Joining forces: engineering and arts students get physic(al) – problem solving strategies in the trans-school project

This paper / web article describes the practical investigations undertaken as part of the arts/engineering trans-school project.University of the Arts, London and Brunel University LTDU (APDU

Specular suffering: (staging) the body in pain

For the abstract see the PDF fil

The One-Loop H^2R^3 and H^2(DH)^2R Terms in the Effective Action

We consider the one-loop B^2h^3 and B^4h amplitudes in type II string theory, where B is the NS-NS two-form and h the graviton, and expand to lowest order in alpha'. After subtracting diagrams due to quartic terms in the effective action, we determine the presence and structure of both an H^2R^3 and H^2(DH)^2R term. We show that both terms are multiplied by the usual (t_8t_8\pm{1/8}\epsilon_{10}\epsilon_{10}) factor.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures; corrected typo

Application of inflated structures to hovercraft annual survey 1968-69: inflated structures report C1206/3

1.0 Introduction This report surveys work carried out in the Department of Aircraft Design at the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield, in accordance with the terms of Ministry of Technology contract reference PD/28/045/ADM, College of Aeronautics reference 0.1206. The period covered by this report extends from 1st October 1968 to 1st October 1969, which constitutes the first complete year of operation under the contract terms. The reporting procedure agreed with Mintech is that individual research topics shall be separately reported in the form of technical memoranda, and that comprehensive surveys of a descriptive nature shall be submitted at regular intervals

Magnetization Switching in Single-Domain Ferromagnets

A model for single-domain uniaxial ferromagnetic particles with high anisotropy, the Ising model, is studied. Recent experimental observations have been made of the probability that the magnetization has not switched. Here an approach is described in which it is emphasized that a ferromagnetic particle in an unfavorable field is in fact a metastable system, and the switching is accomplished through the nucleation and subsequent growth of localized droplets. Nucleation theory is applied to finite systems to determine the coercivity as a function of particle size and to calculate the probability of not switching. Both of these quantities are modified by different boundary conditions, magnetostatic interactions, and quenched disorder.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures, documentstyle{elsart} More fits and Mathematica notebook at http://www.scri.fsu.edu/~novotny/magnetism.html To appear in J.Mag.Mag.Mater. Conference Proceedings of 7th International Conference on Magnetism Cairns, Australia, August, 199

The measurement of biaxial strains in coated fabric materials using the disc-replica method

A method of measuring biaxial strains in coated fabric type materials is presented whereby the strain is deduced from the distortion of a circular impression made on the material. The impression is placed on the material when loaded, enabling all measurements to be made with the material in its relaxed, unloaded, state

Target shape dependence in a simple model of receptor-mediated endocytosis and phagocytosis

Phagocytosis and receptor-mediated endocytosis are vitally important particle uptake mechanisms in many cell types, ranging from single-cell organisms to immune cells. In both processes, engulfment by the cell depends critically on both particle shape and orientation. However, most previous theoretical work has focused only on spherical particles and hence disregards the wide-ranging particle shapes occurring in nature, such as those of bacteria. Here, by implementing a simple model in one and two dimensions, we compare and contrast receptor-mediated endocytosis and phagocytosis for a range of biologically relevant shapes, including spheres, ellipsoids, capped cylinders, and hourglasses. We find a whole range of different engulfment behaviors with some ellipsoids engulfing faster than spheres, and that phagocytosis is able to engulf a greater range of target shapes than other types of endocytosis. Further, the 2D model can explain why some nonspherical particles engulf fastest (not at all) when presented to the membrane tip-first (lying flat). Our work reveals how some bacteria may avoid being internalized simply because of their shape, and suggests shapes for optimal drug delivery.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure

Mean and Extreme Radio Properties of Quasars and the Origin of Radio Emission

We investigate the evolution of both the radio-loud fraction (RLF) and (using stacking analysis) the mean radio-loudness of quasars. We consider how these values evolve as a function of redshift and luminosity, black hole (BH) mass and accretion rate, and parameters related to the dominance of a wind in the broad emission line region. We match the FIRST source catalog to samples of luminous quasars (both spectroscopic and photometric), primarily from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. After accounting for catastrophic errors in BH mass estimates at high-redshift, we find that both the RLF and the mean radio luminosity increase for increasing BH mass and decreasing accretion rate. Similarly both the RLF and mean radio loudness increase for quasars which are argued to have weaker radiation line driven wind components of the broad emission line region. In agreement with past work, we find that the RLF increases with increasing luminosity and decreasing redshift while the mean radio-loudness evolves in the exact opposite manner. This difference in behavior between the mean radio-loudness and the RLF in L-z may indicate selection effects that bias our understanding of the evolution of the RLF; deeper surveys in the optical and radio are needed to resolve this discrepancy. Finally, we argue that radio-loud (RL) and radio-quiet (RQ) quasars may be parallel sequences but where only RQ quasars at one extreme of the distribution are likely to become RL, possibly through slight differences in spin and/or merger history.Comment: 55 pages, 28 figures, accepted to A

Visual Attention to Radar Displays

A model is described which predicts the allocation of attention to the features of a radar display. It uses the growth of uncertainty and the probability of near collision to call the eye to a feature of the display. The main source of uncertainty is forgetting following a fixation, which is modelled as a two dimensional diffusion process. The model was used to predict information overload in intercept controllers, and preliminary validation obtained by recording eye movements of intercept controllers in simulated and live (practice) interception