Elastic constants of B-HMX and tantalum, equations of state of supercritical fluids and fluid mixtures and thermal transport determinations

Ultrasonic sound speed measurements via Impulsive Stimulated Light Scattering (ISLS) were made in single crystals of b-HMX and tantalum over an extended range of temperatures. Elastic constants are consequently determined for b-HMX. Sound speeds are calculated for tantalum, from known elastic constants, and compare favorably with the results presented here. ISLS time-domain fits of tantalum records allowed for thermal diffusion determinations and, correspondingly, thermal conductivity. Measurements of the speed of sound and of the thermal diffusivities of fluid oxygen up to pressures of 13 GPa and at several temperatures are presented. Between 0.1 and 13 GPa the fluid's density increases by a factor of three. Thermal diffusivities rise slowly over this range, and are substantially smaller than those previously measured for the solid b-phase. Additional sound speed measurements were made along the 250 C isotherm in a 1:1 molar ratio mixture of liquid oxygen and nitrogen. These experiments demonstrate the versatility and potential application of a new laboratory within the U. S. DOD and DOE complex.

Ultrafast high strain rate acoustic wave measurements at high static pressure in a diamond anvil cell

We have used sub-picosecond laser pulses to launch ultra-high strain rate ({approx} 10{sup 9} s{sup -1}) nonlinear acoustic waves into a 4:1 methanol-ethanol pressure medium which has been precompressed in a standard diamond anvil cell. Using ultrafast interferometry, we have characterized acoustic wave propagation into the pressure medium at static compression up to 24 GPa. We find that the velocity is dependent on the incident laser fluence, demonstrating a nonlinear acoustic response which may result in shock wave behavior. We compare our results with low strain, low strain-rate acoustic data. This technique provides controlled access to regions of thermodynamic phase space that are otherwise difficult to obtain

Deflagration Rates and Molecular Bonding Trends of Statically Compressed Secondary Explosives

We discuss our measurements of the chemical reaction propagation rate as a function of pressure. Materials investigated have included CL-20, HMX, TATB, and RDX crystalline powders, LX-04, Comp B, and nitromethane. The anomalous correspondence between crystal structure, including in some instances isostructural phase transitions, on pressure-dependant RPRs of TATB, HMX, Nitromethane, CL-20, and PETN have been elucidated using micro-IR and -Raman spectroscopies. Here we specifically highlight pressure-dependent physicochemical mechanisms affecting the deflagration rate of nitromethane and epsilon-CL-20. We find that pressure induced splitting of symmetric stretch NO{sub 2} vibrations can signal the onset of increasingly more rapid combustion reactions

Observation of off-Hugoniot shocked states with ultrafast time resolution

We apply ultrafast single shot interferometry to determine the pressure and density of argon shocked from up to 7.8 GPa static initial pressure in a diamond anvil cell. This method enables the observation of thermodynamic states distinct from those observed in either single shock or isothermal compression experiments, and the observation of ultrafast dynamics in shocked materials. We also present a straightforward method for interpreting ultrafast shock wave data which determines the index of refraction at the shock front, and the particle and shock velocities for shock waves in transparent materials. Based on these methods, we observe shocked thermodynamic states between the room temperature isotherm of argon and the shock adiabat of cryogenic argon at final shock pressures up to 28 GPa

Many Disease-Associated Variants of hTERT Retain High Telomerase Enzymatic Activity

Mutations in the gene for telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) are associated with diseases including dyskeratosis congenita, aplastic anemia, pulmonary fibrosis and cancer. Understanding the molecular basis of these telomerase-associated diseases requires dependable quantitative measurements of telomerase enzyme activity. Furthermore, recent findings that the human POT1-TPP1 chromosome end-binding protein complex stimulates telomerase activity and processivity provide incentive for testing variant telomerases in the presence of these factors. In the present work, we compare multiple disease-associated hTERT variants reconstituted with the RNA subunit hTR in two systems (rabbit reticulocyte lysates and human cell lines) with respect to telomerase enzymatic activity, processivity and activation by telomere proteins. Surprisingly, many of the previously reported disease-associated hTERTalleles give near-normal telomerase enzyme activity. It is possible that a small deficit in telomerase activity is sufficient to cause telomere shortening over many years. Alternatively, mutations may perturb functions such as the recruitment of telomerase to telomeres, which are essential in vivo but not revealed by simple enzyme assays

Final Report. IUT No. B560420 with UC Berkeley. Organic Chemistry at High Pressures &Temperatures

We have successfully completed the research outlined in our proposal: Organic Chemistry at High Pressures and Temperatures. We have experimentally determined a phase diagram which documents the phases and reaction regimes of cyanuric acid , H{sub 3}C{sub 3}N{sub 3}O{sub 3} (1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-trione), from 300 - 750 K and 0 - 8.1 GPa. We utilized a comparatively new technique to study thin samples of cyanuric acid in the diamond anvil cell in order to collect ambient temperature, high pressure FTIR and Raman data as well as the high-pressure, high-temperature data used in the phase diagram. These experiments made use of the CMLS High-pressure lab's diamond anvil facilities as well as the FTIR and Raman systems

Photoacoustically Measured Speeds of Sound and the Equation of State of HBO2: On Understanding Detonation with Boron Fuel

Elucidation of geodynamic, geochemical, and shock induced processes is limited by challenges to accurately determine molecular fluid equations of state (EOS). High pressure liquid state reactions of carbon species underlie physiochemical mechanisms such as differentiation of planetary interiors, deep carbon sequestration, propellant deflagration, and shock chemistry. In this proceedings paper we introduce a versatile photoacoustic technique developed to measure accurate and precise speeds of sound (SoS) of high pressure molecular fluids and fluid mixtures. SoS of an intermediate boron oxide, HBO{sub 2} are measured up to 0.5 GPa along the 277 C isotherm. A polarized exponential-6 interatomic potential form, parameterized using our SoS data, enables EOS determinations and corresponding semi-empirical evaluations of >2000 C thermodynamic states including energy release from bororganic formulations. Our thermochemical model propitiously predicts boronated hydrocarbon shock Hugoniot results

Vibrational Spectroscopy of Fe(OH)2 at High Pressure: Behavior of the O-H Bond

Infrared and Raman spectra of Fe(OH){sub 2}, ''white rust'', were measured between 7 GPa and 21 GPa at ambient temperature. The frequency of the infrared-active A{sub 2u} and of the Raman-active A1g stretching modes of the O-H group decrease linearly with pressure with slopes of -1.3 {+-} 0.1 cm{sup -1}/GPa and -4.9 {+-} 0.2 cm{sup -1}/GPa, respectively. The peak widths of both the infrared-active and Raman-active modes increase non-linearly with pressure, with a discontinuous increase of in broadening between 10 and 12.5 GPa. The overall broadening of the A{sub 2u} and of the A{sub 1g} stretching modes is approximately four-fold in the examined pressure range. The results of this spectroscopic study are compatible with the trends observed in recent neutron diffraction studies in the isostructural Co(OH){sub 2}. Progressive pressure-induced H disordering could be a viable model to interpret both the broadening of the OH stretching mode and the changes in oxidation state of Fe recently observed by Moessbauer spectroscopy

The Melting Curve and High-Pressure Chemistry of Formic Acid to 8 GPa and 600 K

We have determined the melting temperature of formic acid (HCOOH) to 8.5 GPa using infrared absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and visual observation of samples in a resistively heated diamond-anvil cell. The experimentally determined melting curve compares favorably with a two-phase thermodynamic model. Decomposition reactions were observed above the melting temperature up to a pressure of 6.5 GPa, where principal products were CO{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O and CO. At pressures above 6.5 GPa, decomposition led to solid-like reaction products. Infrared and Raman spectra of these recovered products indicate that pressure affects the nature of carbon-carbon bonding