Testing for a nonlinear Fisher relationship

Empirical evidence regarding the Fisher effect is mixed. One reason may be a nonlinear adjustment process in the real interest rate. The nonlinear unit root test proposed by Sollis, Leybourne, and Newbold (Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking 34: 686-700, 2002) is used to test for stationarity of the U.S. real interest rate over the 1934:01-2011:02 period and selected subperiods. The unit root null in the real rate of interest can be rejected over the full sample, evidence of a Fisher effect. Weaker evidence of a Fisher relation is found in the subsample for 1934:01-1959:12 for which the unit root null can be rejected for one measure of the real interest rate. However, there is no indication of a Fisher effect for subperiods starting in 1960 or later. A conjecture is that temporal aggregation of the interest rate data may explain the different results, but the findings are also consistent with other explanations.Fisher effect, nonlinear unit root, U.S. real interest rate

Flexible thermal device

Fabrication of expansion joint, vibration isolator device with sufficient cross sectional area for high thermal conductivity is discussed. Device consists of multiple layers of metal foil which may be designed to meet specific applications. Thermodynamic properties of the device and illustration of construction are provided

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

Long Run Neutrality and Superneutrality of Money: Aggregate and Sectoral Tests for Nicaragua

The Fisher-Seater (1993) methodology is applied to Nicaraguan data to test for long run neutrality and superneutrality of money. Real GDP and real output in six broadly defined sectors are I(1), while the money supply is I(2). These orders of integration imply that money is neutral with respect to both aggregate and sectoral output. However, superneutrality is rejected for real GDP as well as for all six sectors. Results of the superneutrality tests suggest that inflation driven by money growth imposed real costs on the private sector while the government sectorMonetary neutrality, superneutrality, Nicaragua

Metal alloy resistivity measurements at very low temperatures

High speed, automated system accurately measures to approximately one percent in three minutes. System identifies materials having constant thermal or electric conductivity, predicts new material properties, develops alloys in accordance with desired specifications, and develops nondestructive devices for measuring precipitation hardening