The Absence of Vortex Lattice Melting in a Conventional Superconductor

The state of the vortex lattice extremely close to the superconducting to normal transition in an applied magnetic field is investigated in high purity niobium. We observe that thermal fluctuations of the order parameter broaden the superconducting to normal transition into a crossover but no sign of a first order vortex lattice melting transition is detected in measurements of the heat capacity or the small angle neutron scattering (SANS) intensity. Direct observation of the vortices via SANS always finds a well ordered vortex lattice. The fluctuation broadening is considered in terms of the Lowest Landau Level theory of critical fluctuations and scaling is found to occur over a large H_{c2}(T) range

Measuring the speed of the conscious components of recognition memory: Remembering is faster than knowing.

Three experiments investigated response times (RTs) for remember and know responses in recognition memory. RTs to remember responses were faster than RTs to know responses, regardless of whether the remember–know decision was preceded by an old/new decision (two-step procedure) or was made without a preceding old/new decision (one-step procedure). The finding of faster RTs for R responses was also found when remember–know decisions were made retrospectively. These findings are inconsistent with dual-process models of recognition memory, which predict that recollection is slower and more effortful than familiarity. Word frequency did not influence RTs, but remember responses were faster for words than for nonwords. We argue that the difference in RTs to remember and know responses reflects the time taken to make old/new decisions on the basis of the type of information activated at test

Engaging Students Engaging Industry Engaging Enterprise

A reflective piece on how a small team of students and academics gained more awareness of their own sense of enterprise and creativity. The case study examines the phases and crisis points of the whole event process and identifies some of the key learning outcomes for all involved

Improving the Quality of Products from Grassland

Consumers are increasingly aware of the links between diet and health, and place increasing emphasis on nutritional quality as a component of product quality. Meat and milk products are rich sources of nutrients such as omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid, which offer health benefits to consumers. Green plants are the primary source of n-3 fatty acids in the food chain. Grassland production systems have the potential to enhance the content of beneficial fatty acids, improve stability (from higher antioxidant content) and alter sensory attributes of meat and milk. Grassland offers considerable scope to help create product differentiation in increasingly competitive markets

Improving the Quality of Products from Grassland

Key points 1. Consumers are increasingly aware of the links between diet and health, and place increasing emphasis on nutritional quality as a component of product quality. 2. Meat and milk products are rich sources of nutrients such as omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid, which offer health benefits to consumers. 3. Green plants are the primary source of n-3 fatty acids in the food chain. 4. Grassland production systems have the potential to enhance the content of beneficial fatty acids, improve stability (from higher antioxidant content) and alter sensory attributes of meat and milk. 5. Grassland offers considerable scope to help create product differentiation in increasingly competitive markets

Structural Transition Kinetics and Activated Behavior in the Superconducting Vortex Lattice

Using small-angle neutron scattering, we investigated the behavior of a metastable vortex lattice state in MgB2 as it is driven towards equilibrium by an AC magnetic field. This shows an activated behavior, where the AC field amplitude and cycle count are equivalent to, respectively, an effective "temperature" and "time". The activation barrier increases as the metastable state is suppressed, corresponding to an aging of the vortex lattice. Furthermore, we find a cross-over from a partial to a complete suppression of metastable domains depending on the AC field amplitude, which may empirically be described by a single free parameter. This represents a novel kind of collective vortex behavior, most likely governed by the nucleation and growth of equilibrium vortex lattice domains.Comment: 5 pages plus 3 pages of supplemental materia