Vibrational Dynamics Studies by Nuclear Resonant Inelastic X-Ray Scattering

Nuclear resonant inelastic X-ray scattering of synchrotron radiation is being applied to ever widening areas ranging from geophysics to biophysics and materials science. Since its first demonstration in 1995 using the ⁵⁷Fe resonance, the technique has now been applied to materials containing ⁸³Kr, ¹⁵¹Eu, ¹¹⁹Sn, and ¹⁶¹Dy isotopes. The energy resolution has been reduced to under a millielectronvolt. This, in turn, has enabled new types of measurements like Debye velocity of sound, as well as the study of origins of non-Debye behavior in presence of other low-energy excitations. The effect of atomic disorder on phonon density of states has been studied in detail. The flux increase due to the improved X-ray sources, crystal monochromators, and time-resolved detectors has been exploited for reducing sample sizes to nano-gram levels, or using samples with dilute resonant nuclei like myoglobin, or even monolayers. Incorporation of micro-focusing optics to the existing experimental setup enables experiments under high pressure using diamond-anvil cells. In this article, we will review these developments. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A boundary element method for the calculation of noise barrier insertion loss in the presence of atmospheric turbulence

Atmospheric turbulence is an important factor that limits the amount of attenuation a barrier can provide in the outdoor environment. It is therefore important to develop a reliable method to predict its effect on barrier performance. The boundary element method (BEM) has been shown to be a very effective technique for predicting barrier insertion loss in the absence of turbulence. This paper develops a simple and efficient modification of the BEM formulation to predict the insertion loss of a barrier in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. The modification is based on two alternative methods: (1) random realisations of log-amplitude and phase fluctuations of boundary sources and (2) de-correlation of source coherence using the mutual coherence function (MCF). An investigation into the behaviours of these two methods is carried out and simplified forms of the methods developed. Some systematic differences between the predictions from the methods are found. When incorporated into the BEM formulation, the method of random realisations and the method of MCF de-correlation provide predictions that agree well with predictions by the parabolic equation method and by the scattering cross-section method on a variety of thin barrier configurations.     

Auditory evoked responses: A tool to assess the fetal neurological activity

An intact auditory system at birth is requisite for the successful accomplishment of many developmental skills. Evoked responses to auditory stimuli have been used as a sensitive test to determine the functional status of the adult and neonatal brain. It has been established that fetuses can hear in utero and respond to external acoustic stimuli. We present an overview of the transmission of sound through the maternal abdomen to the fetal ear and the recordings of an auditory evoked response obtained from the fetus using a non-invasive magnetoencephalography technique. The investigation of cortical activity of the fetus in response to auditory stimulation can help understand and track the neurological development of the fetus.     

超声波波型转换与表面波的检测

分析了超声波纵波、横波、表面波3种波型的产生条件和声速关系,检测了超声波在固体表面的波型转换,并测量了声表面波的速度,讨论了声表面波在超声延迟线方面的应用.     

Assessment of filtered gas–solid momentum transfer models via a linear wave propagation speed test

The propagation speeds of linear waves in gas–solid suspensions depend strongly on the solids volume fraction and the wave frequency. The latter is due to gas–solid momentum transfer and allows a simple test on filtered gas–solid momentum transfer models. Such models may predict linear wave propagation speeds different from those obtained with the non-filtered model at wave frequencies higher than the filter frequency, but not at wave frequencies lower than the filter frequency.     

Reconstruction of an acoustically sound-soft obstacle from one incident field and the far-field pattern

The problem considered is that of determining the shape of aplane acoustically sound-soft obstacle from the knowledge ofthe far-field pattern for one time-harmonic incident field.An iterative procedure is proposed based on two boundary integralsrepresenting the incident field and the far-field pattern, respectively.Numerical examples are included which show that the proceduregives accurate numerical approximations in relatively few iterations.     

Compressibility and Volume Effects of Mixing of 1-Propanol with Heavy Water

Speed of sound and density of 1-propanol + heavy water were measured in the whole concentration range at temperatures from 293 to 313 K. Isentropic compressibility was calculated from the Laplace formula. The partial molar volume of 1-propanol reaches a minimum at the mole fraction of 1-propanol x ₁ 0.03. At the same concentration, the compressibility isotherms intersect one another. These features of the investigated system are similar to those of 1-propanol + H₂O, that points to essential similarity of the two mixtures. A clathrate-like structure was suggested to explain the experimental results for dilute solutions of the alcohol. Somewhat more pronounced hydrophobic hydration in D₂O than in H₂O is manifested by an effect similar to that resulting from the elongation of the alcohol molecule.     

Density and Speed of Sound for Binary Mixtures of a Cyclic Ether with a Butanol Isomer

Densities and speeds of sound of the binary mixtures 1,3-dioxolane + 1-butanol, 1,3-dioxolane + 2-butanol, 1,4-dioxane + 1-butanol, and 1,4-dioxane + 2-butanol have been measured at 25 and 40°C. The excess molar volumes and excess isentropic compressibility coefficients were calculated from experimental data and fitted to a Redlich–Kister polynomial function. Results were analyzed in terms of molecular interactions and compared with literature data.     

Sound velocity in different reacting thermal plasma systems

In most cases the energy dissipated in plasma jets used either,for heating or spraying is varied by changing the are current, the total gas floc+rate, and composition. However, when doing so, conditions are reached where the plasma jet may become supersonic. To predict such conditions or to characterize supersonic plasma jets the knowledge of the sound velocitya is mandatory The goal of this paper is to calculatea versus plasma forming gas composition, temperature, and pressure. Rigorous calculation would imply the knowledge of the chemical reaction kinetics, sound velocity depending strongly on this. Unfortunately such kinetics are generally lolknown for plasma jet floras and the only possibility is to determine the equilibrium sound velocitya calculated through the isentropic coefficient T. This coefficient has been calculated taking into account the dissociation and ionization reactions at equilibrium for temperatures ranging from 300 to 25,000 K and pressures between 0.1 and 1 Mpa for Ar, H₂, He, Ar-He, Ar-H₂, O₂, N₂, air, .steam, and methane.a often called the frozen sound velocity, was also calculated using (ratio of specific heats) instead of .     

Thermodynamic properties of peptide solutions: 7. Partial molar isentropic pressure coefficients of some dipeptides in aqueous solution

The partial molar isentropic pressure coefficients at infinite dilution, K _S,2 ^o , have been determined for a number of dipeptides in aqueous solution at 25°C. For a series of dipeptides of sequence gly-X, where X is an amino acid with a neutral side chain, the K _S,2 ^o values are all more negative than that for diglycine. The results are discussed in terms of the hydration of the side chains. There are significant differences in the K _S,2 ^o values for sequence isomeric dipeptides. These differences can be rationalized in terms of the mutual interactions between the side chain and the ionic end groups in the dipeptides. Possible relationships between K _S,2 ^o and V ₂ ^o , the partial molar volume at infinite dilution, were investigated. For the dipeptides of sequence gly-X there is an interesting linear relationship between K _S,2 ^o /V ₂ ^o and V ₂ ^o .