Plasma production by helicon and slow waves

The observation of slow-wave sustained (SW) discharge in a whistler- or helicon-wave range of frequency is made using high-frequency and very-high-frequency bands of rf. The SW discharge occurs at an extremely low rf power and plasma density, which are lower than a capacitive-coupling discharge region.     

Detection and evaluation of the depth of surface cracks in conductive materials by using a loop antenna

A new method is developed for detection and evaluation of the depth of surface cracks in conductive materials. The main components of the measurement equipment are a conductive wire and a loop antenna, both of which are located as close as possible to the surface of the investigated material, while the antenna loop is perpendicular to the surface and parallel to the wire. Supplying of electrical potential with microwave frequency f and amplitude |_s| to the wire results in spreading of induced current close beneath the surface of the material. The induced current redistributes in the vicinity of surface cracks, and some of the current paths flow along the crack walls. This leads to generation of a time-variable magnetic field mostly within the volume of the crack, which is detected by the loop antenna. A theoretical analysis is presented of the contributions of the different types of generated magnetic fields to the potential drop with amplitude |U_s| measured by the antenna. The distribution of the ratio R(dB)=|U|/|U_s| is measured for specimens of paramagnetic and ferromagnetic steel which contain three artificial cracks with depths of 0.5 mm, 1 mm, and 2 mm, and frequency f=300 MHz of the supplied electrical potential. It turns out that artificial cracks with a depth of d 0.5 mm, located at distances from x=3 mm to x=15 mm from the wire, can be detected. The largest sensitivity of crack detection is achieved for x4 mm when the long axis of a crack is perpendicular to the wire. The crack response of the measured ratio R is proportional to the crack depth when the loop of the antenna is located above or slightly outside an artificial crack, and at least 4 mm from the wire. This relation could be used for evaluation of the depth of real surface cracks. The notable decrement of the crack response outside the crack can indicate the location of the crack tips on the surface of the specimen. It is shown that a loop antenna with a diameter of 7 mm provides the largest crack response, as well as that the developed method can be applied to both paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials. An example of the detection of a real crack by an antenna is reported for the first time. PACS 81.70.Ex; 84.40.Ba; 84.32.Ff     

Application of high pressure induced by water-freezing to the direct catalytic asymmetric three-component List-Barbas-Mannich reaction

High pressure induced by water-freezing has been successfully applied to the direct catalytic asymmetric-three component List-Barbas-Mannich reaction, in which higher yield and better enantioselectivity can be realized than those from the reaction at room temperature under 0.1 MPa.     

Retardation of water evaporation by less-defective mixed monolayers spread from bulk solids onto water surface

From AFM observation of transferred films on mica, it has been found that mixed monolayers of hexadecanol with poly(vinyl stearate) give a film with a less-defective and flat surface by spreading from bulk solids of those mixtures onto a water surface without using any organic solvent. As a result, those mixed monolayers have a considerably larger effect on retardation of water evaporation in comparison with those spread from the solution of the mixtures. After the saturated surface pressure of the mixed monolayer spread from the bulk solids, an enhanced effect on retardation of water evaporation was found, accompanied by the preferential spreading of hexadecanol and the gradual reduction of defects in the mixed monolayer.     

Reduction of ion thermal diffusivity associated with the transition of the radial electric field in neutral-beam-heated plasmas in the large helical device

Recent large helical device experiments revealed that the transition from ion root to electron root occurred for the first time in neutral-beam-heated discharges, where no nonthermal electrons exist. The measured values of the radial electric field were found to be in qualitative agreement with those estimated by neoclassical theory. A clear reduction of ion thermal diffusivity was observed after the mode transition from ion root to electron root as predicted by neoclassical theory when the neoclassical ion loss is more dominant than the anomalous ion loss.     

Observation of the "self-healing" of an error field island in the large helical device

It was observed that the vacuum magnetic island produced by an external error magnetic field in the large helical device shrank in the presence of plasma. This was evidenced by the disappearance of flat regions in the electron temperature profile obtained by Thomson scattering. This island behavior depended on the magnetic configuration in which the plasmas were produced.     

Anomalous thermochromic transition of poly(di‐n‐octylsilane)

The thermochromic behavior of poly(di‐n‐octylsilane) {[Si(C₈H₁₇)₂]_n; PDOS} was studied by ultraviolet (UV) absorption, differential scanning calorimetry, and X‐ray diffraction measurements. The structure of PDOS in the low‐temperature phase strongly depended on not only the temperature but also the rate of cooling, that is, the thermal history. Temperature‐dependent UV absorption spectra were highly dependent on thermal hysteresis. Cooled rapidly (10 K/min), PDOS showed two absorption peaks at 3.32 and 3.51 eV in low‐temperature‐ordered phases, whereas a single absorption peak at 3.32 eV became predominant with slow cooling (0.3 K/min). The appearance of the two peaks at low temperatures suggested that a mixture of different conformations was introduced by rapid cooling. A fiber diffraction pattern measured at 240 K after rapid cooling also showed evidence of the existence of novel conformation. A temperature‐dependent powder X‐ray diffraction pattern changed significantly between 270 and 280 K. Rapid cooling reduced the intensity of the X‐ray diffraction peak in this temperature region. This intensity change was explained by the conformational mixture in the polymer. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 1085–1092, 2001