801 research outputs found
An explorative philosophical study of envisaging the electrical energy infrastructure of the future
The electrical energy infrastructure is one of the key life-sustaining technologies of contemporary Western society. This infrastructure is extremely complex due to its size, its multifarious technologies, and its interweaving with societal structures. Smart grids are important in future infrastructure, yet extant literature does not adequately address this complexity. This paper argues that different elements of the philosophy of Dooyeweerd offer a key to understanding this intricate complexity more fundamentally. Key concepts are the ideas of normative practices, enkapsis (intertwinement) of practices, individuality structures, and ideals and basic beliefs. By developing these ideas in the context of smart grid engineering, our research contributes to philosophy of technology, philosophy of design, and philosophy of sustainability. It offers an ontological analysis of these infrastructures, pointing a direction to the development of workable infrastructures and supporting the transition to a sustainable society
Atom cooling and trapping by disorder
We demonstrate the possibility of three-dimensional cooling of neutral atoms
by illuminating them with two counterpropagating laser beams of mutually
orthogonal linear polarization, where one of the lasers is a speckle field,
i.e. a highly disordered but stationary coherent light field. This
configuration gives rise to atom cooling in the transverse plane via a Sisyphus
cooling mechanism similar to the one known in standard two-dimensional optical
lattices formed by several plane laser waves. However, striking differences
occur in the spatial diffusion coefficients as well as in local properties of
the trapped atoms.Comment: 11 figures (postscript
Density fluctuations and single-particle dynamics in liquid lithium
The single-particle and collective dynamical properties of liquid lithium
have been evaluated at several thermodynamic states near the triple point. This
is performed within the framework of mode-coupling theory, using a
self-consistent scheme which, starting from the known static structure of the
liquid, allows the theoretical calculation of several dynamical properties.
Special attention is devoted to several aspects of the single-particle
dynamics, which are discussed as a function of the thermodynamic state. The
results are compared with those of Molecular Dynamics simulations and other
theoretical approaches.Comment: 31 pages (in preprint format), 14 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Static and Dynamic Properties of Dissipative Particle Dynamics
The algorithm for the DPD fluid, the dynamics of which is conceptually a
combination of molecular dynamics, Brownian dynamics and lattice gas automata,
is designed for simulating rheological properties of complex fluids on
hydrodynamic time scales. This paper calculates the equilibrium and transport
properties (viscosity, self-diffusion) of the thermostated DPD fluid explicitly
in terms of the system parameters. It is demonstrated that temperature
gradients cannot exist, and that there is therefore no heat conductivity.
Starting from the N-particle Fokker-Planck, or Kramers' equation, we prove an
H-theorem for the free energy, obtain hydrodynamic equations, and derive a
non-linear kinetic equation (the Fokker-Planck-Boltzmann equation) for the
single particle distribution function. This kinetic equation is solved by the
Chapman-Enskog method. The analytic results are compared with numerical
simulations.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX, 3 Postscript figure
Collective dynamics of liquid aluminum probed by Inelastic X-ray Scattering
An inelastic X-ray scattering experiment has been performed in liquid
aluminum with the purpose of studying the collective excitations at wavevectors
below the first sharp diffraction peak. The high instrumental resolution (up to
1.5 meV) allows an accurate investigation of the dynamical processes in this
liquid metal on the basis of a generalized hydrodynamics framework. The
outcoming results confirm the presence of a viscosity relaxation scenario ruled
by a two timescale mechanism, as recently found in liquid lithium.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Bound and free atoms diagnosed by the recoil-induced resonances: 1D optical lattice in a working MOT
We report on studies of simultaneous trapping of Rb atoms in a
magneto-optical trap (MOT) and 1D optical lattice. Using Raman pump-probe
spectroscopy we observe the coexistence of two atomic fractions: the first,
which consists of free, unbound atoms trapped in a MOT and the second,
localized in the micropotentials of the optical lattice. We show that
recoil-induced resonances allow not only temperature determination of the
atomic cloud but, together with vibrational resonances, can also be used for
real-time, nondestructive studies of the lattice loading and of the dynamics of
systems comprising unbound and bound atomic fractions.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to PR
Evidence of two viscous relaxation processes in the collective dynamics of liquid lithium
New inelastic X-ray scattering experiments have been performed on liquid
lithium in a wide wavevector range. With respect to the previous measurements,
the instrumental resolution, improved up to 1.5 meV, allows to accurately
investigate the dynamical processes determining the observed shape of the the
dynamic structure factor, . A detailed analysis of the lineshapes
shows the co-existence of relaxation processes with both a slow and a fast
characteristic timescales, and therefore that pictures of the relaxation
mechanisms based on a simple viscoelastic model must be abandoned.Comment: 5 pages, 4 .PS figure
Sneutrino Mixing Phenomena
In any model with nonzero Majorana neutrino masses, the sneutrino and
antisneutrino of the supersymmetric extended theory mix. We outline the
conditions under which sneutrino-antisneutrino mixing is experimentally
observable. The mass-splitting of the sneutrino mass eigenstates and sneutrino
oscillation phenomena are considered.Comment: 12 pages, revtex + axodraw, 1 figure included. Minor change
Development of a self-report measure of capability wellbeing for adults: the ICECAP-A
Purpose The benefits of health and social care are not confined to patient health alone and therefore broader measures of wellbeing may be useful for economic evaluation.\ud
This paper reports the development of a simple measure of capability wellbeing for adults (ICECAP-A).\ud
Methods In-depth, informant-led, interviews to identify the attributes of capability wellbeing were conducted with 36 adults in the UK. Eighteen semi-structured, repeat interviews were carried out to develop a capability-based descriptive system for the measure. Informants were purposively selected to ensure variation in socio-economic status, age, sex, ethnicity and health. Data analysis was carried out inductively and iteratively alongside interviews, and findings were used to shape the questions in later interviews.\ud
Results Five over-arching attributes of capability wellbeing were identified for the measure: ââstabilityââ,ââattachmentââ, ââachievementââ, ââautonomyââ and ââenjoymentââ. One item, with four response categories, was developed for each attribute for the ICECAP-A descriptive system.\ud
Conclusions The ICECAP-A capability measure represents a departure from traditional health economics outcome measures, by treating health status as an influence over broader attributes of capability wellbeing. Further work is required to value and validate the attributes and test the sensitivity of the ICECAP-A to healthcare interventions
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