Comparison of aerodynamic theory and experiment for jet-flap wings

Aerodynamic theory predictions made for a jet flapped wing were compared with experimental data obtained in a fairly extensive series of tests in the Langley V/STOL tunnel. The tests were made on a straight, rectangular wing and investigated two types of jet flap concepts: a pure jet flap with high jet deflection and a wing with blowing at the knee of a plain trailing edge flap. The tests investigated full and partial span blowing for wing aspect ratios of 8.0 and 5.5 and momentum coefficients from 0 to about 4. The total lift, drag, and pitching moment coefficients predicted by the theory were in excellent agreement with experimental values for the pure jet flap, even with the high jet deflection. The pressure coefficients on the wing, and hence the circulation lift coefficients, were underpredicted, however, because of the linearizing assumptions of the planar theory. The lift, drag, and pitching moment coefficients, as well as pressure coefficients, were underpredicted for the wing with blowing over the flap because of the failure of the theory to account for the interaction effect of the high velocity jet passing over the flap

How Europe’s history of interstate rivalry is linked to global imperialism – and why it still matters today

What were the origins of European imperialism? Drawing on a new study, Jan P. Vogler explains that centuries of European interstate rivalries were an essential contributor to historical imperial expansion by the continent’s major powers. He outlines three mechanisms that link interstate competition to colonial expansion and illustrates them through two historical cases

Mitochondrial metagenomics: letting the genes out of the bottle

‘Mitochondrial metagenomics’ (MMG) is a methodology for shotgun sequencing of total DNA from specimen mixtures and subsequent bioinformatic extraction of mitochondrial sequences. The approach can be applied to phylogenetic analysis of taxonomically selected taxa, as an economical alternative to mitogenome sequencing from individual species, or to environmental samples of mixed specimens, such as from mass trapping of invertebrates. The routine generation of mitochondrial genome sequences has great potential both for systematics and community phylogenetics. Mapping of reads from low-coverage shotgun sequencing of environmental samples also makes it possible to obtain data on spatial and temporal turnover in whole-community phylogenetic and species composition, even in complex ecosystems where species-level taxonomy and biodiversity patterns are poorly known. In addition, read mapping can produce information on species biomass, and potentially allows quantification of within-species genetic variation. The success of MMG relies on the formation of numerous mitochondrial genome contigs, achievable with standard genome assemblers, but various challenges for the efficiency of assembly remain, particularly in the face of variable relative species abundance and intra-specific genetic variation. Nevertheless, several studies have demonstrated the power of mitogenomes from MMG for accurate phylogenetic placement, evolutionary analysis of species traits, biodiversity discovery and the establishment of species distribution patterns; it offers a promising avenue for unifying the ecological and evolutionary understanding of species diversity

Ultracold Atoms as a Target: Absolute Scattering Cross-Section Measurements

We report on a new experimental platform for the measurement of absolute scattering cross-sections. The target atoms are trapped in an optical dipole trap and are exposed to an incident particle beam. The exponential decay of the atom number directly yields the absolute total scattering cross-section. The technique can be applied to any atomic or molecular species that can be prepared in an optical dipole trap and provides a large variety of possible scattering scenarios

Economic elites and the constitutional design of sharing political power

What explains the emergence and persistence of institutions aimed at preventing any ruling group from using the state apparatus to advance particularistic interests? To answer this recurring question, a burgeoning literature examines the establishment of power-sharing institutions in societies divided by ethnic or religious cleavages. Going beyond existing scholarly work focused on these specific settings, we argue that political power-sharing institutions can also be the result of common disputes within the economic elite. We propose that these institutions are likely to emerge and persist when competition between elite factions with dissimilar economic interests is balanced. To address the possibility of endogeneity between elite configurations and public institutions, we leverage natural resource diversity as an instrument for elite configurations. We show that, where geological resources are more diverse, competition between similarly powerful economic groups is more likely to emerge, leading ultimately to the establishment of power-sharing mechanisms that allow elite groups to protect their diverging economic interests

How the European Union’s structural funds helped promote a key aspect of democratisation

Can EU funding increase local state capacity? Paweł Charasz and Jan P. Vogler present results from a randomised survey of more than 2,400 municipal administrations in Poland. They find that local governments that have strongly benefited from EU funding exhibit more efficient internal administrative decision-making. When the Soviet Empire disintegrated, a challenge of monumental proportions ... Continue

Design of a five-axis ultra-precision micro-milling machine—UltraMill. Part 2: Integrated dynamic modelling, design optimisation and analysis

Using computer models to predict the dynamic performance of ultra-precision machine tools can help manufacturers to substantially reduce the lead time and cost of developing new machines. However, the use of electronic drives on such machines is becoming widespread, the machine dynamic performance depending not only on the mechanical structure and components but also on the control system and electronic drives. Bench-top ultra-precision machine tools are highly desirable for the micro-manufacturing of high-accuracy micro-mechanical components. However, the development is still at the nascent stage and hence lacks standardised guidelines. Part 2 of this two-part paper proposes an integrated approach, which permits analysis and optimisation of the entire machine dynamic performance at the early design stage. Based on the proposed approach, the modelling and simulation process of a novel five-axis bench-top ultra-precision micro-milling machine tool—UltraMill—is presented. The modelling and simulation cover the dynamics of the machine structure, the moving components, the control system and the machining process and are used to predict the entire machine performance of two typical configurations

Cost benefit analysis of space communications technology. Volume 2: Final report

For abstract, see preceding accession