Letter: The Radial Infall of a Highly Relativistic Point Particle into a Kerr Black Hole Along the Symmetry Axis

In this Letter we consider the radial infall along the symmetry axis of an ultra-relativistic point particle into a rotating Kerr black hole. We use the Sasaki-Nakamura formalism to compute the waveform, energy spectra and total energy radiated during this process. We discuss possible connections between these results and the black hole-black hole collision at the speed of light process.     

Vickers Microhardness and Hyperfine Magnetic Field Variations of Heat Treated Amorphous Fe78Si9B13 Alloy Ribbons

Amorphous Fe₇₈Si₉B₁₃ alloy ribbons were heat treated between 296 and 763 K, using heating rates between 1 and 4.5 K/min. Whereas one ribbon partially crystallized at T _x = 722 K, the other one partially crystallized at T _x = 763 K. The partially crystallized ribbon at 722 K, heat treated using a triangular form for the heating and cooling rates, was substantially less fragile than the partially crystallized at 763 K where a tooth saw form for the heating and cooling rates was used. Vickers microhardness and hyperfine magnetic field values behaved almost concomitantly between 296 and 673 K. The Mössbauer spectral line widths of the heat-treated ribbons decreased continuously from 296 to 500 K, suggesting stress relief in this temperature range where the Vickers microhardness did not increase. At 523 K the line width decreased further but the microhardness increased substantially. After 523 K the line width behave in an oscillating form as well as the microhardness, indicating other structural changes in addition to the stress relief. Finally, positron lifetime data showed that both inner part and surface of Fe₇₈Si₉B₁₃ alloy ribbons were affected distinctly. Variations on the surface may be the cause of some of the high Vickers microhardness values measured in the amorphous state.     

Fluorometric fiber optic drop sensor for atmospheric hydrogen sulfide

A fluorometric technique based on a liquid drop excited from its interior by an optical fiber is described for the measurement of low concentrations of atmospheric hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S). A drop of alkaline fluorescein mercuric acetate (FMA) solution is suspended in a flowing air sample stream and serves as a renewable sensor. An optical fiber contained within the conduit that forms the drop, brings in the excitation beam; the fluorescence emission is measured by an inexpensive photodiode positioned close to the drop. As H(2)S in the sample is collected by the alkaline drop, it reacts rapidly with FMA resulting in a significant decrease in fluorescence intensity, proportional to the concentration of H(2)S sampled. The chemistry of this uniquely selective reaction has been well established for many years; the present technique permits a simple fast inexpensive near real-time measurement with very little reagent consumption. Even without prolonged sampling/preconcentration steps, limits of detection (LODs) in the double digit ppbv range is readily attainable.     

Development and Validation of a Reversed-Phase HPLC Method for the Determination of Deflazacort in Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed and validated for quantitative determination of deflazacort in tablets and in compounded capsules. Isocratic chromatography was performed on a C₁₈ column with acetonitrile–water 80:20 (v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min^?1. UV detection was at 240 nm. The linearity of the method was good (r > 0.999), as also were intra-day and inter-day precision (RSD <2%) and accuracy (recovery >98%). The method was also validated for specificity and robustness. The results showed the proposed method is suitable for its intended use.     

A new alkyl phenol from Schinopsis brasiliensis

Phytochemical investigation of the trunk of Schinopsis brasiliensis afforded a new alkyl phenol, methyl 6-eicosanyl-2-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzoate, besides an unusual steroid 5alpha,8alpha-epidioxyergosta-6,22-dien-3-beta-ol. The compounds were characterised by spectroscopy data analysis.     

Latex Surface and Bulk Coagulation Induced by Solvent Vapors

Latex exposure to solvent vapors leads to highly specific changes in latex stability as well as on the morphologies of the particle association products, depending on the latex and solvent used. Examples of solvent vapor-induced aggregation are given: surface films are obtained on two PS latexes; in one case, the film surface is mirror-reflective and very flat, as evidenced by AFM. Another PS latex coagulates under exposure to acetone vapors, and the morphologies of the coagula are highly sensitive to the exposure conditions. This latex yields a highly porous foam-like structure, in which particles are strongly coalesced but form percolating patches around the pores. The same latex but under other conditions produces a coagulum of large numbers of aggregated particles with a raspberry-like morphology. Density centrifugation experiments show that the effect of solvents on different latex fractions is not uniform, and some fractions show larger density changes than others, thus evidencing a variability in their swelling ability. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Unified mechanistic concept of electrophilic aromatic nitration: convergence of computational results and experimental data

The mechanism of electrophilic aromatic nitration was revisited. Based on the available experimental data and new high-level quantum chemical calculations, a modification of the previous reaction mechanism is proposed involving three separate intermediates on the potential energy diagram of the reaction. The first, originally considered an unoriented pi-complex or electron donor acceptor complex (EDA), involves high electrostatic and charge-transfer interactions between the nitronium ion and the pi-aromatics. It explains the observed low substrate selectivity in nitration with nitronium salts while maintaining high positional selectivity, as well as observed oxygen transfer reactions in the gas phase. The subsequent second intermediate originally considered an oriented "pi-complex" is now best represented by an intimate radical cation-molecule pair, C(6)H(6)(+)(*)()/NO(2), that is, a SET complex, indicative of single-electron transfer from the aromatic pi-system to NO(2)(+). Subsequently, it collapses to afford the final sigma-complex intermediate, that is, an arenium ion. The proposed three discrete intermediates in electrophilic aromatic nitration unify previous mechanistic proposals and also contribute to a better understanding of this fundamentally important reaction. The previously obtained ICR data of oxygen transfer from NO(2)(+) to the aromatic ring are also accommodated by the proposed mechanism. The most stable intermediate of this reaction on its potential energy surface is a complex between phenol and NO(+). The phenol.NO(+) complex decomposes affording C(6)H(6)O(+)(*)/PhOH(+) and NO, in agreement with the ICR results.     

Voltammetric determination of copper and lead in gasoline using sample preparation as microemulsions.

A voltammetric method for the determination of Cu(II) and Pb(II) in gasoline using sample preparation as three-component solutions (gasoline:propan-1-ol:water, 25:60:15 v/v/v) is proposed. HNO(3) was employed as a supporting electrolyte and to allow the use of aqueous inorganic standards for calibration, even if the analyte species originally in gasoline is present as a metallo-organic form. A square-wave anodic sequential determination was used by measuring the stripping current of Cu(II) (at +104 mV) using a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and, in a second run, measuring the Pb(II) stripping current (at -470 mV) using a bismuth-film deposited on the surface of the GCE. The method allowed the quantification of 1.7 x 10(-9) mol L(-1) of Cu and 1.4 x 10(-10) mol L(-1) of Pb employing a 1500-s accumulation time. Recovery tests using analyte spiked three-component solutions prepared with commercial gasoline samples enabled recoveries of Cu and Pb from 97 +/- 8 to 102 +/- 5%.     

2,2,6,6‐Tetra­methyl‐4‐oxopiperi­din­ium nitrate

In the title compound, C₉H₁₈NO⁺·NO₃⁻, the piperidinium ring adopts a slightly deformed chair conformation and the nitrate anion is disordered. The ions are arranged in hydrogen‐bonded chains parallel to [001], in which the cations alternate with the anions. The intra­chain hydrogen bonds are bifurcated and link the O atoms of the anions to the N atoms of the cations.