A neuron as a quantum-optical device: A model

Inversion in the structure of polyaminoacids and proteins is discussed, and the electrodynamic quantum-optical model of a neuron is constructed. The feasibility of the quantum-logical summation of exciting pulses by a nanomembrane is considered. The model is consistent with the physiology foundations and assumes implementation by means of techniques used in microelectronics, integrated optics, and nanooptics.     

What initiates the explosion of a current-carrying conductor?

It is shown that the explosion of a conductor heated by a high-power current pulse is initiated by the nuclei of liquid phase that appear in the layer of a supersaturated vapor surrounding the liquid current-carrying core. The instant of electric explosion and the expansion velocity predicted by this scenario are confirmed by the experimental and computational data on current-induced heating of a tungsten conductor.     

Negative molecular ions of azafullerenes and their hydrogenated derivatives

The formation and decay of negative molecular ions of azafullerenes and their hydrogenated derivatives are investigated by mass spectrometry. The mechanisms of resonant electron capture and the lifetimes of negative molecular ions with respect to the electron autodetachment in azafullerene molecules are discussed. A comparative analysis of the data obtained for azafullerenes and hydrogenated fullerene derivatives is carried out.     

Transfer constant of a multilayer acoustic transducer at the direct and inverse transformation

The algorithms for calculating the direct and inverse transfer constants of an acoustic transducer with an arbitrary number of intermediate layers between the piezoelectric layer, the acoustic duct, and the rear acoustic load are described. The results of a numerical analysis are presented and discussed. As an illustration, a 100-MHz transducer formed by a (Y+36°)-cut LiNbO₃ plate fixed on a fused-quartz acoustic duct with the help of five metal layers is considered. The other side of the plate carries two metal layers and a rear load. The phase-frequency characteristics and the transformation loss as a function of frequency are analyzed for the cases of direct and inverse transformation under the assumption that the signal is supplied and retrieved by a two-wire line.     

The mechanism of the appearance of an electromotive force on heating of SmS single crystals

We analyze the experimental variation of the concentration of conduction electrons in semiconducting SmS single crystals with increasing temperature within a shallow-impurity model. It is shown that the appearance of an electromotive force is due to accumulation of the critical concentration of free electrons, which results in screening of the Coulomb potential of Sm²⁺ impurity ions that are responsible for the creation of donor levels with an activation energy of 0.045 eV in the band gap of SmS single crystals.     

Silicon interaction with the (0001) surface of La and Gd layers

A study is reported on a system consisting of a Si layer on the surface of rare-earth metals (REMs), which is the reverse of a rare-earth metal on silicon, the system of current widespread interest. Interaction of silicon with the (0001) surface of trivalent La and Gd single-crystal layers grown on a W(110) surface is studied by Auger spectroscopy combined with layer-by-layer argon-ion etching of the system and photoelectron spectroscopy. It is found that silicon interacts with the La(0001) and Gd(0001) surfaces even at room temperature with the formation of silicide, but no mutual mixing of the silicon and substrate atoms occurs. When the Si/La(0001) and Si/Gd(0001) systems are heated at 400°C, silicon does not diffuse into the bulk of the metal substrate or to the REM/W(110) interface.     

Turbulent convective heat transfer in an inclined tube filled with sodium

Turbulent free convection of liquid sodium in a straight thermally insulated tube with a length equal to 20 diameters and with end heat exchangers ensuring a fixed temperature drop is investigated experimentally. The experiments are performed for a fixed Rayleigh number Ra = 2.4 × 10⁶ and various angles of inclination of the tube relative to the vertical. A strong dependence of the power transferred along the tube on the angle of inclination is revealed: the Nusselt number in the angular range under investigation changes by an order of magnitude with a maximum at the angle of 65° with the vertical. The characteristics of large-scale circulation and turbulent temperature pulsations show that convective heat transfer is mainly determined by the velocity of large-scale circulation of sodium. Turbulent pulsations are maximal for small angles of inclination (α = 20°–30°) and reduce the heat flux along the channel, although in the limit of small angles (vertical tube), there is no large-scale circulation, and the convective heat flux, which is an order of magnitude larger than the molecular heat flux, is ensured only by small scale (turbulent) flow.     

Achromatic reconstruction of the wave front of femtosecond laser pulses

Wave-front reconstruction by geometric-optical reflection of the reconstructing radiation from interference surfaces of a structure recorded in the bulk of a medium by counterpropagating laser pulses is observed. The recording is done with the aid of a sapphire titanate laser. Pulse durations of 30–40 fs are used. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 5, 388–390 (10 March 1997)     

Annihilation of positrons in hydrogen-saturated titanium

The effect of atomic hydrogen on the electronic structure of α-titanium samples is studied using the electron-positron annihilation methods. It is shown that different states of hydrogen atoms are manifested in different ways in the positron lifetime distribution spectrum. The results of theoretical calculations of the first component of the positron lifetime are in accord with the obtained experimental data.     

Long-wavelength optical phonons in the ZnTe/Zn<Subscript>0.8</Subscript>Cd<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>Te superlattice

The lattice IR reflection spectra of a ZnTe/Zn_0.8Cd_0.2Te superlattice measured at temperatures of 300 and 10 K are analyzed. The ZnTe/Zn_0.8Cd_0.2Te superlattice is grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on a GaAs substrate with a ZnTe buffer layer. It is found that the lattice IR reflection spectra of the studied structure exhibit only one reflection band. Dispersion analysis of the experimental spectrum has revealed the presence of one lattice TO mode close in frequency to the mode of pure ZnTe. This result is explained by a shift in the frequency of the lattice modes of the ZnTe and Zn_0.8Cd_0.2Te layers of the superlattice toward each other. In turn, this shift is caused by internal elastic stresses in the superlattice due to a mismatch between the lattice parameters of the materials of these layers.