Science for the small and the tall,the young and the old

Public engagement becomes increasingly important for scientists. One reason is the demand of the taxpayer to know what her or his money is being spent on, and why. The other one is that in a world that increasingly relies on technology, student engagement even at a very young age becomes a target to assure the needed supply of well-educated and especially motivated scientists for the decades to come. And it falls on the older generation of current researchers to leave the comfort of their lab once in a while, to awaken the interest for science among the population. Many people may know that there is a ‘liquid crystal’ in their mobile (cell) phone display, but when prompted, no one really knows what that liquid crystal actually is, let alone how the display they use many times every day, actually works in principle. It is part of our job to change this. In this contribution Valentina Domenici and Ingo Dierking would like to report on two recent Science Festival events in which they took part, one held in Genoa, Italy, and the other in Manchester, UK.     

On the role of the porous shell of the solid core of the earth in the anomalous heat and mass flow to the mantle

The model of the pressure-induced first-order phase transition of a metal melt to the metallicglass state considers a thermodynamically nonequilibrium porous near-surface shell of the solid core of the Earth, which contacts cyclonic vortices in the liquid core. Anomalous flows of heat and light-material mass to the mantle from the solid core at these contact points are calculated. These anomalous flows are shown to be comparable with the observed ones under the assumption of a rapid increase in the melt viscosity at pressures of 1–10 Mbar, which is characteristic of a solid core. In this case, the porous layer permeability may be very low.     

On the inhomogeneity of the transition surface layer of the solid core of the earth

Different geophysical data and conclusions of theoretical models, which can give information about the behavior of the solid and liquid cores of the Earth as well as about the existence of a transition layer as a temperature-hysteresis region at a relatively weak first-order phase transition, are compared. It is concluded that liquid inclusions inevitably exist in this region; these inclusions are involved (due to the complex convective processes occurring in the liquid core) in the transport of light materials from some areas of the solid-core surface. The porosity and permeability of the transition layer determine the seismic acoustic inhomogeneities in these areas, which contact the convective flows in the liquid core. In particular, this explains the well-known ??east-west?? effect. Obviously, the model of the crystalline core is not the only possible alternative for a model of a core with a metallic glasslike structure.     

On the dependence of the surface tension at the crystal-melt interface on the impurity concentration

The stationary task of impurity diffusion in a melt has been solved within a two-dimensional crystallization model in a second-order approximation with respect to the amplitude of deviation from a smooth crystallization front. The dependence of the surface tension Γ at the interface on the impurity concentration C is taken into account in the form Γ = Γ₀ + ζ _d C, where Γ₀ and ζ _d are constants. The variational method is used to obtain the condition for the transition from a smooth crystallization front to a cellular one. It is shown that calculated cell sizes are in agreement with the experimental data in the literature only when the parameter ζ _d ≠ 0. For binary systems with distribution coefficients k < 1 and k > 1, ζ _d should be positive and negative, respectively.

     

On the entropy difference between the vitreous and the crystalline state

The paper deals with the entropy difference between frozen-in phases and their equilibrium counterparts. First, the nature of data compiled in thermochemical data collections are briefly reviewed, comprising data for non-equilibrium phases. Then, experimental evidence from earlier literature is compiled showing that the conventional entropy of a frozen-in phase at zero Kelvin assumes a non-zero residual value S(0). Based on calorimetric data from multiple sources, the same evidence is elaborated for diopside glass, yielding S_glass(0) = 24.8 ± 3 J/(mol K), a value reproducing a result publishes earlier. The zero Kelvin enthalpy of this glass is H_glass(0) = 81±8 kJ/mol. For S_glass(0), a structural interpretation in terms of silicate chain mixing is proposed, yielding a lower threshold for S_glass(0). From the point of view of statistical mechanics, non-zero residual entropies of frozen-in phases can be derived from ensemble averages, however, not from time averages.     

On the Influence of the Crystallization Conditions on the Microstructure of the Directionally Solidified Eutectic of the LiF – LiYF4 System

This paper particularly deals with the transitions in degree and type of ordering of a given microstructure. As a model system the eutectic of the LiF – LiYF₄ system was used for studies of transitions from ‘anomal’ microtextures with non-cooperative production of seeds of both phases to the fibrous microtexture. It was shown that even if the matrix phase LiYF₄ contains a relative high volume ratio (36%) of LiF it is possible to create highly ordered fibrous microtextures with pronounced hexagonal ordering of particular LiF fibres. It was also shown that methods of image processing could be used for sensitive evaluation of small changes in degree of ordering of the microstructure. These procedures make possible a deeper understanding of the influence of the solidification conditions on the microstructure of the directionally solidified eutectic and creates possibilities for optimalisation of the technological process.     

二价阳离子掺入KDP晶体能力的研究

本文旨在寻找影响杂质阳离子进入KDP晶体能力的因素,我们使用分析纯的KH2PO4和超纯水(电阻率≥18.2MΩ·cm)为原料,分别加入BaCl2·2H2O,CuCl2·2H2O和MgCl2·6H2O,通过降温方式快速生长出KDP晶体.结果表明,cu2+及Mg2+在晶体中的含量基本保持不变,不随其在生长溶液中量的增大而增大,cu2+在晶体中的含量大于Mg2+在晶体中的含量;不同的是,Ba2+在晶体中的含量随着其在生长溶液中量增大而增大.从实验结果我们推断出离子半径和离子水合热是影响二价杂质阳离子在水溶液晶体生长过程中进入KDP晶体能力的重要因素.     

Investigations of the Chemical Composition of the Metal Finds from the Levadki Necropolis

Crystallography Reports - Copper-based alloy items of the III century A.D., found in Burial no. 182 of the Late-Scythian Levadki necropolis in the submountain Crimea, have been investigated. The...     

Analysis of the Dynamics of the Controlled Crystallization Process Using the Czochralski Method

A mathematical model proposed for the Czochralski method has been employed to analyse the stability, to calculate the transitional characteristics of open and closed systems for the case that the PID control is used in the feedback circuit. The method to control the crystallization process by weighing the crystal is analysed in detail. Based on the proposed criterion of quality of the transitional process, an optimum adjustment of the controller for one- and two-channel control is performed.     

Effect of the temperature on the TMOS sono-hydrolysis and a study of the structure of the resulting aged sonogels

The effect of temperature on the oxalic acid catalyzed sono-hydrolysis of tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) was studied by means of a heat flux calorimetric method. The activation energy of the process was measured as (24.5 ± 0.8) kJ/mol in the temperature range between 10 and 50 °C. The structural characteristics of the resulting sonogels, after long period of aging in saturated conditions, were studied by means of small angle X-ray scattering. The structure can be described as formed by ∼2.7 nm mean size mass fractal-like aggregates (clusters) of primary silica particles of ∼0.3 nm mean size, all imbibed in a liquid phase. The average mass fractal dimension of the clusters was found to be 2.58. The primary particle density was estimated as 2.23 g/cm³, in good agreement with the value frequently quoted for fused silica. The volume fraction of the clusters in the saturated sonogels was estimated as about 28%. The moment in which the meniscus of the liquid phase penetrates into the clusters under rapid evaporation process has been detected by an inflection in the first derivative of the curve of weight loss in a simple thermogravimetric test.     

Effect of the magnetic flux trapping upon the temperature dependence of the flow stress change at the superconducting transition

The effect of the superconducting transition on the flow stress in single and polycrystals of Pb-In and Pb-Sn alloys has been studied in the temperature range 1.8 K to T_e. Unlike earlier efforts, these experiments involved investigation of the magnetic flux trapping. Two types of temperature dependences of the magnetic flux trapping, B₀(T), were revealed. In Pb-1.9 at.% In and Pb-6 at.% Sn alloys (subjected to various thermal treatment), B₀ monotonically rises with lowering temperature. In Pb-1.8, 3 at.% Sn single crystals the flux trapping arises at high strains (> 50%) and low temperatures (<2.5 K). In this case B₀ magnitude depends on the strain rate. The difference in the B₀(T) behaviour is associated with dissimilar flux pinnig by pinning centres. The date on B₀(T) obtained give an insight into the two types of the Δσ(T) dependences; taking into account of the flux trapping allowed the Δσ values to be corrected, so that as a result, a single Δσ_SN(T) curve was obtained for all the alloys and structures studied.     

Study of the effect of the base,the silica and the niobium sources on the [Nb]-MCM-41 synthesized at room temperature

[Nb]-MCM-41 was synthesized at room temperature by varying the base (tetramethylammonium hydroxide or ammonium hydroxide), the silica source (tetraethyl orthosilicate or tetramethyl orthosilicate), the niobium source (ammonium niobium oxalate, NH₄[NbO(C₂O₄)₂(H₂O)₂] · 3H₂O, or potassium niobate, K₈Nb₆O₁₉) and the order of addition of the niobium source (before or after the silica source). These variations were determinant in the amount of niobium incorporated into the framework and in the structural order of the [Nb]-MCM-41 obtained. Only one method led to the formation of [Nb]-MCM-41 with the desired characteristics and active in the epoxidation of cis-cyclooctene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide leading to 19% conversion and 95% selectivity for cyclooctene oxide after 10 h.     

Computer Modelling of the Light Propagation through the Complex Anisotropy Systems - the way of a Determination of the Optical Parameters of the Liquid Crystal Displays

A mathematical and numerical method for an analysis of a liquid crystal displays (LCD) has been presented. The assumptions of the calculations of a light propagation through the display are shown. The real conditions of a work of these displays have been taken into account. Basing of this mathematical model a computer program for a numerical modelling of the optical parameters of LC displays working in real conditions has been worked out. This program makes possible to obtain the most important parameters of a display such as: contrast ratio, luminance in on- and off-state, spectral characteristics of light and its colour coordinates in these both states. The results obtained from this program have been verified experimentally. Very high conformity of these results has been obtained.     

The validity of the double layer model on the amorphous semiconductor surface including the bulk localized state within the gap

Under the two assumptions that the origin of surface states may be different from that of bulk localized states within the gap and the density of surface states is sufficiently high, the validity of the double layer model on the amorphous semiconductor surface is investigated in comparison with the case of a crystal. It is suggested that the criteria concerning the double layer should be determined by the relative value of the surface states to that of bulk localized states. The existence of the double layer can be confirmed when the bulk localized state density n(E_f) is smaller than 10¹⁹ cm^?3 eV^?1. When n(E_f) is high at about 10²⁰ cm^?3 eV^?1, surface states cannot be distinguished from the localized states within the gap. This double layer model is strongly supported by the results of previous experiments by others who have measured the dependence of the Schottky barrier height on the work function of metal and the dependence of the surface potential on the preparation conditions of a-SiH.     

Determination of Physical Constants of the Melt and the Parameters of the Control Object Concerning Crystal Growth from the Melt

New Techniques are presented for the determination of the capillary constant and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the melt using an electrocontact sensor (ECS). The density of the melt, the capillary constant, the coefficient of the thermal expansion of the melt, the growth angle, and the characteristic time of thermal relaxation of the thermal zone are determined for the case of growing the lithium niobate crystals by Czochalski technique.