Longitudinal DC electric discharge in a supersonic air flow

A longitudinal dc electric discharge in a submerged high-pressure supersonic air jet is described. Photographs of the discharge are provided. The experimental voltage across the discharge gap and the discharge current are given for two resistances of the resistor that limits the discharge current over a certain range of the discharge channel length along the air flow. The current-voltage discharge characteristic is provided at a constant discharge length. The main discharge characteristics are obtained from a comparison of the experimental and theoretical results calculated on the basis of the simplest model.     

Structure and properties of TiC-TiNi composites alloyed with iron

The structure, composition, and mechanical properties of iron-alloyed TiC-TiNi composite materials are studied. When the titanium carbide framework is sintered with iron and then impregnated with titanium nickelide, iron atoms are found to diffuse into the matrix and form the B2 structure that is inhomogeneous (gradient) in chemical composition and properties and exhibits various temperatures of martensitic transformation. The latter fact shows up in the broadening of the martensitic transformation hysteresis and its shift toward low temperatures with increasing iron content. At room temperature, the strength properties of gradient-matrix TiC-TiNi composites are shown to increase with iron concentration.     

The Kapitza Effect in Charge-Ordered Layered Crystals

It is shown that the Kapitza effect in charge-ordered layered crystals can be explained for the case of a parallelism of magnetic field and measuring current when the Landau quantization and its effect on the charge-carrier scattering are considered. There is a linear correlation between the magnetic field and longitudinal resistance under the assumption that the scattering of charge carriers by acoustic phonons is dominant, and the band-to-band transitions are suppressed. The relations for the Kapitza coefficient are derived for different degrees of electron gas degeneracy and different values of interaction resulting in layered charge ordering.     

Measured and calculated vertical structure of a sound field in the ocean

Results of measuring the monochromatic sound field with a dipping probe in the deep ocean are presented. The sound speed profile in the region of measurements had a minimum at a depth of 1600 m. The experiment was carried out in the Atlantic Ocean with the use of two vessels separated by a distance of approximately four ray cycles (～240 km). The experimental data are compared with the calculations based on a new concept of the Brillouin waves for describing the vertical structure of the sound field produced by rays. It is shown that a satisfactory agreement between experiment and calculation can be achieved by fitting the parameters of the experiment. Such a procedure allows one to refine or even to determine the experimental conditions, which not are always known. The proposed method of calculation offers an opportunity for solving inverse problems of ocean acoustics.     

Collision operator for relativistic electrons in a cold gas of atomic particles

The collision operator of relativistic electrons with a cold gas of atomic particles is derived consistently taking into account elastic interactions, excitation of electron shells, and ionization. The creation of secondary electrons is described accurately. In the range of energies exceeding the binding energy of atomic electrons, the operator implicates only the angular scattering by nuclei and the ionization integral that automatically allows for scattering by atomic electrons. The collision operator used earlier for studying the kinetics of avalanches of relativistic runaway electrons is analyzed. A more exact operator derived in the present study is simpler in form and saves time in computer calculations.