Alloying by high dose ion implantation of iron into magnesium and aluminium

Alloys of the systems Fe–Al (mixable over the whole concentration range) and Fe–Mg (insoluble with each other) were produced by implantation of Fe ions into Al and Mg, respectively. The implantation energy was 200 keV and the ion doses ranged from 1 × 10₁₄ to 9 × 10₁₇cm^-2The obtained implantation profiles were determined by Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiling. Maximum iron concentrations reached were up to 60 at.% for implantation into Al and 94 at.% for implantation into Mg. Phase analysis of the implanted layers was performed by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction. For implantation into Mg, two different kinds of Mössbauer spectra were obtained: at low doses paramagnetic doublets indicating at least two different iron sites and at high doses a dominant ferromagnetic six‐line‐pattern with a small paramagnetic fraction. The X‐ray diffraction pattern concluded that in the latter case a dilated αiron lattice is formed. For implantation into Al, the Mössbauer spectra were doublet structures very similar to those obtained at amorphous Fe–Al alloys produced by rapid quenching methods. They also indicated at least two different main iron environments. For the highest implanted sample a ferromagnetic six‐line‐pattern with magnetic field values close to those of Fe₃Al appeared.     

State of and prospects for XeF(C−A) optically pumped lasers

Experimental and theoretical results are presented on an XeF(C?A) blue-green laser driven by 5-kJ energy. The laser was pumped by a ferrite-induced discharge of 90 cm in length. The output energy of 0.22 J was obtained with a plane-parallel resonator. A program to simulate laser operation has been developed. Numerical results for a wide range of conditions are compared with experiments performed by us and by other authors. It is found that intracavity refractive losses limit laser operation for XeF pressures above 3 torr. The laser efficiency strongly depends on the discharge-to-cavity length ratio. Possible ways to increase the laser power and efficiency are discussed.     

Influence of the sulfonate countercation on the thermal stability of nafion perfluorosulfonate membranes

We report a strong dependence of the thermal stability of Nafion® perfluorosulfonate ionomer on the nature of the counterion associated with the fixed sulfonate site. These results were obtained using thermal gravimetric analysis on a series of alkali metal and alkyl ammonium cation-exchanged Nafion films. We have found that the temperature of decomposition of Nafion is inversely dependent on the size of the exchanged cation; i.e., Nafion films show improved thermal stability as the size of the counter cation decreases. We attribute this inverse relationship of thermal stability with counterion size to an initial decomposition reaction which is strongly influenced by the strength of the sulfonate-coun-terion interaction. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Large Water-Soluble Cyclophanes with Convergent Intracavity Functionality

New tricyclic spacers, readily available through fourfold Mannich reaction of substituted dibenzyl ketones, were introduced into a series of ten H₂O-soluble cyclophanes with spacious preorganized cavity binding sites. These spacers provide H₂O-solubility with amine or crown-ether functionality remote from the cyclophane cavity while directing functional groups such as keto or OH groups in a precise geometrical array inside the cavity. The cyclophanes were designed to include organic substrates via a combination of apolar and specific polar functional group interactions. The X-ray crystal-structure analysis of the tritopic receptor 18 with one potential neutral-molecule and two cation-binding sites showed a large rectangular open cavity with dimensions of roughly 9 × 14 Å and a spacing of 9.7 Å between the O-atoms of two convergent C?O groups. Despite the binding-site preorganization, cyclophanes incorporating two of the new spacers did not show any substrate binding in aqueous solutions. The failure of these systems to function as receptors is mainly due to steric hindrance to important cyclophane aromatic ring-guest interactions. Also, the favorable solvation of the intracavity functionality may prevent the formation of complexes. Hybrid receptors constructed from the novel spacers and diphenylmethane units were found to bind flat aromatic substrates as well as bulky [4.2]paracyclophanes. The observed large differences in stability (ΔΔG°> 2 kcal mol^?1) of the complexes formed by three structurally closely related hybrid receptors with convergent C?O, OH or CH₂ groups and 6-hydroxynaphthalene-2-carbonitrile as guest can be explained by a strong solvation effect of the convergent functional groups on apolar inclusion complexation.     

Why define atoms in real space?

The physics of a system is determined by a variation of the action integral, i.e., by a variation of the space–time volume integral of the Lagrange function. If one demands that the properties of an atom in a molecule be derived from physics, the atom must generate its own space–time volume, requiring that its boundaries be defined in real space. The variations in the action are related to the actions of generators of infinitesimal unitary transformations. In the general case, the action integral is altered by generators acting in both the spacelike and timelike surface bounding the space–time volume, whereas for a total isolated system, the physics is totally determined by their action in just the spacelike surfaces at the two time endpoints. It is shown and illustrated for a one-dimensional system that the definition of an atom corresponds to the possibility of choosing a subsystem in such a way that the contributions to the change in action resulting from the evolution in time of its spatial boundaries vanishes identically. The properties of these subsystems and of the total system of which they are a part are, therefore, determined by one and the same action principle. This choice of subsystem corresponds to the possibility of augmenting the Lagrange function by the divergence of the gradient of the electron density a step that, while leaving the equations of motion unchanged, modifies the generating operators in the required manner. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Three-dimensional atom probe study of the segregation behaviour of Ni91Pt9 alloy after sputtering

To investigate local ordering and segregation phenomenon in a Ni91Pt9-alloy after sputtering and annealing a 3D optical atom probe (OAP) has been used. The specimen tips have been prepared from polycrystalline samples. To sputter the samples a separate preparation chamber with a scannable Ar-sputter-gun is connected to the OAP vessel. When necessary, the sample can be electrically heated to induce segregation and cure the altered layer. After a heat treatment of a Ni91 at. %Pt 9 at.% specimen at 1100 K the surface of a (111)-oriented specimen is enriched in platinum by a factor of two in relation to the bulk. The phenomenon of short-range ordering has been investigated on the surface and in the subsurface volume. A 3D reconstruction of this annealed NiPt specimen shows regions with high concentration of platinum that gives an indication at short-range ordering. Uniform sputtering of the tip without a heat treatment induces a decisive depletion of Pt on the surface and the following subatomic layers. The atom-probe results of specimens in thermal equilibrium are in close agreement to further surface sensitive results obtained from Ion Scattering Spectroscopy (ISS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES).     

Forecasting call frequency at a financial services call centre

A forecasting model is developed for the number of daily applications for loans at a financial services telephone call centre. The purpose of the forecasts and the associated prediction intervals is to provide effective staffing policies within the call centre. The model building process is constrained by the availability of only 2 years and 7 months of data. The distinctive feature of the data is that demand is driven in the main by advertising. The analysis given focuses on applications stimulated by press advertising. Unlike previous analyses of broadly similar data, where ARIMA models were used, a model with a dynamic level, multiplicative calendar effects and a multiplicative advertising response is developed and shown to be effective.     

Study of the charge-exchange reactions\pi ^ - p \to (\pi ^0 ,\eta ,\eta \prime )n at 63 GeV

Muon electron pairs were detected in an Al multiplate spark chamber, exposed to a neutrino beam from the CERN PS. The leptons were not accompanied by other particles, except occasionally by protons. The background came mainly from muon associated π⁰ production, with one decay gamma lost. It was determined empirically, together with the small contribution from υ _e reactions. For electron energies above 2 GeV the background is 5.7±1.5 events, whereas 18 (μe)-candidates have been observed. Hence the effect is established, with a rate of about 10^?4 as compared to the muonic reactions above 3 GeV. Charm creation as the origin of this (μe)-production process is excluded; heavy neutral lepton production does not fit the kinematics observed. Instead the events are compatible with the two-body decay of an object with variable invariant mass of order 1 GeV, possibly resulting from axion interactions.