Mildred Dresselhaus and Solid State Pedagogy at MIT

Mildred Dresselhaus is known for her influential research on the physics of carbon. Her wide‐ranging influence as a physics teacher, although well‐known to her students, has been less thoroughly examined. Exploring how Dresselhaus grew into her role teaching solid state physics at MIT reveals much about how that subfield evolved.     

Identifying the viscoelastic properties of soft matter from the indentation response of a hard film-soft substrate system

The indentation technique is widely used in measuring the mechanical properties of soft matter at the microscale or nanoscale,but still faces challenges by these unique properties as well as the consequent strong surface adhesion, including the strong nonlinear effect, unclear judgment of the contact point, difficulties in estimating the contact area, and the risk of the indenter piercing the sample. Here we propose a two-step method to solve these problems: lay a hard film on a soft matter, and obtain the viscoelastic properties of this soft matter through the indentation response of this composite structure. We first establish a theoretical indentation model of the hard film-soft substrate system based on the theory of plates, elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle and Boltzmann superposition principle. To verify the correctness of this method, we measure the mechanical properties of the methyl vinyl silicone rubber(MVSR) covered by a Cu nanofilm. Finally, we test the effectiveness and error sensitivity of this method with the finite element method(FEM). The results show that our method can accurately measure the mechanical properties of soft matter, while effectively circumventing the problems of the traditional indentation technique.     

颗粒毛细效应影响因素的离散元分析

颗粒毛细效应是指将一根细管插入填充有颗粒物质的容器中并对管施加竖直振动时颗粒在管内上升并最终达到一个稳定的高度的现象, 该现象为颗粒物料的逆重力输运提供了一种潜在的技术途径. 为探究颗粒毛细效应的影响因素, 采用离散元方法, 模拟再现了颗粒毛细效应过程,展示了不同管径下颗粒竖直方向速度演变特性, 考察了不同容器宽度和振动条件下颗粒最终毛细上升高度随管径的演变规律. 结果表明, 在容器宽度与粒径比为40、管振幅与粒径比为14.33、管振动频率为12 Hz情况下, 管径与粒径比$D/d = 3.33$时, 管内颗粒堵塞严重, 使得颗粒上升缓慢,并造成颗粒柱中断; $D/d = 8.33$时, 起初毛细上升高度增加迅速, 随后毛细上升高度的增大逐渐减缓, 管内颗粒在管径方向几乎不存在速度梯度; $D/d =15$时, 随着颗粒毛细上升高度的增大, 管内颗粒柱分离为速度截然不同的两层, 上层颗粒在管径方向几乎不存在速度梯度, 而下层颗粒存在明显的速度梯度.研究还发现, 在毛细效应能够发生的管径范围内, 存在一个对应于颗粒最终毛细上升高度最大值的临界管径, 当管径小于临界管径时, 颗粒最终毛细上升高度随管径的增大而增大, 当管径大于临界管径时, 颗粒最终毛细上升高度随管径的增大而趋于减小; 增大容器宽度,临界管径有所增大; 增大振幅、适当提高频率能够有效促进临界管径的增大.      

Effects of ultrasound on Microcystis aeruginosa cell destruction and release of intracellular organic matter

Harmful algal blooms negatively impact ecosystems and threaten drinking water sources. One potential method to effectively counteract algal blooms is ultrasonication. However, ultrasonication can easily lead to the release of intracellular organic matter (IOM). The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the destruction of algal cells and IOM release at different ultrasound frequencies. Microcystis aeruginosa cells were ultrasonicated at 20 kHz with an intensity of 0.038 W/mL, 740 kHz with an intensity of 0.113 W/mL, and 1120 kHz with an intensity of 0.108 W/mL. The IOM release was detected by fluorescence spectroscopy in addition to the more commonly used haemocytometry and optical density. After ultrasonication for 15 min, the removal rate of algal cells reached 10.5% at 20 kHz, 9.46% at 740 kHz, and 35.4% at 1120 kHz. The 20 kHz and 740 kHz ultrasound caused local damage to algal cells and then disrupted them, whereas the 1120 kHz ultrasound directly disrupted most algal cells. The extracellular organic matter (EOM), which was increased by ultrasonication, mainly consisted of protein-like compounds, chlorophyll, and a small amount of humic-like substances. Gas vacuoles had been destructed before the cells were broken, as indicated by the decrease of cell size and the wrinkles on the cell surface. Moreover, the removal of algae cells while upholding integrity is more conducive to the safety of the water environment.     

An improved evaluation of the neutron background in the PandaX-Ⅱ experiment

In dark matter direct detection experiments,neutron is a serious source of background,which can mimic the dark matter-nucleus scattering signals.In this paper,we present an improved evaluation of the neutron background in the PandaX-II dark matter experiment by a novel approach.Instead of fully relying on the Monte Carlo simulation,the overall neutron background is determined from the neutron-induced high energy signals in the data.In addition,the probability of producing a dark-matter-like background per neutron is evaluated with a complete Monte Carlo generator,where the correlated emission of neutron(s)andγ(s)in the(α,n)reactions and spontaneous fissions is taken into consideration.With this method,the neutron backgrounds in the Run 9(26-ton-day)and Run 10(28-ton-day)data sets of PandaX-II are estimated to be(0.66±0.24)and(0.47±0.25)events,respectively.     

Tail wavelets in merger of binary compact objects

We present a model for tail wavelets, a phenomenon known as "echo" in the literature. The tail wavelet may appear in signal reconnaissances in the merger of binary compact objects, including black holes and neutron stars. We show that the dark matter surrounding the compact objects lead to a speculated tail wavelet following the main gravitational wave(GW). We demonstrate that the radiation pressure of the main wave is fully capable of pushing away the surrounding matter to some altitude, and splashing down of the matter excites the tail wavelet after ringing down of the main wave. We illustrate this concept in a simplified model, where numerical estimations are conducted on the specific distribution of dark matter outside the black hole horizon and the threshold values in accordance with observations. We study the full back reaction of the surrounding dark matter to the metric and find that the effect on to the tail wavelets is insignificant. We reveal the fine difference between the tail wavelets of a dressed and a bare black hole. We demonstrate that the tail wavelet can appear as a natural phenomenon in the frame of general relativity, without invoking modified gravities or quantum effects.     

Optimisation of the ultrasound-assisted extraction of betalains and polyphenols from Amaranthus hypochondriacus var. Nutrisol

The present study optimised the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of bioactive compounds from Amaranthus hypochondriacus var. Nutrisol. Influence of temperature (25.86–54.14 °C) and ultrasonic power densities (UPD) (76.01–273.99 mW/mL) on total betalains (BT), betacyanins (BC), betaxanthins (BX), total polyphenols (TP), antioxidant activity (AA), colour parameters (L*, a*, and b*), amaranthine (A), and isoamaranthine (IA) were evaluated using response surface methodology. Moreover, betalain extraction kinetics and mass transfer coefficients (K_La) were determined for each experimental condition. BT, BC, BX, TP, AA, b*, K_La, and A were significantly affected (p < 0.05) by temperature extraction and UPD, whereas L*, a*, and IA were only affected (p < 0.05) by temperature. All response models were significantly validated with regression coefficients (R²) ranging from 87.46 to 99.29%. BT, A, IA, and K_La in UAE were 1.38, 1.65, 1.50, and 29.93 times higher than determined using conventional extraction, respectively. Optimal UAE conditions were obtained at 41.80 °C and 188.84 mW/mL using the desired function methodology. Under these conditions, the experimental values for BC, BX, BT, TP, AA, L*, a*, b*, K_La, A, and IA were closely related to the predicted values, indicating the suitability of the developed quadratic models. This study proposes a simple and efficient UAE method to obtain betalains and polyphenols with high antioxidant activity, which can be used in several applications within the food industry.     

Meltable Spin Transition Molecular Materials with Tunable Tc and Hysteresis Loop Width

Herein, we report a way to achieve abrupt high‐spin to low‐spin transition with controllable transition temperature and hysteresis width, relying not on solid‐state cooperative interactions, but utilizing coherency between phase and spin transitions in neutral Fe^II meltable complexes.     

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography method for measuring the composition of aquatic humic substances

A hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) method was developed to measure the composition of humic substances from river, reservoir, and treated wastewater based on their physicochemical properties. The current method fractionates the humic substances into four well-defined groups based on parallel analyses with a neutral and a cationic HILIC column, using mobile phases of varied compositions and pH. The results indicate that: (i) the proportion of carboxylic acids in the humic substances from terrestrial origins is less than half of that from treated wastewater (Jeddah, KSA), (ii) a higher content of basic compounds was observed in the humic substances from treated wastewater and Ribou Reservoir (Cholet, France) than in the sample from Loire River (France), (iii) a higher percentage of hydrophobic macromolecules were found in the humic substances from Loire River than in the other samples, and (iv) humic substances of treated wastewater contained less ionic neutral compounds (i.e., pK_a 5–9) than the waters from terrestrial origins. The physicochemical property disparity amongst the compounds in each humic substances sample was also evaluated. The humic substances from the lightly humic Loire river displayed the highest disparity, whereas the highly humic Suwannee river (Georgia, USA) showed the most homogeneous humic substances.     

Comprehensive characterization of natural organic matter by MALDI- and ESI-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Natural organic matter (NOM) is a complex and non-uniform mixture of organic compounds which plays an important role in environmental processes. Due to the complexity, it is challenging to obtain fully detailed structural information about NOM. Although Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for providing molecular information about NOM, multiple ionization methods are needed for comprehensive characterization of NOM at the molecular level considering the ionizing selectivity of different ionization methods. This paper reports the first use of matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) method coupled with FT-ICR-MS for molecular characterization of NOM within a mass range of 200–800 Da. The mass spectral data obtained by MALDI were systematically compared with data generated by electrospray ionization (ESI). It showed that complementary molecular information about NOM which could not be detected by ESI, were provided by MALDI. More unsaturated and aromatic constituents of NOM with lower O/C ratio (O/C ratio < 0.5) were preferentially ionized in MALDI negative mode, whereas more polar constituents of NOM with higher O/C ratio were preferentially ionized in ESI negative mode. Molecular anions of NOM appearing at even m/z in MALDI negative ion mode were detected. The results show that NOM molecules with aromatic structures, moderate O/C ratio (0.7 > O/C ratio > 0.25) and lower H/C ratio were liable to form molecular anions at even m/z, whereas those with higher H/C ratio are more likely to form deprotonated ions at odd m/z. It is speculated that almost half of the NOM molecules identified by MALDI may be aromatic or condensed aromatic compounds with special groups which are liable to absorb electron from other molecules to generate free radical anions during MALDI ionization.