Method of erasing target material of a vidicon tube or the like Patent

Operation of vidicon tube for scanning spatial charge density patter

General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Black Hole Accretion Disks

Observations are providing increasingly detailed quantitative information about the accretion flows that power such high energy systems as X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. Analytic models of such systems must rely on assumptions such as regular flow geometry and a simple, parameterized stress. Global numerical simulations offer a way to investigate the basic physical dynamics of accretion flows without these assumptions. For black hole accretion studies one solves the equations of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics. Magnetic fields are of fundamental importance to the structure and evolution of accretion disks because magnetic turbulence is the source of the anomalous stress that drives accretion. We have developed a three-dimensional general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulation code to evolve time-dependent accretion systems self-consistently. Recent global simulations of black hole accretion disks suggest that the generic structure of the accretion flow is usefully divided into five regimes: the main disk, the inner disk, the corona, the evacuated funnel, and the funnel wall jet. The properties of each of these regions are summarized.Comment: invited review at the conference "Stellar-mass, Intermediate-mass, and Supermassive Black Holes", held in Kyoto, Japan, Octorber 28-31, 2003, to be published in Progress of Theoretical Physics Supplemen

Global General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Accretion Tori

This paper presents an initial survey of the properties of accretion flows in the Kerr metric from three-dimensional, general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of accretion tori. We consider three fiducial models of tori around rotating, both prograde and retrograde, and nonrotating black holes; these three fiducial models are also contrasted with axisymmetric simulations and a pseudo-Newtonian simulation with equivalent initial conditions to delineate the limitations of these approximations.Comment: Submitted to ApJ. 30 pages, 21 figures. Animations and high-resolution version of figures available at http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~jd5

Numerical analysis of a downsized 2-stroke uniflow engine

In order to optimize the 2-stroke uniflow engine performance on vehicle applications, numerical analysis has been introduced, 3D CFD model has been built for the optimization of intake charge organization. The scavenging process was investigated and the intake port design details were improved. Then the output data from 3D CFD calculation were applied to a 1D engine model to process the analysis on engine performance. The boost system optimization of the engine has been carried out also. Furthermore, a vehicle model was also set up to investigate the engine in-vehicle performance

Attitudes to telecare among older people, professional care workers and informal carers: a preventative strategy or crisis management?

This paper reports findings from an attitudinal survey towards telecare that emerged from twenty-two focus groups comprising ninety-two older people, fifty-five professional stakeholders and thirty-nine carers. These were convened in three different regions of England as a precursor to telecare service development. The results from this study suggest that informants’ views were shaped by prior knowledge of conventional health and social care delivery in their locality and the implication is that expectations and requirements in respect of telecare services in general are likely to be informed by wider perceptions about the extent to which community care should operate as a preventative strategy or as a mechanism for crisis management

Laser diode initiated detonators for space applications

Ensign Bickford Aerospace Company (EBAC) has over ten years of experience in the design and development of laser ordnance systems. Recent efforts have focused on the development of laser diode ordnance systems for space applications. Because the laser initiated detonators contain only insensitive secondary explosives, a high degree of system safety is achieved. Typical performance characteristics of a laser diode initiated detonator are described in this paper, including all-fire level, function time, and output. A finite difference model used at EBAC to predict detonator performance, is described and calculated results are compared to experimental data. Finally, the use of statistically designed experiments to evaluate performance of laser initiated detonators is discussed

Where Independence Meets Its Match: The Intersection of Musical Identity, Record Promotion and College Radio Programming

College Radio has long been championed for being one of the last independent voices on a radio dial dominated by corporate for-profit stations. While corporate stations program their playlists towards whatever is on the charts, independent programming has long been part of the appeal of college radio. However, college radio music directors are in constant contact with record promoters whose sole goal is to get their clients\u27 records played on-air. While a notion of independence is central to college radio\u27s musical identity, these record promoters hold a great deal of power in the decision making process. Upon investigation at WVU in the spring of 2008 and at WVU, Pitt and Washington & Lee in the Fall of that year, it appears that contact with certain record promoters, as opposed to a record\u27s own merits, are the key factor in whether that record would be included on the playlist. It was discovered that seven record promotional houses account for a disproportionate number of all albums received and played by the college radio stations and function as more of a gatekeeper to the airwaves than the music directors themselves

Global MHD Simulations of Cylindrical Keplerian Disks

This paper presents a series of global three dimensional accretion disk simulations carried out in the cylindrical limit in which the vertical component of the gravitational field is neglected. The simulations use a cylindrical pseudo-Newtonian potential to model the main dynamical properties of the Schwarzschild metric. The disks are initially constant density with a Keplerian angular momentum distribution and contain a weak toroidal or vertical field. These simulations reaffirm many of the conclusions of previous local simulations. The magnetorotational instability grows rapidly and produces MHD turbulence with a significant Maxwell stress which drives accretion. Tightly-wrapped low-$m$ spiral waves are prominent. In some simulations radial variations in Maxwell stress concentrate gas into rings, creating substantial spatial inhomogeneities. There is a nonzero stress at the marginally stable orbit which produces a small decline in specific angular momentum inside the last stable orbit. Detailed comparisons between simulations are used to examine the effects of computational domain and equation of state. Simulations that begin with vertical fields have greater field amplification and higher ratios of stress to magnetic pressure compared with those beginning with toroidal fields. In contrast to MHD, hydrodynamics alone neither creates nor sustains turbulence.Comment: Submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Web version of paper and MPEG animations can be found at http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~jh8h/cylinder