114,885 research outputs found
Research study on materials processing in space Skylab experiment M553 - sphere forming
A research program was conducted to study the solidification of metals in the form of small spheres both in the one gravity environment of the earth laboratory and the low gravity environment of KC-135 trajectory flights and the Skylab 1/2 mission. The program had three phases. The details of the results of this program are contained in interim reports prepared at the conclusion of each of the three phases. This final report is intended to summarize the efforts and results described in detail in each of these interim reports, with particular emphasis on the differences observed between the ground-based and Skylab flight specimens
Sonic levitation apparatus
A sonic levitation apparatus is disclosed which includes a sonic transducer which generates acoustical energy responsive to the level of an electrical amplifier. A duct communicates with an acoustical chamber to deliver an oscillatory motion of air to a plenum section which contains a collimated hole structure having a plurality of parallel orifices. The collimated hole structure converts the motion of the air to a pulsed. Unidirectional stream providing enough force to levitate a material specimen. Particular application to the production of microballoons in low gravity environment is discussed
The Revealing Dust: Mid-Infrared Activity in Hickson Compact Group Galaxy Nuclei
We present a sample of 46 galaxy nuclei from 12 nearby (z<4500 km/s) Hickson
Compact Groups (HCGs) with a complete suite of 1-24 micron 2MASS+Spitzer
nuclear photometry. For all objects in the sample, blue emission from stellar
photospheres dominates in the near-IR through the 3.6 micron IRAC band.
Twenty-five of 46 (54%) galaxy nuclei show red, mid-IR continua characteristic
of hot dust powered by ongoing star formation and/or accretion onto a central
black hole. We introduce alpha_{IRAC}, the spectral index of a power-law fit to
the 4.5-8.0 micron IRAC data, and demonstrate that it cleanly separates the
mid-IR active and non-active HCG nuclei. This parameter is more powerful for
identifying low to moderate-luminosity mid-IR activity than other measures
which include data at rest-frame lambda<3.6 micron that may be dominated by
stellar photospheric emission. While the HCG galaxies clearly have a bimodal
distribution in this parameter space, a comparison sample from the Spitzer
Nearby Galaxy Survey (SINGS) matched in J-band total galaxy luminosity is
continuously distributed. A second diagnostic, the fraction of 24 micron
emission in excess of that expected from quiescent galaxies, f_{24D}, reveals
an additional 3 nuclei to be active at 24 micron. Comparing these two mid-IR
diagnostics of nuclear activity to optical spectroscopic identifications from
the literature reveals some discrepancies, and we discuss the challenges of
distinguishing the source of ionizing radiation in these and other lower
luminosity systems. We find a significant correlation between the fraction of
mid-IR active galaxies and the total HI mass in a group, and investigate
possible interpretations of these results in light of galaxy evolution in the
highly interactive system of a compact group environment.Comment: 20 pages, 17 figures (1 color), uses emulateapj. Accepted for
publication by Ap
Effect of Exchange Interaction on Spin Dephasing in a Double Quantum Dot
We measure singlet-triplet dephasing in a two-electron double quantum dot in
the presence of an exchange interaction which can be electrically tuned from
much smaller to much larger than the hyperfine energy. Saturation of dephasing
and damped oscillations of the spin correlator as a function of time are
observed when the two interaction strengths are comparable. Both features of
the data are compared with predictions from a quasistatic model of the
hyperfine field.Comment: see related papers at http://marcuslab.harvard.ed
Thermal Conductivity of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes: Diameter and Annealing Dependence
The thermal conductivity, k(T), of bulk single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT's)
displays a linear temperature dependence at low T that has been attributed to
1D quantization of phonons. To explore this issue further, we have measured the
k(T) of samples with varying average tube diameters. We observe linear k(T) up
to higher temperatures in samples with smaller diameters, in agreement with a
quantization picture. In addition, we have examined the effect of annealing on
k(T). We observe an enhancement in k(T) for annealed samples which we attribute
to healing of defects and removal of impurities. These measurements demonstrate
how the thermal properties of an SWNT material can be controlled by
manipulating its intrinsic nanoscale properties.Comment: Proc. of the XV. Int. Winterschool on Electronic Properties of Novel
Materials, Kirchberg/Tirol, Austria, 200
Modeling the Pulse Profiles of Millisecond Pulsars in the Second LAT Catalog of gamma-ray Pulsars
Significant gamma-ray pulsations have been detected from ~40 millisecond
pulsars (MSPs) using 3 years of sky-survey data from the Fermi LAT and radio
timing solutions from across the globe. We have fit the radio and gamma-ray
pulse profiles of these MSPs using geometric versions of slot gap and outer gap
gamma-ray emission models and radio cone and core models. For MSPs with radio
and gamma-ray peaks aligned in phase we also explore low-altitude slot gap
gamma-ray models and caustic radio models. The best-fit parameters provide
constraints on the viewing geometries and emission sites. While the exact
pulsar magnetospheric geometry is unknown, we can use the increased number of
known gamma-ray MSPs to look for significant trends in the population which
average over these uncertainties.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the 5th
International Symposium on High-Energy Astronom
Heterodyne detection of CO2 emission lines and wind velocities in the atmosphere of Venus
Strong 10 micrometer line emission from (c-12)(o-16)2 in the upper atmosphere of Venus was detected by heterodyne techniques. Observations of the absolute Doppler shift of the emission features indicate mean zonal wind velocities less than 10 m/sec in the upper atmosphere near the equator. No evidence was found of the 100 m/sec wind velocity implied by the apparent 4-day rotation period of ultraviolet cloud features
Modeling pN2 through Geological Time: Implications for Planetary Climates and Atmospheric Biosignatures
Nitrogen is a major nutrient for all life on Earth and could plausibly play a
similar role in extraterrestrial biospheres. The major reservoir of nitrogen at
Earth's surface is atmospheric N2, but recent studies have proposed that the
size of this reservoir may have fluctuated significantly over the course of
Earth's history with particularly low levels in the Neoarchean - presumably as
a result of biological activity. We used a biogeochemical box model to test
which conditions are necessary to cause large swings in atmospheric N2
pressure. Parameters for our model are constrained by observations of modern
Earth and reconstructions of biomass burial and oxidative weathering in deep
time. A 1-D climate model was used to model potential effects on atmospheric
climate. In a second set of tests, we perturbed our box model to investigate
which parameters have the greatest impact on the evolution of atmospheric pN2
and consider possible implications for nitrogen cycling on other planets. Our
results suggest that (a) a high rate of biomass burial would have been needed
in the Archean to draw down atmospheric pN2 to less than half modern levels,
(b) the resulting effect on temperature could probably have been compensated by
increasing solar luminosity and a mild increase in pCO2, and (c) atmospheric
oxygenation could have initiated a stepwise pN2 rebound through oxidative
weathering. In general, life appears to be necessary for significant
atmospheric pN2 swings on Earth-like planets. Our results further support the
idea that an exoplanetary atmosphere rich in both N2 and O2 is a signature of
an oxygen-producing biosphere.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables (includes appendix), published in
Astrobiolog
Heterodyne detection of CO2 emission lines and wind velocities in the atmosphere of Venus
Strong 10 micrometer line emission from (C-12)(O-16)2 in the upper atmosphere of Venus was detected by heterodyne techniques. Observations of the absolute Doppler shift of the emission features indicate mean zonal wind velocities less than 10 m/sec in the upper atmosphere near the equator. No evidence was found of the 100 m/sec wind velocity implied by the apparent 4-day rotation period of ultraviolet cloud features
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