Observation of floating potential asymmetry in the edge plasma of the SINP tokamak

Edge plasma properties in a tokamak is an interesting subject of study from the view point of confinement and stability of tokamak plasma. The edge plasma of SINP-tokamak has been investigated using specially designed Langmuir probes. We have observed a poloidal asymmetry of floating potentials, particularly the top-bottom floating potential differences are quite noticeable, which in turn produces a vertical electric field (E_v). This E_v remains throughout the discharge but changes its direction at certain point of time which seems to depend on applied vertical magnetic field (B_v).     

Rewetting analysis of hot surfaces with internal heat source by the heat balance integral method

A two region conduction-controlled rewetting model of hot vertical surfaces with internal heat generation and boundary heat flux subjected to constant but different heat transfer coefficient in both wet and dry region is solved by the Heat Balance Integral Method (HBIM). The HBIM yields the temperature field and quench front temperature as a function of various model parameters such as Peclet number, Biot number and internal heat source parameter of the hot surface. Further, the critical (dry out) internal heat source parameter is obtained by setting Peclet number equal to zero, which yields the minimum internal heat source parameter to prevent the hot surface from being rewetted. Using this method, it has been possible to derive a unified relationship for a two-dimensional slab and tube with both internal heat generation and boundary heat flux. The solutions are found to be in good agreement with other analytical results reported in literature.     

Dynamics in quantum Ising chain driven by inhomogeneous transverse magnetization

We study the dynamics caused by transport of transverse magnetization in one dimensional transverse Ising chain at zero temperature. We observe that a class of initial states having product structure in fermionic momentum-space and satisfying certain criteria, produce spatial variation in transverse magnetization. Starting from such a state, we obtain the transverse magnetization analytically and then observe its dynamics in presence of a homogeneous constant field Γ. In contradiction with general expectation, whatever be the strength of the field, the magnetization of the system does not become homogeneous even after infinite time. At each site, the dynamics is associated with oscillations having two different timescales. The envelope of the larger timescale oscillation decays algebraically with an exponent which is invariant for all such special initial states. The frequency of this oscillation varies differently with external field in ordered and disordered phases. The local magnetization after infinite time also characterizes the quantum phase transition.     

Exact solutions for the flow of Casson fluid over a stretching surface with transpiration and heat transfer effects

The effects of transpiration on forced convection boundary layer non-Newtonian fluid flow and heat transfer toward a linearly stretching surface are reported.The flow is caused solely by the stretching of the sheet in its own plane with a velocity varying linearly with the distance from a fixed point.The constitutive relationship for the Casson fluid is used.The governing partial differential equations corresponding to the momentum and energy equations are converted into non-linear ordinary differential equations by using similarity transformations.Exact solutions of the resulting ordinary differential equations are obtained.The effect of increasing Casson parameter,i.e.,with decreasing yield stress(the fluid behaves as a Newtonian fluid as the Casson parameter becomes large),is to suppress the velocity field.However,the temperature is enhanced as the Casson parameter increases.It is observed that the effect of transpiration is to decrease the fluid velocity as well as the temperature.The skin-friction coefficient is found to increase as the transpiration parameter increases.     

Thermal radiation effect on a mixed convection flow and heat transfer of the Williamson fluid past an exponentially shrinking permeable sheet with a convective boundary condition

The thermal radiation effect on a steady mixed convective flow with heat transfer of a nonlinear (non-Newtonian) Williamson fluid past an exponentially shrinking porous sheet with a convective boundary condition is investigated numerically. In this study, both an assisting flow and an opposing flow are considered. The governing equations are converted into nonlinear ordinary differential equations by using a suitable transformation. A numerical solution of the problem is obtained by using the Matlab software package for different values of the governing parameters. The results show that dual nonsimilar solutions exist for the opposing flow, whereas the solution for the assisting flow is unique. It is also observed that the dual nonsimilar solutions exist only if a certain amount of mass suction is applied through the porous sheet, which depends on the Williamson parameter, convective parameter, and radiation parameter.     

Phase transitions in Langmuir monolayers

Some fatty acids, lipids, polymers and mesogenic molecules which are amphiphilic in nature spread at the air-water interface to form stable Langmuir monolayers. They exhibit a rich variety of two-dimensional (2D) phases. In this article, we briefly review some of the novel features we have found in these monolayers. For example, we find transition from a 2D monolayer to three-dimensional structures possessing liquid crystalline order, induced liquid condensed phase, demixing of liquid expanded phase, critical points and pattern formation.     

Use of statistical design of experiments in the optimization of amide synthesis utilizing polystyrene-supported N-hydroxybenzotriazole resin

Two fields that routinely perform reaction optimization studies are chemical development (prior to scale-up) and medicinal or combinatorial chemistry (prior to analogue synthesis or library production). To date, the use of statistical design of experiments (DoE) in conjunction with automated synthesizers has been applied in process research to a greater extent than in the medicinal or combinatorial laboratories. We have applied DoE in conjunction with an automated synthesizer to optimize the synthesis of amides employing resin-bound N-hydroxybenzotriazole (PS-HOBt) active esters as intermediates. This methodology allowed the rapid development of an improved protocol for the parallel synthesis of amides by conversion of carboxylic acids to PS-HOBt esters followed by treatment with appropriate amines. Product isolation involved only simple filtration and evaporation.     

Ultrafast chemistry in complex and confined systems

Self-organized molecular assemblies play a crucial role in many natural and biological processes. Recent applications of ultrafast laser spectroscopy and computer simulations revealed that chemistry in a confined environment is fundamentally different from that in ordinary solutions. Many recent examples of slow dynamics in constrained environments and their biological implications are discussed