Surface characterization of fluorinated polymers (PTFE, PVDF, PFA) for use in ultratrace analysis

Surface characterization of new unused PTFE, PFA and PVDF labware has been carried out by light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, profilometry and atomic force microscopy. It has been found that in spite of higher micro-roughness, PFA exhibits the lowest nano-roughness and hence seems best suited as vessel material for relatively mild pressureless chemical operations for sample preparation of ultrapure substances, as container material for storage of ultrapure liquids, and for transport of such liquids, e.g., from the producer in the chemical to the end user in the microelectronics industry. This suitability refers only to the surface quality of the investigated materials. PTFE-surfaces, due to the sintering process of production, exhibit the most unfavourable surface quality of the investigated fluorinated polymers.     

Velocity inversion: A case study in infinite-dimensional optimization

The goal of seismic velocity inversion is the estimation of seismic wave velocities inside the earth by attempting to predict, in a least-error sense, seismic waveforms measured at its surface. We present velocity inversion as a case study in the various infinite-dimensional pathologies which may afflict practically important problems of distributed parameter identification, treated as optimization problems in function spaces. These features differentiate various problem formulations far beyond the degree one would expect for finite- (small-) dimensional problems. We illustrate this differentiation by comparing the characteristics of three different least-squares formulations of velocity inversion.     

Synthesis and crystal and molecular structure of newN-substituted γ-hydroxybutyramides

TheN-(2-phenylethyl)amide of-(1, 1-ethylenedioxy)-ethyl--hydroxybutyric acid (II) and theN-(p-methoxybenzyl)amide of-(1, 1-ethylenedioxy)-ethyl--hydroxybutyric acid (III) have been synthesized and the crystal structure ofIII has been solved. CompoundIII, C₁₆H₂₃O₅N, crystallizes in the monoclinic space groupP2₁/c witha=12.572(2),b=11.149(2),c=12.317(2) Å and=106.53(1)°. The structure was solved by direct methods, and refined by full-matrix least squares to giveR=0.040 (R _w =0.047) for 2004 intensities. The dioxolane ring has a deformed half-chair conformation.     

Non-characteristic mixed problems for non-linear symmetric hyperbolic systems

In this paper the existence and uniqueness of solutions of the following initial boundary value problem for non-linear symmetric hyperbolic equations of the first order are shown, where M = I ⁺ ? S , has the same from as the Kreiss' condition, but S must be sufficiently small ( I ⁺ is the unit matrix in the space generated by eigenvectors of the matrix ? A · n? , corresponding to positive eigenvalues) and n? is a unit outward vector normal to the boundary. The main result of the paper is obtaining an a priori estimate for non-linear equations. This estimate is obtained for sufficiently small time and norms of given data functions. The existence of solutions is proved by the method of successive approximations, which can be used because at each step such properties as symmetry of matrices and the numbers of positive and negative eigenvalues of the matrix ? A · n? are assured. This can be done because we restrict our attention to such systems of equations for which these properties are satisfied for solutions from some neighbourhood of initial data u ₀. Therefore, using the fact that solutions in the class of continuous functions are sought, these properties can be satisfied for sufficiently small time. Moreover, some examples of initial boundary value problems for equations of hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics are considered.     

Covering the Plane with Congruent Copies of a Convex Body

It is shown that every plane compact convex set K with an interiorpoint admits a covering of the plane with density smaller thanor equal to 8(23 – 3)/3 = 1.2376043.... For comparison,the thinnest covering of the plane with congruent circles isof density 2 / 27 = 1.209199576.... (see R. Kershner [3]), whichshows that the covering density bound obtained here is closeto the best possible. It is conjectured that the best possibleis 2 / 27. The coverings produced here are of the double-latticekind consisting of translates of K and translates of —K.     

Complex homogeneous splines on the torus

We construct functions M_α which are piecewise homogeneous polynomials on the (d+1)-dimensional torus U^d+1. These functions possess complete symmetry with respect to the independent variables. The symmetry and homogeneous relations for these functions are exploited to obtain a recurrence relation and explicit representations. Furthermore, we show that , where ω=e^12x/k, 0≤j_t≤k−1, are linearly independent. By restricting M_α to U^d, we obtain the complex analogue of polynomial box splines on a (d+1)-direction mesh on U^d, which is a multivariate analogue of B-splines on the circle studied by I.J. Schoenberg^[8].     

Intra- versus intermolecular hydrogen bonds in salicylamide derivatives

The crystal structures, solid-state infrared patterns, and thermal properties of two polymorphs of 4-nitrosalicylanilide are presented. In both polymorphs, intramolecular hydrogen bonds are found between the phenol oxygen and the amide proton, and intermolecular hydrogen bonds are found between the amide carbonyl oxygen and the phenol proton. These hydrogen bond patterns are compared to those found in other known salicylamide derivatives and an analysis is given of the factors contributing to preferences for intra- or intermolecular hydrogen bonds in these structures. Crystal data: polymorph, orthorhombic,Pbca,a=11.003(4),b=27.959(7),c=7.622(5) Å,Z=4,V=2345(3) ų, andR=0.038 (1351 reflections); polymorph, monoclinic,P2₁/a,a=28.36(1),b=11.64(1),c=7.293(8) Å,=90.68(6)°,Z=8,V=2408 ų, andR=0.043 (2425 reflections).     

An alternative approach to quantum phenomena

This paper outlines the qualitative foundations of a quasiclassical theory in which particles are pictured as spatially extended periodic excitations of a universal background field, interacting with each other via nonlinearity in the equations of motion for that field, and undergoing collapse to a much smaller volume if and when they are detected. The theory is based as far as possible directly on experiment, rather than on the existing quantum mechanical formalism, and it offers simple physical interpretations of such concepts as mass, 4-momentum, interaction, potentials, and quantization; it may lead directly to the standard equations of quantum theory, such as the multiparticle Schrödinger equation, without going through the conventional process of quantizing a classical theory. The theory also provides an alternative framework in which to discuss wave-particle duality and the quantum measurement problem; in particular, it is suggested that the unpredictability of quantum phenomena may arise from deterministic chaos in the behavior of the background field.