research-informed teaching in Higher Education
Developing Interventions for Children's Exercise (DICE): a pilot evaluation of school-based exercise interventions for primary school children aged 7 to 8 years.
BACKGROUND: Developing Interventions for Children's Exercise (DICE) is an initiative aimed at determining effective school-based exercise programs. To assess feasibility, we conducted a pilot study of exercise sessions which varied in duration and frequency. METHODS: Exercise interventions were delivered to Year 3 pupils (age 7-8 years; n = 73) in primary schools within Yorkshire, UK. Evaluations were conducted using focus group sessions, questionnaires and observations. RESULTS: The study revealed positive aspects of all interventions, including favorable effects on children's concentration during lessons and identified the value of incorporation of the DICE concept into curriculum lessons. Children appeared enthused and reported well-being and enjoyment. Areas requiring attention were the need for appropriate timetabling of sessions and ensuring the availability of space. CONCLUSION: The concept and sessions were well-accepted by teachers who confirmed their full support of any future implementation There appears to be potential for the encouragement and empowerment of teachers to support physical activity and healthy school environments, and to take an interest in the health of their pupils. Ultimately, these findings should assist in the design of successful exercise interventions in the school setting
Cooper pairing and single particle properties of trapped Fermi gases
We calculate the elementary excitations and pairing of a trapped atomic Fermi
gas in the superfluid phase. The level spectra and pairing gaps undergo several
transitions as the strength of the interactions between and the number of atoms
are varied. For weak interactions, the Cooper pairs are formed between
particles residing in the same harmonic oscillator shell. In this regime, the
nature of the paired state is shown to depend critically on the position of the
chemical potential relative to the harmonic oscillator shells and on the size
of the mean field. For stronger interactions, we find a region where pairing
occur between time-reversed harmonic oscillator states in different shells
also.Comment: Slightly revised version: Mistakes in equation references in figures
corrected. Accepted for Phys. Rev.
Excitable media in open and closed chaotic flows
We investigate the response of an excitable medium to a localized
perturbation in the presence of a two-dimensional smooth chaotic flow. Two
distinct types of flows are numerically considered: open and closed. For both
of them three distinct regimes are found, depending on the relative strengths
of the stirring and the rate of the excitable reaction. In order to clarify and
understand the role of the many competing mechanisms present, simplified models
of the process are introduced. They are one-dimensional baker-map models for
the flow and a one-dimensional approximation for the transverse profile of the
filaments.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figure
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Multi-model ensemble predictions of aviation turbulence
Turbulence remains one of the leading causes of aviation incidents. Climate change is predicted to increase the occurrence of Clear‐Air Turbulence (CAT), and therefore forecasting turbulence will become more important in the future. Currently the two World Area Forecast Centres (WAFCs) use deterministic numerical weather prediction models to predict clear‐air turbulence operationally, it has been shown that ensemble forecasts improve the forecast skill of traditional meteorological variables. This study applies multi‐model ensemble forecasting to aviation turbulence for the first time. It is shown in a 12‐month global trial from May 2016 to April 2017, that combining two different ensembles yields a similar forecast skill to a single model ensemble, and yields an improvement in forecast value at low cost/loss ratios. This finding is consistent with previous work showing that the use of ensembles in turbulence forecasting is beneficial. Using a multi‐model approach is an effective way to improve the forecast skill and provide pilots and flight planners with more information about the forecast confidence, allowing them to make a more informed decision about what action needs to be taken, such as diverting around the turbulence or requiring passengers and flight attendants to be seatbelted. The multi‐model ensemble approach is intended to be made operational by both WAFCs in the near future and this study lays the foundations to make this possible
Resonator-Enhanced Optical Dipole Trap for Fermionic Lithium Atoms
We demonstrate a novel optical dipole trap which is based on the enhancement
of the optical power density of a Nd:YAG laser beam in a resonator. The trap is
particularly suited for experiments with ultracold gases, as it combines a
potential depth of order 1 mK with storage times of several tens of seconds. We
study the interactions in a gas of fermionic lithium atoms in our trap and
observe the influence of spin-changing collisions and off-resonant photon
scattering. A key element in reaching long storage times is an ultra-low noise
laser. The dependence of the storage time on laser noise is investigated.Comment: 4 pages 3 figures Revised 17.07.2001; Corrected calibration of noise
measm
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