Plastic deformation of metallic glasses: Size of shear transformation zones from molecular dynamics simulations

Plastic deformation in metallic glasses well below their glass transition temperatures Tg occurs spatially heterogeneously within highly localized regions, termed shear transformation zones (STZs). Yet, their size and the number of atoms involved in a local shear event, remains greatly unclear. With the help of classical molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations on plastic deformation of the model glass CuTi during pure shearing, we address this issue by evaluating correlations in atomic-scale plastic displacements, viz. the displacement correlation function. From the correlation length, a universal diameter of about 15 Å, or, equivalently, approximately 120 atoms is derived for a variety of conditions, such as variable strains, strain rates, temperatures, and boundary conditions. Our findings are consistent with a recent model proposed by Johnson and Samwer [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 195501 (2005)]

Nasa desalting kit development, phase ii first progress report

NASA desalting kit development - container and processor desig

Cauchy-perturbative matching revisited: tests in spherical symmetry

During the last few years progress has been made on several fronts making it possible to revisit Cauchy-perturbative matching (CPM) in numerical relativity in a more robust and accurate way. This paper is the first in a series where we plan to analyze CPM in the light of these new results. Here we start by testing high-order summation-by-parts operators, penalty boundaries and contraint-preserving boundary conditions applied to CPM in a setting that is simple enough to study all the ingredients in great detail: Einstein's equations in spherical symmetry, describing a black hole coupled to a massless scalar field. We show that with the techniques described above, the errors introduced by Cauchy-perturbative matching are very small, and that very long term and accurate CPM evolutions can be achieved. Our tests include the accretion and ring-down phase of a Schwarzschild black hole with CPM, where we find that the discrete evolution introduces, with a low spatial resolution of \Delta r = M/10, an error of 0.3% after an evolution time of 1,000,000 M. For a black hole of solar mass, this corresponds to approximately 5 s, and is therefore at the lower end of timescales discussed e.g. in the collapsar model of gamma-ray burst engines. (abridged)Comment: 14 pages, 20 figure

Image Correlation Analysis of Multiple-Bolt Wood Connections

Displacement beneath the bolts in multiple-bolted wood connections was studied using digital image correlation. This method combines digital image analysis and image correlation to calculate surface displacements from a set of digitized video images of an object under an applied load. Double-shear connections constructed of clear, straight-grained yellow-popular were tested in compression parallel to grain. Five different bolt patterns were used to analyze the effect of number of bolts in a vertical row and number of bolts in a horizontal column on displacement distribution among bolts. It was discovered that for multi-bolt patterns in a vertical row, parallel to load displacements below the outer bolts, are higher than those below the center bolt(s) but not equal in magnitude as previously assumed and the surface displacements perpendicular to the load beneath the bolts split along the centerline of the bolts. Variation in material properties, rigid body motion, eccentric loading and/or wood failure beneath a bolt are detectable with digital image correlation and may influence the results if not carefully considered in experimental design

A Cytochrome-b Perspective on Passerina Bunting Relationships

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene (1,143 nucleotides) for representatives of each species in the cardinalid genera Passerina (6 species), Guiraca (1 species), and Cyanocompsa (3 species), and used a variety of phylogenetic methods to address relationships within and among genera. We determined that Passerina, as presently recognized, is paraphyletic. Lazuli Bunting (P. amoena) is sister to the much larger Blue Grosbeak (Guiraca caerulea). Indigo Bunting (P. cyanea) and Lazuli Bunting are not sister taxa as generally thought. In all weighted parsimony trees and for the gamma-corrected HKY tree, Indigo Bunting is the sister of two sister groups, a “blue” (Lazuli Bunting and Blue Grosbeak) and a “painted” (Rosita\u27s Bunting [P. rositae], Orange-breasted Bunting [P. leclancherii], Varied Bunting [P. versicolor], and Painted Bunting [P. ciris]) clade. The latter two species form a highly supported sister pair of relatively more recent origin. Uncorrected (p) distances for ingroup (Passerina and Guiraca) taxa range from 3.0% (P. versicolor–P. ciris) to 7.6% (P. cyanea–P. leclancherii) and average 6.5% overall. Assuming a molecular clock, a bunting “radiation” between 4.1 and 7.3 Mya yielded four lineages. This timing is consistent with fossil evidence and coincides with a late-Miocene cooling during which a variety of western grassland habitats evolved. A reduction in size at that time may have allowed buntings to exploit that new food resource (grass seeds). We speculate that the Blue Grosbeak subsequently gained large size and widespread distribution as a result of ecological character displacement

Vision performance enhancement with ski goggle tints

Three popular ski goggle lens tints; gold, vermilion and gray; were evaluated for their effect on vision and skiing performance. Subjects were tested for visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, timed in a Giant Slalom ski race course, and asked to complete subjective questionnaires on the effectiveness of the lens tints on their performance. A video of each run was observed by three ski professionals and ranked based on skier performance. No significant differences were found between the three tints for visual acuity, contrast performance by video analysis. There was a subjective preference of the vermilion tint over the gold or gray tints

Evidence supporting the recent origin and species status of the Timberline Sparrow

The Timberline Sparrow (Spizella taverneri), although originally described as a species, is currently classified as a subspecies of the more widespread Brewer\u27s Sparrow (S. breweri). We investigated the taxonomic status and recent evolutionary history of these species by comparison of both morphological and molecular characters. Morphometric comparisons using 6 external and 18 skeletal measurements show that S. taverneri specimens from two widely separated populations (Yukon and southwestern Alberta, Canada) are indistinguishable with respect to size yet are significantly larger (by 3%) than representatives of several breweri populations. Analysis of 1,413 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for 10 breweri and 5 taverneri samples representing widely scattered breeding populations revealed a maximum divergence among any breweri-taverneri pair of 0.21% and an overall average of 0.13%. In contrast, the average (± SE) pairwise distance among the other Spizella species is 5.7 ± 0.5%. We discovered that breweri and taverneri could be distinguished on the basis of a single, fixed nucleotide difference. Of an additional 11 taverneri and 8 breweri surveyed for this diagnostic site, a single bird (morphologically a taverneri) from northwest British Columbia did not sort to type. Overall, 18 of 18 breweri and 15 of 16 taverneri were diagnosable. We interpret these results to suggest that gene flow does not currently occur between these two forms and that each is on an independent, albeit recently derived, evolutionary course. The molecular data are consistent with theoretical expectations of a Late Pleistocene speciation event. We believe that for passerine birds, this is the first empirical validation of this widely accepted evolutionary model. The data presented corroborate plumage, vocal, and ecological evidence suggesting that these taxa are distinct. As such, we suggest that Spizella taverneri be recognized as a species