Fast recharge circuit for q-switched lasers

Cavity-dumped lasers employ electrooptic-effect cell to alternately block and release laser pulse. Cell requires high-speed switching circuit that can apply and remove high voltage. Solid-state circuit employs complementary transistor switches which can switch at rates greater than 5 kHz, eliminate warmup time, provide variable voltage wave-form, and allow polarity reversal

Lightweight heater generates high temperatures from low current

Double spiral molybdenum heater element uses low current, needs no insulation, and requires support only at the ends, which are also the power input points. Because there is no insulation or internal support necessary, the heater is lightweight. Its temperature potential will vary with its size and environment

First Class: Pioneering Students at San José State University’s School of Library and Information Science, 1928-1940

This article examines the backgrounds, education, and careers of the first group of students in San José State University’s School of Library and Information Science. It finds that the 1928-1929 cohort were typical of the students attending teacher’s colleges in the early 1900s and represented the first generation of women pursuing higher education and professional careers following the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920. The study also explores the challenges working women faced during the 1930s, particularly the Great Depression’s impact California librarians

Cauliflower and leeks to have company in the field

Organic vegetables may benefit from the growing of living mulch crops between crop rows. Scientists from four EU countries are looking for potential positive effects

Kinetics of Open Circuit Processes in Undischarged Li/SOC12 Cells

The kinetics of the heat producing processes in undischarged Li/SOCl2 cells under open circuit conditions were measured by heat-conduction microcalorimetry. The cells studied, Honeywell type G2666 reserve cells, were activated as needed and the rate of open circuit heat output determined as a function of time since activation and temperature. The results at each temperature can be described by an equation of the form q = Bktx where q is the rate of heat output, B is the heat produced per unit of reaction, k and x are empirical constants, and t is the time since activation. Both x and k are found to be functions of temperature; therefore, accelerated testing at elevated temperatures is probably not valid for these cells until the processes involved are better understood

Geometrically necessary dislocation densities in olivine obtained using high-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction

© 2016 The AuthorsDislocations in geological minerals are fundamental to the creep processes that control large-scale geodynamic phenomena. However, techniques to quantify their densities, distributions, and types over critical subgrain to polycrystal length scales are limited. The recent advent of high-angular resolution electron backscatter diffraction (HR-EBSD), based on diffraction pattern cross-correlation, offers a powerful new approach that has been utilised to analyse dislocation densities in the materials sciences. In particular, HR-EBSD yields significantly better angular resolution (<0.01°) than conventional EBSD (~0.5°), allowing very low dislocation densities to be analysed. We develop the application of HR-EBSD to olivine, the dominant mineral in Earths upper mantle by testing (1) different inversion methods for estimating geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) densities, (2) the sensitivity of the method under a range of data acquisition settings, and (3) the ability of the technique to resolve a variety of olivine dislocation structures. The relatively low crystal symmetry (orthorhombic) and few slip systems in olivine result in well constrained GND density estimates. The GND density noise floor is inversely proportional to map step size, such that datasets can be optimised for analysing either short wavelength, high density structures (e.g. subgrain boundaries) or long wavelength, low amplitude orientation gradients. Comparison to conventional images of decorated dislocations demonstrates that HR-EBSD can characterise the dislocation distribution and reveal additional structure not captured by the decoration technique. HR-EBSD therefore provides a highly effective method for analysing dislocations in olivine and determining their role in accommodating macroscopic deformation

Particle parameter analyzing system

An X-Y plotter circuit apparatus is described which displays an input pulse representing particle parameter information, that would ordinarily appear on the screen of an oscilloscope as a rectangular pulse, as a single dot positioned on the screen where the upper right hand corner of the input pulse would have appeared. If another event occurs, and it is desired to display this event, the apparatus is provided to replace the dot with a short horizontal line