Anisotropic and isotropic phases of polymer melts

The melting mechanism of polymer crystals is proposed. It is assumed that the melting happens due to forming supervacancies. This mechanism leads the appearance of anisotropic phase of a melt. It is shown that two phases—anisotropic and isotropic—can exist in polymer melts.     

The honors class: hilbert’s problems and their solvers

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Polarized Lidar Reflectance Measurements of Vegetation at Near-Infrared and Green Wavelengths

There is growing interest in the use of lidar for remote sensing of vegetation owing to the emergence of reliable and rugged lasers and highly sensitive detectors. Lidar remote sensing has a distinct advantage over conventional techniques in vegetation remote sensing due to its capability for three-dimensional characterization of vegetative targets. The Multiwavelength Airborne Polarimetric Lidar (MAPL) system was developed primarily for vegetation remote sensing applications from an airborne platform of up to 1,000 -m altitude. The lidar system has full waveform capture and polarimetric measurement capability at two wavelengths in the near-infrared (1064 nm) and the green (532 nm) spectral regions. This study presents preliminary ground-based lidar reflectance measurements on a variety of deciduous and coniferous trees under fully foliated conditions with a view towards tree species discrimination. Variations in the reflectance characteristics of selected deciduous trees under unfoliated and fully foliated conditions were also investigated. Our study reveals distinct differences in the reflectance characteristics of various trees.     

Eu- and Yb-induced reconstructions on a vicinal Si(1 0 0) surface

Early stages of rare-earth metal (Yb and Eu) growth on a vicinal, single-domain Si(1 0 0)2 × 1 surface have been studied in the coverage range of 0.1-0.3 monolayer (ML) by low energy electron diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy. We show that Yb induces the 2 × 3 periodicity in the whole range of coverage studied. The 2 × 3 reconstruction coexists with the local 3 × 2/4 × 2 structure at about 0.2 ML of Yb. In contrast, Eu forms the 3 × 2 periodicity at 0.1-0.2 ML, whereas this structure is converted into the 2 × 3 phase at about 0.3 ML. The atomic arrangement and electronic properties of these reconstructions and the adsorbate-mediated modification of surface morphology are investigated.     

Hybrid numerical—experimental approach for investigation of dynamics of microcantilever relay system

The time average holography measurements of the vibrating microelectromechanical switch (MEMS) were performed in this study. Experimental measurement results exhibit good agreement with computer generated holographic interferogram analysis. The validation of experimental investigations versus numerical analysis provides the necessary background to analyze the dynamical characteristics of micromechanical systems in virtual numerical environments. Direct application of fringe counting techniques for reconstruction of motion from time average holograms cannot be straightforward if the analyzed micromechanical systems contain motion limiters. Modifications of a classical time average holographic technique enable qualitative analysis of MEMS and can be applied for investigation of dynamical properties of much broader classes of MEMS systems.     

Evidence for internal resistive barriers in a crystal of the giant dielectric constant material: CaCu3Ti4O12

Complex impedance spectra were obtained on a crystal of CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO) from 289 to 456 K. As in the case of ceramic CCTO, these spectra can be interpreted as arising from a conducting material containing insulating barriers. This is then further evidence for the existence of planar defects within crystals of CCTO that act as insulating barriers and produce the large dielectric constant through a space charge mechanism.     

Survivability in IP-over-WDM Networks: WDM Lightpath Protection versus IP LSP Protection

This article compares the performance of WDM lightpath protection and IP LSP protection schemes for IP-over-WDM networks. A mathematical formulation of the maximum throughput problem is presented and analytical expressions for recovery time are derived for both schemes. The throughputs and recovery times are analyzed and compared. Results show that the IP LSP protection scheme presents higher throughputs then WDM lightpath protection. The IP LSP protection scheme, providing individual IP LSP protection has, however, scalability problems. This scheme presents high recovery times when a failure affects many lightpaths and many hops are allowed for the primary routes of IP LSPs.     

Closed-form solutions for a rectangular layer with central crack under anti-plane shear stress

We consider the problem of determining the stress distributionin a finite rectangular elastic layer containing a Griffithcrack which is opened by internal shear stress acting alongthe length of the crack. The mode III crack is assumed to belocated in the middle plane of the rectangular layer. The followingtwo problems are considered: (A) the central crack is perpendicularto the two fixed lateral surfaces and parallel to the othertwo stress-free surfaces; (B) all the lateral surfaces of therectangular layer are clamped and the central crack is parallelto the two lateral surfaces. By using Fourier transformations,we reduce the solution of each problem to the solution of dualintegral equations with sine kernels and a weight function whichare solved exactly. Finally, we derive closed-form expressionsfor the stress intensity factor at the tip of the crack andthe numerical values for the stress intensity factor at theedges of the cracks are presented in the form of tables.