Structural changes in discotic samples during transition from crystal to discotic mesophase as revealed by electron microscopy and diffraction

Classical methods of structural analysis cannot be applied to liquid crystals because higher order reflections disappear during the transition from crystal to liquid crystal due to the reduction in long range orientational and translational correlations. However, in order to relate physical properties to the molecular architecture, it is essential to have information about molecular positions and orientations in the crystalline state as well as in the liquid crystalline state. In this work, the transition from crystalline to liquid crystalline phase is carefully monitored and the relationship between the original lattice and the new molecular positions found using electron diffraction. In addition to this, a new high resolution electron-microscopic technique is described in which the positions of molecules in the crystalline and the quenched discotic phase are directly imaged and the defects observed in the crystalline and LC phase compared and quantitatively analysed.     

Successive substitution titration of calcium and magnesium with EGTA using thallium oxide electrode for indication

Summary It is demonstrated that magnesium can be titrated with EGTA in the presence of CaEDTA complex. On the basis of this substitution reaction, calcium and magnesium are successively titrated with EGTA, if an appropriate amount of CaEDTA is added after having reached the end point for calcium. Both end points are indicated amperometrically using a thallium oxide anode. The method has been tested for analysis of tap and mineral water. Larger amounts of manganese(II) render the calcium result too high. Moreover, the indication of both end points is affected by the electrode position of an inactive MnO₂-layer onto the Tl₂O₃-layer. Reducing agents destroy the Tl₂O₃-layer. These interferences can be overcome by addition of an appropriate amount of manganate(VII) to the sample.

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Sukzessive Substitutionstitration von Calcium und Magnesium mit ÄGTA, indiziert mit der Thalliumoxidelektrode

Zusammenfassung Magnesium kann mit ÄGTA in Gegenwart des CaÄDTA-Komplexes titriert werden. Auf der Grundlage dieser Substitutionstitration können Calcium und Magnesium nacheinander mit ÄGTA titriert werden, wenn nach dem Endpunkt für Calcium eine ausreichende Menge CaÄDTA zugesetzt wird. Beide Endpunkte werden amperometrisch mit Hilfe einer Thalliumoxidelektrode angezeigt. Die Methode wurde an Leitungswasser und Mineralwasser geprüft. Größere Mengen Mangan(II) bewirken zu hohe Calciumwerte. Darüber hinaus wird die Indikation beider Endpunkte dadurch beeinträchtigt, daß sich eine inaktive MnO₂-Schicht auf der Tl₂O₃-Schicht elektrolytisch abscheidet. Reduzierende Stoffe zerstören die Tl₂O₃-Schicht. Diese Störungen können durch Zugabe von Permanganat vermieden werden.

     

Morphological and chemical characteristics of airborne tungsten particles of Fallon, Nevada.

Morphological and chemical characteristics were determined for airborne tungsten particles in Fallon, Nevada, a town that is distinguishable environmentally by elevated airborne tungsten and cobalt. From samples of airborne dust collected previously at six different places in Fallon, tungsten-rich dust particles were isolated and analyzed with automated electron microprobe and wavelength-dispersive spectrometry. Representative W particles were further analyzed using transmission electron microscopy. Morphologically, Fallon W particles are angular and small, with minimum and maximum sizes of < or = 1 microm and 5.9 microm in diameter, respectively. The number and size of tungsten-rich particles decrease in Fallon with distance from a hard-metal facility located near the center of town. Chemically, Fallon airborne W particles include mixtures of tungsten with cobalt plus other metals such as chromium, iron, and copper. No W-rich particles were identifiable as CaWO4 (scheelite) or MnWO4 (huebnerite). From d-spacings, Fallon particles are most consistent with identification as tungsten carbide. Based on these multiple lines of evidence, airborne W particles in Fallon are anthropogenic in origin, not natural. The hard-metal facility in Fallon processes finely powdered W and W-Co, and further investigation using tracer particles is recommended to definitively identify the source of Fallon's airborne tungsten.     

The transient behaviour of models of bowed-string motion

Theoretical models of the action of a bowed string may be able to shed light on differences of "playability" between different violins. Subjective judgements seem to be concerned, at least in part, with the robustness with which one particular oscillation regime of the string (the "Helmholtz motion") may be obtained under different bowing conditions. In this paper, after a review of bowed-string modelling, systematic simulation is used to obtain plots of the basin of attraction of the Helmholtz motion in a particular subspace of the player's control space. Variations in the size and structure of this basin of attraction are seen when parameters of the problem are varied, and some physical interpretation of these variations is given. Some parallels and contrasts are pointed out between the particular features of the bowed string as a nonlinear system, and the range of more familiar dynamical systems. (c) 1995 American Institute of Physics.     

Subthreshold antiproton andK − production in heavy ion collisions

Subthreshold ¯p andK ^– and energetic ^– production was studied in Ne + NaF, Cu, Sn and Bi, and in Ni + Ni collisions with incident energies between 1.6 and 2 GeV/u. The measured cross sections indicate a dominant contribution of baryonic resonances. This is also consistent with a generalized scaling behaviour of the cross sections with the energy available in the collision and the energy necessary to produce particles as observed with Ne induced reactions. Deviations from scaling especially pronounced in the Ni-Ni system will be discussed in terms of absorption effects. The flat slope of the excitation function for ¯p production can be related to a reduced production threshold caused by a reduction of the antiproton mass in the dense and heated medium by about 100—150 MeV/c². A similar in-medium mass reduction is also indicated forK ^– mesons. An increased ¯p reabsorption probability for the heavier systems is concluded from the comparison of the ¯p yields in Ne + NaF, Ne + Sn and Ni + Ni collisions.Dedicated to Professor Klaus Dietrich on the occasion of his 60th birthday.