E2/M1 ratio from the Mainz p(γ⃗,p)π0p(\vec \gamma, p)\pi^0 data

We suggest that the error quoted in the Mainz determination of the E2/M1 ratio (at the resonance energy) should be enlarged. A term dropped in expressions used by this group could be significant.Comment: 2 pages of text. Submitted to the Comments section of PR

Space processing of electronic materials

The relative values of thermal conductivity of solid and liquid HgCdTe are critically important in the design configuration of the furnaces used for Bridgman crystal growth. The thermal diffusivity of the material is closely linked to the conductivity by the defining relation D = k/rho c, where D is the diffusivity, K is the thermal conductivity, rho is the density, and c is the specific heat. The use of transient and periodic heating approaches to measure the diffusivity are explored. A system for securing and extracting heat from silica or glass tubes under high C vacuum conditions is described

Comment on `Measurement of the π+p⃗\pi^+ \vec p analyzing power at 68.3 MeV'

We comment on a recent paper by Weiser et al. [Phys. Rev. C {\bf 54}, 1930 (1996)]. The authors have performed a single-energy analysis of $\pi^+ p$ scattering data at 68.3 MeV, finding a value for the $S_{31}$ phase shift about 1^o smaller than found in the Karlsruhe-Helsinki (KH) partial-wave analysis. The authors use this result to argue for a dispersion relation analysis using recently measured data, so that their effect on the $\pi NN$ coupling constant (f^2) and $\Sigma$ amplitude can be determined. We note that these tasks were accomplished prior to the submission of the above paper. We clarify the effect of this new analyzing power data on f^2 and the $\Sigma$ amplitude.Comment: 5 pages of text. Revised according to Referee suggestion