Report of the Terrestrial Bodies Science Working Group. Volume 2: Mercury

The objectives and rationale for scientific investigation of Mercury are explored. Knowledge already obtained by astronomical observations and Mariner 10 spacecraft is reviewed and measurements required for the principal scientific goals are described. The use of low thrust propulsion systems is recommended so that maximum scientific return may be achieved and the reconnaissance phase of Mercury exploration may be completed in a single mission. Accelerated development is recommended on solar electric propulsion, solar sails, passive and active cooling mechanisms, and single rough landers

Report of the Terrestrial Bodies Science Working Group. Volume 7: The Galilean satellites

The formational and evolutionary history of natural satellites, their mineralogical composition and other phenomena of scientific interest are discussed. Key scientific questions about IO, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa are posed and the measurements and instruments required for a Galilean satellite lander in the 1980's are described

Report of the Terrestrial Bodies Science Working Group. Volume 4: The moon

A rationale for furture exploration of the moon is given. Topics discussed include the objectives of the lunar polar orbiter mission, the mission profile, and general characteristics of the spacraft to be used

VETA x ray data acquisition and control system

We describe the X-ray Data Acquisition and Control System (XDACS) used together with the X-ray Detection System (XDS) to characterize the X-ray image during testing of the AXAF P1/H1 mirror pair at the MSFC X-ray Calibration Facility. A variety of X-ray data were acquired, analyzed and archived during the testing including: mirror alignment, encircled energy, effective area, point spread function, system housekeeping and proportional counter window uniformity data. The system architecture is presented with emphasis placed on key features that include a layered UNIX tool approach, dedicated subsystem controllers, real-time X-window displays, flexibility in combining tools, network connectivity and system extensibility. The VETA test data archive is also described

Research of the thorium purification at monazite refinement processes

This paper is aimed to the research of the thorium purification processes at monazite refinement processes. We have investigated different solution containing thorium with different mix of rare-earth elements. It was found that the application of cation resin is well- recommended if we want to reach the highest yields of thorium purification process

Hermitian Young Operators

Starting from conventional Young operators we construct Hermitian operators which project orthogonally onto irreducible representations of the (special) unitary group.Comment: 15 page

QCD-supression by Black Hole Production at the LHC

Possible consequences of the production of small black holes at the LHC for different scenarios with large extra dimensions are investigated. The effects from black hole production on some standard jet observables are examined, concentrating on the reduction of the QCD cross section. It is found that black hole production of partons interacting on a short enough distance indeed seem to generate a drastic drop in the QCD cross section. However from an experimental point of view this will in most cases be camouflaged by energetic radiation from the black holes

Diffusion and Deformations in Heterosystems with GaN/AlN Superlattices, According to Data from EXAFS Spectroscopy

Multilayered samples with extremely narrow GaN quantum wells in an AlN host are synthesized via ammonia MBE. The parameters of the microstructu re are determined by means of EXAFS spectroscopy, high-resolution electron microscopy, and low-angle sc attering. Their relationship to the morphology of GaN/AlN superlattices is established. The influence of growth conditions and the thickness of superlattices on their optical properties and mixing in the near-boundary layers is established

High surface area activated carbon prepared from wood-based spent mushroom substrate for supercapacitors and water treatment

Edible white-rot fungi are commonly cultivated on wood-based substrates and selectively degrade lignin to a larger extent during their growth. Spent mushroom substrate (SMS) is produced in huge amounts by the mushroom industry and today there is a lack of proven methods to valorize this kind of biomass waste, which in most cases is landfilled or used as fuel. This study demonstrates that birch wood-based SMS from the cultivation of oyster mushrooms can be converted into high-quality activated carbon (AC) with an extremely high surface area of about 3000 m2 /g. These activated carbons showed good performance when used in electrodes for supercapacitors, with energy storage parameters nearly identical to AC produced from high-quality virgin birch wood. Moreover, AC produced from SMS showed high potential as an adsorbent for cleaning reactive orange-16 azo dye from aqueous solutions as well as contaminants from synthetic effluents and from real sewage water. The kinetics of adsorption were well represented by the Avrami fractional order model and isotherms of adsorption by the Liu model. The theoretical maximum reactive orange-16 adsorption capacities were approximately 519 mg/g (SMS-based carbon) and 553 mg/g (virgin birch-based carbon). The removal of contaminants from synthetic effluents made of different dyes and inorganic compounds was around 95% and 83% depending on the effluent composition. The removal of contaminants from raw sewage water was around 84%, and from treated sewage water was around 68%. Overall, the results showed that activated carbon prepared from waste generated during cultivation of white-rot fungi is as good as activated carbon prepared from high-quality virgin wood