Thermal Degradation of Polyvinylpyrrolidone on the Surface of Pyrogenic Silica

Thermal degradation of polyvinylpyrrolidone was studied by thermogravimetry, IR spectroscopy, and thermal-desorption mass spectrometry.     

Maturation of auditory temporal integration and inhibition assessed with event-related potentials (ERPs)

Background

We examined development of auditory temporal integration and inhibition by assessing electrophysiological responses to tone pairs separated by interstimulus intervals (ISIs) of 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 ms in 28 children aged 7 to 9 years, and 15 adults.

Results

In adults a distinct neural response was elicited to tones presented at ISIs of 25 ms or longer, whereas in children this was only seen in response to tones presented at ISIs above 100 ms. In adults, late N1 amplitude was larger for the second tone of the tone pair when separated by ISIs as short as 100 ms, consistent with the perceptual integration of successive stimuli within the temporal window of integration. In contrast, children showed enhanced negativity only when tone pairs were separated by ISIs of 200 ms. In children, the amplitude of the P1 component was attenuated at ISIs below 200 ms, consistent with a refractory process.

Conclusions

These results indicate that adults integrate sequential auditory information into smaller temporal segments than children. These results suggest that there are marked maturational changes from childhood to adulthood in the perceptual processes underpinning the grouping of incoming auditory sensory information, and that electrophysiological measures provide a sensitive, non-invasive method allowing further examination of these changes.     

NMR study of the structure of a polyhydrate-forming ion exchanger

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Siberian Branch, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 39–43, May–June, 1990.     

Experimental and theoretical investigation of thermal convection in a terrestrial model of a convection detector

The effect of small inclinations and low-amplitude rocking on thermal convection in an air-filled cube with sides 3 cm long has been investigated experimentally and numerically for steady and periodic heating from above. Expressions have been obtained for the dependence of the temperature difference between two points inside the cube on the angle of inclination, the applied vertical temperature difference, the rocking frequencies and the oscillations of the heating power. The possibility of estimating the magnitude and direction of the microacceleration vector on the basis of temperature field measurements made under orbital flight conditions is discussed.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 67–75, September–October, 1994.     

Can the light scattering depolarization ratio of small particles be greater than 1/3?

According to the theory of light scattering by small randomly oriented particles, the depolarized ratio of the scattered intensities, I(vh)/I(vv), cannot exceed 1/3. Here we show that this conclusion does not hold for nonspherical plasmon resonant metal particles. Our analysis is based on the Rayleigh approximation and the exact T-matrix method as applied to spheroids and circular cylinders with semispherical ends. For small particles, the condition I(vh)/I(vv) >1/3 can be satisfied within the upper left quadrant of the complex relative dielectric permeability Real(eps) < -2 (rods) and within the upper unit semicircle centered at Real(eps) = -1 (disks). For gold nanorods with the axis ratio exceeding 2, the maximal theoretical values I(vh)/I(vv) lie between 1/3 and 3/4 at wavelengths of 550-650 nm. The extinction and static light scattering spectra (450-850 nm, at 90 degrees degrees) as well as the depolarized ratio of He-Ne laser light scattering were measured with gold nanospheres (the average diameters of 21, 29, and 46 nm) and nanorods (the longitudinal plasmon resonance peak positions at 655, 692, and 900 nm). The measured depolarization ratios of nanospheres (0.07-0.16) and nanorods (0.3-0.48) are in good agreement with theoretical calculations based on estimations of the average particle size and shape.     

Physical model of the rotation of a tropical cyclone

A physical mechanism for the intense rotation of a spiral cyclonic vortex in a laboratory model of a tropical cyclone is described on the basis of experimental results. The results obtained are compared with the equation describing the vertical component of the vorticity. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 1, 25–28 (10 January 1996)     

Free carrier scattering mechanism in Bi2Se3 crystals

The single valley model proposed byKöhler andLandwehr is used for the calculation of transport parameters corresponding to pure Bi₂Se₃ crystals. From the measurements of transmission, reflectivity and the Hall constant the effective masses are determined,m _c =0·13m ₀ andm _c=0·56m ₀; using a simplification described in the paper the Fermi level is calculated to lie 0·14 eV above the bottom of the conduction band. This result allows us to conclude that a mixed mechanism of free carrier scattering exists inn-Bi₂Se₃ crystals, viz., the scattering by acoustic phonons prevails contributing about 75% and the scattering on ionized impurities contributes the remaining 25%. This result applies to pure Bi₂Se₃ crystals with free electron concentration 2×10¹⁹cm^–3.