The effect of magnetic structures on the electrical resistivity of thulium

The influence of the magnetic structures in thulium with the residual resistance ratio (RRR) of 140 on the electrical resistivity was determined from 4·2 K up to 70 K. The measurements indicated the Néel temperatureT _N = 57.5 K and the Curie temperature T_C = 32 K. Furthermore, a new transition was found at T_H = 49 K which did not appear in the neutron diffraction measurements.Dedicated to Dr. Svatopluk Krupika on the occasion of his 65th birthday.We would like to express our thanks to V. Sojeková and H. Bobulská for their assistance in the measurements.     

On a rudimentary model of instability and (2 x 1) reconstruction of Si (001) and (111) surfaces

A recently proposed simple qualitative theory of instability and reconstruction of surfaces of solids exhibiting a certain covalent component of bonding is applied to (2 x 1) Si (001) and (111) surfaces with a possible extension to analogous surfaces of germanium and GaAs (001)., Shockley surface states from the vicinity of the Fermi energy are supposed to play a crucial role in the electron-phonon coupling. For the Si (001) surface the interaction between bridge and dangling bonds causes the dimerization (primary effect) and the buckling distortions to couple. If the latter effect is pronounced, the asymmetric dimer might exist as a stable or metastable surface phase. For the Si (111) surface the Pandey -bonded chain model seems to be a natural candidate for reconstruction from the present simple point of view.     

Airborne plutonium monitoring

Methods of monitoring low plutonium concentration in the inner and outer atmosphere are analyzed and compared. It is shown that monitors based on the gross alpha counting of air filters are not sensitive enough to measure reliably plutonium activities below 1 MPC. A spectrometric discontinuously operating monitor using a gridded ionization chamber and a membrane filter having 70 cm² active area is described. Plutonium activities of the order of 0.01 MPC /1 mBq.m^–3/ can be measured by the spectrometer at 1 h sampling and 1 h counting time.     

Separation of radioiodine by multistage isotope exchange in a heterogeneous liquid system

The separation of radioiodine from water by multistage isotope exchange between iodide and molecular iodine in a heterogeneous liquid system under both static and dynamic conditions has been studied in two model arrangements. Equations were derived which enable the calculation of the theoretical separation efficiency in dependence on both the volume concentration and concentration of the carrier of radioiodide in water. It was found that under the same conditions, the calculated values are in a satisfactory agreement with experimentally determined values of the separation efficiency.     

Effect of cigarette smoke on the measured equivalent volume activity of222Rn in air

The effect of cigarette smoke in air on the increase of the measured equivalent volume activity of²²²Rn is demonstrated. After introduction of the smoke from one cigarette into 1 m³ of air, this value increased up to ten times as shown by the method of sucking air through a filter.     

Calcination of SiO2-Aerogel in Inert Atmosphere

Thermal treatment of SiO₂-aerogel in inert atmosphere, in contrary to oxidizing atmosphere, yields a series of gas products with great range of mole masses (12–154 g mol^–1) and every product has specific way of evolving. These substances are represented by CO, CO₂, CH₄, CH₃OH, C₂H₆, C₂H₄ and aromates. Part of evolving products, which are formed during catalytic condensation, is trapped under the surface and after carbonisation it causes opacity of surface layer of aerogel.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Contact-limited conduction in V2O5P2O5 glasses

The electrical properties of V₂O₅P₂O₅ glass-electrode interfaces have been investigated. Gold, graphite and aluminium, in that order, form contacts of increasing resistance. The dependence of barrier height on the work function of the electrode material is not consistent with the concept of Schottky barriers at the interfaces. The phenomenon may be explained by the downward bending and filling of a narrow band normally situated in the vicinity of the Fermi level, caused by injection of electrons from the less noble metals. This gives rise to a surface layer, which can, in principle, be insulating. However, alternative mechanisms, in the case of the investigated glasses most probably a Poole-Frenkel type field enhanced conduction via separated traps, lead to finite interface resistance.     

Temperature dependence of the critical current density in Y-Ba-Cu-O thin films

We present a study of the temperature dependence of the critical currentJ _c of several dc magnetron sputtered thin Y-Ba-Cu-O films on single crystalline SrTiO₃, ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃ substrates. Near the critical temperature T_c it is found thatJ _c(1–T/T_c)ⁿ withn=3 for the SrTiO₃ and ZrO₂ substrates, whilen=1·3 for the Al₂O₃ substrate. The temperature dependence in our samples approximately agrees with standard theories for weak links or with the Ambegaokar-Baratoff equation.     

Preconcentration in multistage liquid-liquid extraction

Theoretical possibilities of the preconcentration of solutes in multistage static liquid-liquid extraction have been investigated. It was found that the preconcentration increases with increasing distribution ratio of the solutes between two phases as well as with the number of stages (n) and reaches its maximum value for n approaching infinity, i.e., in dynamic extraction. Comparison of the preconcentration in multistage (P_ns) and one-stage (p_1s) static operations shows that the relative preconcentration (q_ns=p_ns/p_1s) increases to infinity as the separation efficiency approaches 100%. Some of these theoretical considerations have been confirmed in extraction of radioiodine from aqueous solutions.Presented at the 2nd International Conference on the Separation of Ionic Solutes, SIS'87, Smolenice, Czechoslovakia, October 12–15, 1987.     

Rapid determination of131I in environmental waters using a liquid anion exchanger

A rapid and specific method for the determination of¹³¹I in environmental water samples in the presence of some of the most important fission products is described. Radioiodine is separated from acidified water using tri-n-octylamine solution in toluene with dissolved iodine by one-stage static procedure with about 90% separation efficiency and 200-fold volume concentration. After the decolorization of the organic phase with NaOH in methanol, radioactivity of¹³¹I is counted by a toluene base liquid scintillator with a counting efficiency of 70%. The method is simple and enables to determine low radioactivity¹³¹I with a detection limit less than 5 pCi/1 in about 1.5 hrs.