Fast switching anisotropic networks obtained by in situ photopolymerization of liquid crystal molecules

Lightly cross-linked anisotropic networks with uniaxial and π/2 twisted orientations were produced by photopolymerization of monotropic mixtures containing liquid crystal mono and diacrylates. In this way the polymer backbone was immobilized and became decoupled from the motion of the mesogenic side groups. The networks showed very good reversibility and even after becoming isotropic, upon cooling, the initial orientation was recovered. In the same way, in the presence of electric fields the mesogenic groups could be reoriented in the direction of the electric field, reverting back to the initial orientation on removal of the field at a rate comparable with those observed in the monomeric state. Combining viscoelastic measurements with the dielectric behaviour of the monomeric liquid crystal and the anisotropic network, a comparison between the internal and bulk rotational viscosities was also made.     

ON SOME INTERPRETATIONS OF CLASSICAL LOGIC

In distinction from the well-known double-negation embeddings of the classical logic we consider some variants of single-negation embeddings and describe some classes of superintuitionistic first-order predicate logics in which the classical first-order calculus is interpretable in such a way. Also we find the minimal extensions of Heyting's logic in which the classical predicate logic can be embedded by means of these translations.     

Two-dimensional on-line particle imaging velocimetry

A high-performance algorithm is described for the on-line computation of two-dimensional velocity maps using particle displacement imaging. It relies on the computation of direct correlations in a multiple-scale spatial hierarchy. Layered rejection criteria based on correlation quality and conditional averaging techniques are employed to achieve the robustness required for continuous, unsupervised operation. Implementations are described using a UNIX-based workstation and a DOS-based personal computer with a real-time image processing/correlator subsystem. The cooperation of the algorithm with other real-time visualization techniques is demonstrated using the example of colour-coded streak integration.The authors wish to thank Dr. Philippe Georis of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) for making available to us video sequences of his Marangoni convection experiment.     

The automatic conversion of spinor equations to dyad form in MAPLE

A new package in the symbolic algebra system MAPLE is presented for the conversion of complicated spinor equations to their expansions with respect to a normalized spinor dyad. By following a simple index convention, we obtain a powerful computational tool with a straightforward and easy to use syntax. A number of examples, including nontrivial applications of the package to recent research, are provided.     

Application of the variation principle for the problem of buckling of a nonlinearly elastic ring nonuniform along its thickness

There has been considerable recent attention given to the stressed and buckled states of items with complicated configuration made of different nonlinearly elastic materials joined by complete adhesion. However, effective analytical solutions for such problems have been hindered by mathematical difficulties. Approximate methods have thus been developed for such problems. A variational combined principle has been formulated in this communication. A nonlinear geometrical approach has been used for formulating a mixed-type functional with physical relationships given by Euler equations, nonlinear equilibrium equations, and nonlinear boundary conditions for a piecewise-nonuniform nonlinearly elastic body composed of finite elements (particles). As an example, buckling along the nonuniform thickness of nonlinearly elastic rings was analyzed hypothetically assuming plane cross-sections. Options for two-, three-, four-, five-, and six-layered rings in a periodical structure have been reviewed. The critical buckling forces for an even number of layers have been found to be equal to each other. The ratios of the critical forces, elasticity moduli, and proportionality levels were determined for all five variants by the Runge-Kutta method.Presented at the Ninth International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, October, 1995).Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 262–268, March–April, 1995.     

Properties of polystyrene-poly(methylmethacrylate) random and diblock copolymers in dilute and semidilute solutions

Solution properties for random and diblock copolymers of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) have been measured by dynamic and total intensity light scattering in solvents of differing quality. The results are compared with the corresponding properties for PS and PMMA homopolymers of similar molecular weight, in order to determine if interactions between unlike monomers are significant. The hydrodynamic radius (R_h) and diffusion second virial coefficient (k_d) for the random copolymer are found to be larger than the corresponding values for the homopolymers in a solvent which is near-theta for the two homopolymers, whereas no such effect is observed for the block copolymer. This suggests that most intrachain interactions occur a relatively short distance along the chain backbone. In a mutual good solvent R_h and k_d of the random copolymer are comparable to the average of the values for the homopolymers, indicating that in a good solvent monomer/solvent interactions dominate over monomer/monomer interactions. For an isolated diblock copolymer in a mutual good solvent, there is no evidence that interactions between unlike monomers lead to additional expansion of the entire molecule, as measured by R_h, nor expansion of the individual blocks as probed by light scattering with one block optically masked. However, at low but finite concentration there is evidence (the coefficients of the binary interaction terms in the viscosity and the mutual diffusion coefficient, and the second and third virial coefficients) that a weak ordering effect may exist in block copolymer solutions, far from the conditions where microphase separation occurs. Finally, measurements of ternary polymer-polymer-solvent solutions show no dependence on monomer composition or monomer distribution for the tracer diffusion of probe PS-PMMA copolymers in a PMMA/toluene matrix. This indicate that the frictional interaction is largely unaffected by interactions between unlike monomers. However, there is evidence that the thermodynamic interaction is more unfavorable between a random copolymer and the homopolymer matrix than between a diblock and the matrix. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Temperature dependence of magnetization in nanocrystalline FeCoZr alloy

The temperature dependence of magnetization of a nanocrystalline Fe₆₀Co₃₀Zr₁₀ alloy annealed at various temperatures to varying crystal sizes was investigated down to 5 K in the field range up to 5 T. The fitting procedure gave T^3/2 as the leading term irrespective of the crystal size. We suggest that the increase of the coefficient by this term for smaller crystals may be connected to an increased relative volume of their surface.