Crystallographic report: Bis(isonicotinonitrile)cadmium diselencyanate, [Cd(SeCN)2(pyCN)2] (pyCN = isonicotinonitrile)

The title compound, [Cd(SeCN)₂(pyCN)₂]_∞, adopts an extended one‐dimensional chain structure in which the neighboring cadmium atoms are bridged by two selenocyanate ions. The central cadmium atom has a distorted octahedral geometry defined by two isonicotinonitrile and four selenocyanate ions in a 4N2Se fashion. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crystallographic report: Diiodo[tris(2‐pyridyl)amine]mercury(II), [(C5H4N)3N]HgI2

In mononuclear HgI₂[(C₅H₄N)₃N], mercury is tetrahedrally coordinated by two nitrogen atoms of a tris(2‐pyridyl)amine ligand and two iodides. The coordination moieties are connected by weak intermolecular Hg(II)···I interactions to give a one‐dimensional structure. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reply to Nathan: How to reconstruct the causal argument

Nicholas Nathan tries to resist the current version of the causal argument for sense-data in two ways. First he suggests that, on what he considers to be the correct re-construction of the argument, it equivocates on the sense of proximate cause. Second he defends a form of disjunctivism, by claiming that there might be an extra mechanism involved in producing veridical hallucination, that is not present in perception. I argue that Nathan’s reconstruction of the argument is not the appropriate one, and that, properly interpreted, the argument does not equivocate on proximate cause. Furthermore, I claim that his postulation of a modified mechanism for hallucinations is implausibly ad hoc.     

A transform method for linear evolution PDEs on a finite interval

We study initial boundary value problems for linear scalar evolutionpartial differential equations, with spatial derivatives ofarbitrary order, posed on the domain {t > 0, 0 < x <L}. We show that the solution can be expressed as an integralin the complex k-plane. This integral is defined in terms ofan x-transform of the initial condition and a t-transform ofthe boundary conditions. The derivation of this integral representationrelies on the analysis of the global relation, which is an algebraicrelation defined in the complex k-plane coupling all boundaryvalues of the solution. For particular cases, such as the case of periodic boundaryconditions, or the case of boundary value problems for even-orderPDEs, it is possible to obtain directly from the global relationan alternative representation for the solution, in the formof an infinite series. We stress, however, that there existinitial boundary value problems for which the only representationis an integral which cannot be written as an infinite series.An example of such a problem is provided by the linearized versionof the KdV equation. Similarly, in general the solution of odd-orderlinear initial boundary value problems on a finite intervalcannot be expressed in terms of an infinite series.     

Banana-shaped mesogens: a new homologous series of compounds exhibiting the B7 mesophase

The synthesis and characterization of a new homologous series of compounds, the 2-cyano-1,3-phenylene bis[4-(4-n-alkoxyphenyliminomethyl)benzoates] derived from 2-cyanoresorcinol is reported. All the compounds are enantiotropic mesogens and exhibit the fascinating B₇ mesophase. The characterization of the mesophase was performed using polarizing optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and electro-optical studies.     

Detecting instabilities in flows of viscoelastic fluids

There is a growing interest in developing numerical tools to investigate the onset of physical instabilities observed in experiments involving viscoelastic flows, which is a difficult and challenging task as the simulations are very sensitive to numerical instabilities. Following a recent linear stability analysis carried out in order to better understand qualitatively the origin of numerical instabilities occurring in the simulation of flows viscoelastic fluids, the present paper considers a possible extension for more complex flows. This promising method could be applied to track instabilities in complex (i.e. essentially non‐parallel) flows. In addition, results related to transient growth mechanism indicate that it might be responsible for the development of numerical instabilities in the simulation of viscoelastic fluids. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Methods for implementing the stream boundary condition in DSMC computations

In the direct simulation Monte‐Carlo (DSMC) method for simulating rarefied gas flows, the velocities of simulator particles that cross a simulation boundary and enter the simulation space are typically generated using the acceptance–rejection procedure that samples the velocities from a truncated theoretical velocity distribution that excludes low and high velocities. This paper analyses an alternative technique, where the velocities of entering particles are obtained by extending the simulation procedures to a region adjacent to the simulation space, and considering the movement of particles generated within that region during the simulation time step. The alternative method may be considered as a form of acceptance–rejection procedure, and permits the generation of all possible velocities, although the population of high velocities is depleted with respect to the theoretical distribution. Nevertheless, this is an improvement over the standard acceptance–rejection method. Previous implementations of the alternative method gave a number flux lower than the theoretical number required. Two methods for obtaining the correct number flux are presented. For upstream boundaries in high‐speed flows, the alternative method is more computationally efficient than the acceptance–rejection method. However, for downstream boundaries, the alternative method is extremely inefficient. The alternative method, with the correct theoretical number flux, should therefore be used in DSMC computations in favour of the acceptance–rejection method for upstream boundaries in high‐speed flows. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

D. Liu and X. Zhu,Erratum to: “Fractional chromatic number and circular chromatic number for distance graphs with large clique size”. Journal of Graph Theory47(2) 2004, 129–146

The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in Journal of Graph Theory 47:129–146,2004 .     

Computations of two passing‐by high‐speed trains by a relaxation overset‐grid algorithm

This paper presents a relaxation algorithm, which is based on the overset grid technology, an unsteady three‐dimensional Navier–Stokes flow solver, and an inner‐ and outer‐relaxation method, for simulation of the unsteady flows of moving high‐speed trains. The flow solutions on the overlapped grids can be accurately updated by introducing a grid tracking technique and the inner‐ and outer‐relaxation method. To evaluate the capability and solution accuracy of the present algorithm, the computational static pressure distribution of a single stationary TGV high‐speed train inside a long tunnel is investigated numerically, and is compared with the experimental data from low‐speed wind tunnel test. Further, the unsteady flows of two TGV high‐speed trains passing by each other inside a long tunnel and at the tunnel entrance are simulated. A series of time histories of pressure distributions and aerodynamic loads acting on the train and tunnel surfaces are depicted for detailed discussions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.