11,790 research outputs found
Impact-induced acceleration by obstacles
We explore a surprising phenomenon in which an obstruction accelerates,
rather than decelerates, a moving flexible object. It has been claimed that the
right kind of discrete chain falling onto a table falls \emph{faster} than a
free-falling body. We confirm and quantify this effect, reveal its complicated
dependence on angle of incidence, and identify multiple operative mechanisms.
Prior theories for direct impact onto flat surfaces, which involve a single
constitutive parameter, match our data well if we account for a characteristic
delay length that must impinge before the onset of excess acceleration. Our
measurements provide a robust determination of this parameter. This supports
the possibility of modeling such discrete structures as continuous bodies with
a complicated constitutive law of impact that includes angle of incidence as an
input.Comment: small changes and corrections, added reference
Friction force microscopy : a simple technique for identifying graphene on rough substrates and mapping the orientation of graphene grains on copper
At a single atom thick, it is challenging to distinguish graphene from its substrate using conventional techniques. In this paper we show that friction force microscopy (FFM) is a simple and quick technique for identifying graphene on a range of samples, from growth substrates to rough insulators. We show that FFM is particularly effective for characterizing graphene grown on copper where it can correlate the graphene growth to the three-dimensional surface topography. Atomic lattice stick–slip friction is readily resolved and enables the crystallographic orientation of the graphene to be mapped nondestructively, reproducibly and at high resolution. We expect FFM to be similarly effective for studying graphene growth on other metal/locally crystalline substrates, including SiC, and for studying growth of other two-dimensional materials such as molybdenum disulfide and hexagonal boron nitride
Electro-Mechanical Fredericks Effects in Nematic Gels
The solid nematic equivalent of the Fredericks transition is found to depend
on a critical field rather than a critical voltage as in the classical case.
This arises because director anchoring is principally to the solid rubbery
matrix of the nematic gel rather than to the sample surfaces. Moreover, above
the threshold field, we find a competition between quartic (soft) and
conventional harmonic elasticity which dictates the director response. By
including a small degree of initial director misorientation, the calculated
field variation of optical anisotropy agrees well with the conoscopy
measurements of Chang et al (Phys.Rev.E56, 595, 1997) of the electro-optical
response of nematic gels.Comment: Latex (revtex style), 5 EPS figures, submitted to PRE, corrections to
discussion of fig.3, cosmetic change
Measurement of Pressures by Cardiac Catheters in Man
journal articleBiomedical Informatic
Measurement of Pressures in Man by Cardiac Catheters
journal articleBiomedical Informatic
Untwisting of a cholesteric elastomer by a mechanical field
A mechanical strain field applied to a monodomain cholesteric elastomer will
unwind the helical director distribution. There is an analogy with the
classical problem of an electric field applied to a cholesteric liquid crystal,
but with important differences. Frank elasticity is of minor importance unless
the gel is very weak. The interplay is between director anchoring to the rubber
elastic matrix and the external mechanical field. Stretching perpendicular to
the helix axis induces the uniform unwound state via the elimination of sharp,
pinned twist walls above a critical strain. Unwinding through conical director
states occurs when the elastomer is stretched along the helical axis.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX 3 style, 3 EPS figure
Spectroscopy of Seven Cataclysmic Variables with Periods Above Five Hours
We present spectroscopy of seven cataclysmic variable stars with orbital
periods P(orb) greater than 5 hours, all but one of which are known to be dwarf
novae. Using radial velocity measurements we improve on previous orbital period
determinations, or derive periods for the first time. The stars and their
periods are
TT Crt, 0.2683522(5) d;
EZ Del, 0.2234(5) d;
LL Lyr, 0.249069(4) d;
UY Pup, 0.479269(7) d;
RY Ser, 0.3009(4) d;
CH UMa, 0.3431843(6) d; and
SDSS J081321+452809, 0.2890(4) d.
For each of the systems we detect the spectrum of the secondary star,
estimate its spectral type, and derive a distance based on the surface
brightness and Roche lobe constraints. In five systems we also measure the
radial velocity curve of the secondary star, estimate orbital inclinations, and
where possible estimate distances based on the MV(max) vs.P(orb) relation found
by Warner. In concordance with previous studies, we find that all the secondary
stars have, to varying degrees, cooler spectral types than would be expected if
they were on the main sequence at the measured orbital period.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures, accepted for Publications of the Astronomical
Society of the Pacifi
- …