23,041 research outputs found
Observation of Single Transits in Supercooled Monatomic Liquids
A transit is the motion of a system from one many-particle potential energy
valley to another. We report the observation of transits in molecular dynamics
(MD) calculations of supercooled liquid argon and sodium. Each transit is a
correlated simultaneous shift in the equilibrium positions of a small local
group of particles, as revealed in the fluctuating graphs of the particle
coordinates versus time. This is the first reported direct observation of
transit motion in a monatomic liquid in thermal equilibrium. We found transits
involving 2 to 11 particles, having mean shift in equilibrium position on the
order of 0.4 R_1 in argon and 0.25 R_1 in sodium, where R_1 is the nearest
neighbor distance. The time it takes for a transit to occur is approximately
one mean vibrational period, confirming that transits are fast.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure
Lipid-absorbing Polymers
The removal of bile acids and cholesterol by polymeric absorption is discussed in terms of micelle-polymer interaction. The results obtained with a polymer composed of 75 parts PEO and 25 parts PB plus curing ingredients show an absorption of 305 to 309%, based on original polymer weight. Particle size effects on absorption rate are analyzed. It is concluded that crosslinked polyethylene oxide polymers will absorb water, crosslinked polybutadiene polymers will absorb lipids; neither polymer will absorb appreciable amounts of lipids from micellar solutions of lipids in water
Estimates of the Welfare Impact of Intragenic and Transgenic GM Labeling Policies
Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
Demand Curve Effects in Experimental Auctions: The Effect of Quantity Already Owned
Most studies utilizing experimental auction mechanisms to elicit consumers’ willingness to pay are designed to avoid potential substitution or demand-curve effects that may influence bid prices. However, previous research and auction designs have not considered the potential impact on bid prices of commodity inventories held by auction participants that were obtained through transactions outside of the auction. This omission may present a problem for interpreting and analyzing auction data. Using bids from a random nth-price auction of fresh vegetables conducted in a laboratory style setting, we test whether participants’ outside inventories affect bidding behavior. We find that bidders do in fact consider their inventories, resulting in lower bid prices by individuals with quantity already owned.Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,
What’s Driving Food Prices in 2011?
Agricultural Finance, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
Improving the Nutrient Content of Food through Genetic Modification: Evidence from Experimental Auctions on Consumer Acceptance
This paper assesses consumers’ acceptance of nutritionally enhanced vegetables using a series of auction experiments administered to a random sample of adult consumers. Evidence suggests that consumers are willing to pay significantly more for fresh produce with labels signaling enhanced levels of antioxidants and vitamin C achieved by moving genes from within the species, as opposed to across species. However, this premium is significantly affected by diverse information treatments injected into the experiments.Bayesian analysis, experimental auction, food products, genetic modification, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
An \emph{ab initio} method for locating characteristic potential energy minima of liquids
It is possible in principle to probe the many--atom potential surface using
density functional theory (DFT). This will allow us to apply DFT to the
Hamiltonian formulation of atomic motion in monatomic liquids [\textit{Phys.
Rev. E} {\bf 56}, 4179 (1997)]. For a monatomic system, analysis of the
potential surface is facilitated by the random and symmetric classification of
potential energy valleys. Since the random valleys are numerically dominant and
uniform in their macroscopic potential properties, only a few quenches are
necessary to establish these properties. Here we describe an efficient
technique for doing this. Quenches are done from easily generated "stochastic"
configurations, in which the nuclei are distributed uniformly within a
constraint limiting the closeness of approach. For metallic Na with atomic pair
potential interactions, it is shown that quenches from stochastic
configurations and quenches from equilibrium liquid Molecular Dynamics (MD)
configurations produce statistically identical distributions of the structural
potential energy. Again for metallic Na, it is shown that DFT quenches from
stochastic configurations provide the parameters which calibrate the
Hamiltonian. A statistical mechanical analysis shows how the underlying
potential properties can be extracted from the distributions found in quenches
from stochastic configurations
Exploring the Way to Approach the Efficiency Limit of Perovskite Solar Cells by Drift-Diffusion Model
Drift-diffusion model is an indispensable modeling tool to understand the
carrier dynamics (transport, recombination, and collection) and simulate
practical-efficiency of solar cells (SCs) through taking into account various
carrier recombination losses existing in multilayered device structures.
Exploring the way to predict and approach the SC efficiency limit by using the
drift-diffusion model will enable us to gain more physical insights and design
guidelines for emerging photovoltaics, particularly perovskite solar cells. Our
work finds out that two procedures are the prerequisites for predicting and
approaching the SC efficiency limit. Firstly, the intrinsic radiative
recombination needs to be corrected after adopting optical designs which will
significantly affect the open-circuit voltage at its Shockley-Queisser limit.
Through considering a detailed balance between emission and absorption of
semiconductor materials at the thermal equilibrium, and the Boltzmann
statistics at the non-equilibrium, we offer a different approach to derive the
accurate expression of intrinsic radiative recombination with the optical
corrections for semiconductor materials. The new expression captures light
trapping of the absorbed photons and angular restriction of the emitted photons
simultaneously, which are ignored in the traditional Roosbroeck-Shockley
expression. Secondly, the contact characteristics of the electrodes need to be
carefully engineered to eliminate the charge accumulation and surface
recombination at the electrodes. The selective contact or blocking layer
incorporated nonselective contact that inhibits the surface recombination at
the electrode is another important prerequisite. With the two procedures, the
accurate prediction of efficiency limit and precise evaluation of efficiency
degradation for perovskite solar cells are attainable by the drift-diffusion
model.Comment: 32 pages, 11 figure
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