Results from Super-Kamiokande and K2K

Results from Super-Kamiokande-I’s entire 1496 live days of solar neutrino data are presented, including the absolute flux, energy spectrum, zenith angle (day/night) and seasonal variation. The possibility of MSW and vacuum oscillations is discussed in light of these results. Results from the first 1289 days of Super-K-I’s atmospheric neutrino analysis are also presented, including the evidence for ν_μ →ν _τ oscillations, against ν_μ → ν_sterile oscillations, and the current limits on proton decay. Finally, results based on 56 × 10¹⁹ protons on target are given for the K2K long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment.     

Is the Cassie-Baxter formula relevant?

The utility of the Cassie-Baxter formula to predict the apparent contact angle of a drop on rough hydrophobic surfaces has been questioned recently. To resolve this issue, experimental and numerical data for advancing and receding contact angles are reported. In all cases considered it is seen that contact angles follow the overall trend of the Cassie-Baxter formula, except for the advancing front on pillar type roughness. It is shown that deviations from the Cassie-Baxter angle have a one-to-one correlation with microscopic distortions of the contact line with respect to its configuration in the Cassie-Baxter state.     

Characterizing fracture energy of proton exchange membranes using a knife slit test

Pinhole formation in proton exchange membranes (PEM) may be caused by a process of flaw formation and crack propagation within membranes exposed to cyclic hygrothermal loading. Fracture mechanics can be used to characterize the propagation process, which is thought to occur in a slow, time‐dependent manner under cyclic loading conditions, and believed to be associated with limited plasticity. The intrinsic fracture energy has been used to characterize the fracture resistance of polymeric material with limited viscoelastic and plastic dissipation, and has been found to be associated with long‐term durability of polymeric materials. Insight into this limiting value of fracture energy may be useful in characterizing the durability of proton exchange membranes, including the formation of pinhole defects. In an effort to collect fracture data with limited plasticity, a knife slit test was adapted to measure fracture energies of PEMs, resulting in fracture energies that were two orders of magnitude smaller than those obtained with other fracture test methods. The presence of a sharp knife blade reduces crack tip plasticity, providing fracture energies that may be more representative of the intrinsic fracture energies of the thin membranes. Three commercial PEMs were tested to evaluate their fracture energies (G_c) at temperatures ranging from 40 to 90 °C and humidity levels varying from dry to 90% relative humidity (RH). Experiments were also conducted with membrane specimens immersed in water at various temperatures. The time temperature moisture superposition principle was applied to generate fracture energy master curves plotted as a function of reduced cutting rate based on the humidity and temperature conditions of the tests. The shift with respect to temperature and humidity suggests that the slitting process is viscoelastic in nature. Also such shifts were found to be consistent with those obtained from constitutive tests such as stress relaxation. The fracture energy is more sensitive to temperature than on humidity. The master curves converge at the lowest reduced cutting rates, suggesting similar intrinsic fracture energies; but diverge at higher reduced cutting rates to significantly different fracture energies. Although the relationship between G_c and ultimate mechanical durability has not been established, the test method may hold promise for investigating and comparing membrane resistance to failure in fuel cell environments. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 333–343, 2010     

Ionic conductivity and anion diffusion in single crystals of lead chloride

The ionic conductivity and self-diffusion of chlorine ions in undoped single crystals of zone-refined lead chloride have been measured over the temperature range 625–370K. These measurements suggest that the conductivity and self-diffusion are due to simple vacancy migration as confirmed by the observed correlation factor. The activation energy of formation of vacancies is found to be 1.55 eV and that for migration of an anion is 0.38 eV. In the extrinsic region, the two measurements show marked discrepancies which are explained by assuming the presence of oxygen impurity ions in the lattice, and the mechanisms for their contribution to the observed excess conductivity are discussed.     

NMR spectra of molecules oriented in a lyotropic mesophase. III—The Spectrum of γ-Hydroxypyridine

Analysis of the ¹H NMR spectrum of γ-hydroxypyridine dissolved in the lyotropic mesophase formed by a 14 : 1 : 1 : 20 mixture (by weight) of sodium dodecyl sulphate, decanol, sodium sulphate and D₂O provides all the spectral parameters with reasonable precision. The chemical shift, the indirect and the direct proton–proton coupling constants are derived. The direct dipolar couplings thus determined are utilised to obtain the relative interproton distances. Information about the molecular orientation and the solvent solute interactions is deduced.     

Molecular structure of pyrimidine by NMR in the nematic phase

The NMR spectrum of pyrimidine has been studied in the nematic phase of 4-methoxy benzylidene-4-amino-α-methyl cinnamic acid-n-propyl ester at room temperature. The ratios of all the interproton distances are determined and found to differ significantly from those obtained from microwave data. The molecule, like other aromatics, is shown to orient preferentially with its plane in the direction of the magnetic field.     

Energy dependence of ion beam mixing at Fe-Al and Fe-Cu interface: A conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopic study

The energy dependence of ion beam mixing in the Fe-Al and Fe-Cu bilayer configuration on the energy of bombarding Kr⁺ ions has been investigated by using the technique of conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy. The ion energy has been varied over a range between 30 keV and 120 keV by keeping the dose value fixed at 10¹⁶ ions/cm². In both the cases the extent of mixing shows an interesting variation with increase in the value of ion energy. This behaviour is discussed in the light of the calculated energy deposition distributions for the case of the given bilayer systems. The variations in the microstructural details of the mixed region with change in the incident ion energy have also been brought out via determination of hyperfine interaction parameters.     

Electroosmotic flow in a rectangular channel with variable wall zeta-potential: comparison of numerical simulation with asymptotic theory

Electroosmotic flow in a straight micro-channel of rectangular cross-section is computed numerically for several situations where the wall zeta-potential is not constant but has a specified spatial variation. The results of the computation are compared with an earlier published asymptotic theory based on the lubrication approximation: the assumption that any axial variations take place on a long length scale compared to a characteristic channel width. The computational results are found to be in excellent agreement with the theory even when the scale of axial variations is comparable to the channel width. In the opposite limit when the wavelength of fluctuations is much shorter than the channel width, the lubrication theory fails to describe the solution either qualitatively or quantitatively. In this short wave limit the solution is well described by Ajdari's theory for electroosmotic flow between infinite parallel plates (Ajdari, A., Phys. Rev. E 1996, 53, 4996-5005.) The infinitely thin electric double layer limit is assumed in the theory as well as in the simulation.