Microwave interferometry of Saturn: Application to the brightness temperature of the rings

Radio interferometric measurements of Saturn and Saturn's rings are explained. The measurements are limited to Mu is greater than or equal to 3. Data are also given on visibility functions, flux density, and brightness temperature

Compression of ultrashort UV pulses in a self-defocusing gas

Compression of UV femtosecond laser pulses focused into a gas cell filled with xenon is reported numerically. With a large negative Kerr index and normal dispersion, xenon promotes temporal modulational instability (MI) which can be monitored to shorten ~ 100 fs pulses to robust, singly-peaked waveforms exhibiting a fourfold compression factor. Combining standard MI theory with a variational approach allows us to predict the beam parameters suitable for efficient compression. At powers < 30 MW, nonlinear dispersion is shown to shift the pulse temporal profile to the rear zone.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Gas levitator having fixed levitation node for containerless processing

A method and apparatus is disclosed for levitating a specimen of material in a containerless environment at a stable nodal position independent of gravity. An elongated levitation tube has a contoured interior in the form of convergent section, constriction, and a divergent section in which the levitation node is created. A gas flow control means prevents separation of flow from the interior walls in the region of a specimen. The apparatus provides for levitating and heating the specimen simultaneously by combustion of a suitable gas mixture combined with an inert gas

Method and apparatus for shaping and enhancing acoustical levitation forces

A method and apparatus for enhancing and shaping acoustical levitation forces in a single-axis acoustic resonance system wherein specially shaped drivers and reflectors are utilized to enhance to levitation force and better contain fluid substance by means of field shaping is described

Leukoencephalopathy with brain stem and spinal cord involvement and lactate elevation: Molecular mechanisms, clinical aspects and opening for treatment

Knaap, M.S. van der [Promotor]Scheper, G.C. [Copromotor

Positioning and Handling in Weightless Environment

After experimental verification on the first and second orbital workshops, manufacturing processes suitable for industrial application will emerge. The flight facility environment for this use will contain functional elements similar to those employed in manufacturing on earth. Several electro-mechanical devices to transfer, position and retrieve space manufacturing equipment are discussed. Application to an orbital manufacturing facility is described

Bell's Theorem and Nonlinear Systems

For all Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-type experiments on deterministic systems the Bell inequality holds, unless non-local interactions exist between certain parts of the setup. Here we show that in nonlinear systems the Bell inequality can be violated by non-local effects that are arbitrarily weak. Then we show that the quantum result of the existing Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen-type experiments can be reproduced within deterministic models that include arbitrarily weak non-local effects.Comment: Accepted for publication in Europhysics Letters. 14 pages, no figures. In the Appendix (not included in the EPL version) the author says what he really thinks about the subjec

Montesquieu and Judicial Review of Proportionality in Administrative Law

The present era has seen an unprecedented fragmentation of the public sphere, a breakup of public imperium into separate pieces, not only left in the hands of supranational or subnational authorities, but also entrusted to private actors. With the abandonment of previously undisputed notions of strict legal verticality and the undivided general interest, the separation of powers doctrine as applied in most European systems of administrative law is in need of serious rethinking. Current debates on the judicial control of governmental discretion are still hampered by a discursive language and a legal grammar that tend to draw sharp lines between law and policy, awarding each of the three branches of government its own well-defined domain. Contrary to widespread belief, the trias politica as an ideology of disjointed powers and separate spheres cannot be traced back to Montesquieu's theory of law, but only from its philosophical rebuttal and inaccurate reception in subsequent times. Ironically, a proper analysis of Montesquieu's theory may indicate a viable way forward for a system of review of government actions that attunes to its modern social and institutional context

Dealing with Ambiguity: Johan Maurits, Black Pete and the Crisis of Dutch Identity

A dominant way in which the Dutch think of themselves entails the image of an enlightened nation, too small to be really significant in world politics but nevertheless important as an ethical guiding light for other nations. In a globalizing world, that self- congratulatory image has recently been severely challenged, with public debate being dominated by the opposing sides of those who one-sidedly debunk Dutch culture and politics as oppressive and violent and others who persist in the myth of innocent bystandership and enlightened progressivism. Many scholars and publicists have called for a more nuanced discussion, typically emphasizing the ‘grey middle ground’ in between black and white opposites. This paper starts out by providing short accounts of Johan Maurits’s governorship of Dutch Brazil (1637-1644) and the stereotyped persona of Black Pete (one of the central figures of an annual children’s festival) as two topics of recent heated debate. Subsequently, it proposes an alternative way out of the current Dutch identity crisis while drawing on what may come as a surprising source: ancient Greek tragedy