New methods for determining the volumetric flow rate in the column and the retention time of the unretained substance in gas chromatography

New methods for calculating the mean volumetric flow rate of the carrier gas and the retention time of the unretained substance in the column under conditions of gas chromatography were proposed. The methods are based on preliminary isothermal calibrations of the flow rate and holdup time for a packed column. A theoretical substantiation of the methods was given. Procedures of plotting calibration dependences for determining the indicated quantities at a desired temperature were described. The calculation results were compared to experimental data obtained by traditional methods. It was demonstrated that the use of calculation methods substantially simplifies the determination of the specific retention volume over a wide temperature range.     

Generalized green operator for an impulsive boundary-value problem with switchings

We establish constructive existence conditions and construct a generalized Green operator for the construction of solutions of a Noetherian linear boundary-value problem for a system of ordinary differential equations with switchings and pulse action in critical and noncritical cases. __________ Translated from Neliniini Kolyvannya, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 51–65, January–March, 2007.     

Ergodic theory and the Strong Law of Large Numbers on Riesz spaces

In [W.-C. Kuo, C.C.A. Labuschagne, B.A. Watson, Discrete-time stochastic processes on Riesz spaces, Indag. Math. (N.S.) 15 (3) (2004) 435-451], we introduced the concepts of conditional expectations, martingales and stopping times on Riesz spaces. Here we formulate and prove order theoretic analogues of the Birkhoff, Hopf and Wiener ergodic theorems and the Strong Law of Large Numbers on Riesz spaces (vector lattices).     

Stored energy release behaviour of disordered carbon

The use of graphite as a moderator in a low temperature thermal nuclear reactor is restricted due to accumulation of energy caused by displacement of atoms by neutrons and high energetic particles. Thermal transients may lead to a release of stored energy that may raise the temperature of the fuel clad above the design limit. Disordered carbon is thought to be an alternative choice for this purpose. Two types of disordered carbon composites, namely, CB (made up of 15 wt. % carbon black dispersed in carbonized phenolic resin) and PAN (made up of 20 vol. % chopped polyacrylonitrile carbon fibre dispersed in carbonized phenolic resin matrix) have been irradiated with 145 MeV Ne⁶⁺ ions at three fluence levels of 1.0×10¹³, 5.0×10¹³ and 1.5×10¹⁴ Ne⁶⁺/cm², respectively. The XRD patterns revealed that both the samples remained disordered even after irradiation. The maximum release of stored energy for CB was 212 J/g and that of PAN was 906 J/g. For CB, the release of stored energy was a first order reaction with activation energy of 2.79 eV and a frequency factor of 3.72×10²⁸ per second. 13% of the defects got annealed by heating up to 700 °C. PAN showed a third-order release rate with activation energy of 1.69 eV and a frequency factor of 1.77×10¹⁴ per second. 56% of the total defects got annealed by heating it up to 700 °C. CB seems to be the better choice than PAN as it showed less energy release with a slower rate. PACS 61.80.Jh; 61.80.-x; 61.43Er; 61.43.-j; 68.43.Vx     

Giant shot-like voltage noise in high current density Nb–AlOx–Nb superconducting tunnel junctions

The flat voltage noise component of current biased, high-transparency Nb/AlO_x/Nb superconducting tunnel junctions has been investigated at frequencies up to 70 kHz. Several aspects of the analyzed phenomena suggest the presence of current noise effects induced by the discreteness of the charge carriers. At subgap voltages, where excess currents occur, a behavior coherent with a multiple Andreev reflection-assisted transport through the tunnel barrier has been found. However, the measured charge values exceed any theoretical prediction.     

Evaluation of Coulomb Energy Difference for Light Mirror Nuclei Using Slater—Type Orbitals

Behavior of the Coulomb energy difference for light nuclei is explained in terms of the different values of the average Coulomb interaction between two particles.Coulomb energy difference according to shell model of light mirror nuclei in the Coulomb and exchange integrals in the formula can be explained with exponential-type wavefunctions.In this study,using the one-center expansion of exponential-type wavefunctions in terms of Slater-type orbitals with the same center,we derived formula for Coulomb energy difference of light mirror nuclei.     

Mode beating in spot-size converter lasers

An anomalous modulation in the wavelength spectrum has been observed in lasers with spot-size converters. This intensity modulation is shown to be caused by beating between the fundamental lasing mode and radiation modes in the taper. This results in a periodic modulation in the net gain spectrum, which causes wavelength jumps between adjacent net gain maxima, and a drive current dependent spectral width that is expected to affect system performance. The amplitude of this spectral modulation is reduced significantly by either using an angled rear-facet which reflects the beating radiation modes away from the laser axis, or by using a nonlinear, adiabatic taper.     

Potential for micromachined actuation of ultra-wide continuously tunable optoelectronic devices

Tailored scaling represents a principle of success that, both in nature and in technology, allows the effectiveness of physical effects to be enhanced. Mutation and selection in nature are imitated in technology, e.g. by model calculation and design. Proper scaling of dimensions in natural photonic crystals and our fabricated artificial 1D photonic crystals (DBRs, distributed Bragg reflectors) enable efficient diffractive interaction in a specific spectral range. For our optical microsystems we illustrate that tailored miniaturization may also increase the mechanical stability and the effectiveness of spectral tuning by thermal and electrostatic actuation, since the relative significance of the fundamental physical forces involved considerably changes with scaling. These basic physical principles are rigorously applied in micromachined 1.55-μm vertical-resonator-based devices. We modeled, implemented and characterized 1.55-μm micromachined optical filters and vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser devices capable of wide, monotonic and kink-free tuning by a single control parameter. Tuning is achieved by mechanical actuation of one or several air-gaps that are part of the vertical resonator including two ultra-highly reflective DBR mirrors of strong refractive index contrast: (i) Δn=2.17 for InP/air-gap DBRs (3.5 periods) using GaInAs sacrificial layers and (ii) Δn=0.5 for Si₃N₄/SiO₂ DBRs (12 periods) with a polymer sacrificial layer to implement the air-cavity. In semiconductor multiple air-gap filters, a continuous tuning of >8% of the absolute wavelength is obtained. Varying the reverse voltage (U=0–5 V) between the membranes (electrostatic actuation), a tuning range of >110 nm was obtained for a large number of devices. The correlation of the wavelength and the applied voltage is accurately reproducible without any hysteresis. In two filters, tuning of 127 and 130 nm was observed for about ΔU=7 V. The extremely wide tuning range and the very small voltage required are record values to the best of our knowledge. For thermally actuated dielectric filters based on polymer sacrificial layers, Δλ/ΔU=-7 nm/V is found. Received: 10 May 2002 / Published online: 8 August 2002