The iodide/iodate actinometer in UV disinfection: determination of the fluence rate distribution in UV reactors

Thirty-seven Suprasil quartz spheres, each approximately 1 cm in diameter and containing an iodide-iodate actinometric solution, were attached to a metal rack and inserted into a bench-scale UV reactor filled with water. The spheres were located at various distances and heights around a 12.4 W low-pressure Hg lamp housed inside a 3.2 cm-radius quartz sleeve in the middle of an annular batch reactor. UV light exposure at 254 nm was performed with the percent transmittance of the water present in the reactor at either 73% or 100% defined over a 1 cm path length. The spheres were simultaneously exposed to the UV light for a given period of time, after which the solutions were removed from the spheres and the yield of triiodide determined from the increase in absorbance at 352 nm. The resulting fluence rate at each site was then calculated on basis of the yield of triiodide. These results were compared with the predictions of a mathematical model based on the multiple point source summation approximation, including reflection and refraction at the air-quartz-water interface. Initially, the agreement was not satisfactory, especially in regions at an oblique angle to the lamp. The model was modified from a multiple point source model to a multiple cylindrical segment model by incorporating a cosine factor. The agreement between the new model and the experimental data was excellent and these experiments provide a strong validation of the model, even under conditions in which the fluence rate varied by >1000-fold between extreme sites in the reactor.     

Scan-based near-field acoustical holography and partial field decomposition in the presence of noise and source level variation

Practical holography measurements of composite sources are usually performed using a multireference cross-spectral approach, and the measured sound field must be decomposed into spatially coherent partial fields before holographic projection. The formulations by which the latter approach have been implemented have not taken explicit account of the effect of additive noise on the reference signals and so have strictly been limited to the case in which noise superimposed on the reference signals is negligible. Further, when the sound field is measured by scanning a subarray over a number of patches in sequence, the decomposed partial fields can suffer from corruption in the form of a spatially distributed error resulting from source level variation from scan-to-scan. In the present work, the effects of both noise included in the reference signals, and source level variation during a scan-based measurement, on partial field decomposition are described, and an integrated procedure for simultaneously suppressing the two effects is provided. Also, the relative performance of two partial field decomposition formulations is compared, and a strategy for obtaining the best results is described. The proposed procedure has been verified by using numerical simulations and has been applied to holographic measurements of a subsonic jet.     

Teaching photoelectricity

In this article the various pieces of apparatus at present available for use in schools or colleges that can be used to give useful experimental data are considered and comparisons made as regards cost, ease of use by students, and accuracy.     

Hyperfine coupling constants and their dependence on charge densities

In paramagnetic aromatic systems the relation between the hyperfine coupling constants a _H for the protons and the spin density ρ on the adjacent carbon atom is usually given by the relation a _H = -Qρ (McConnell) in which Q is a constant characteristic for the C-H bond. In the paramagnetic ions of aromatic molecules the carbon atoms have in general besides a non-zero spin density also a non-zero excess charge density.

If one takes into account both the effect of the spin density ρ and the excess charge density ε on the C-H bond, the following formula is obtained for the proton hyperfine coupling constant:

in which Q and K are predicted to be positive constants of the same order of magnitude.

Comparison with experimental data gives Q = 31·2 gauss; K = 17 gauss.     

The use of instrumental neutron activation analysis for the determination of arsenic concentrations in poultry

There has been recent public concern over the use of organic arsenicals as medicaments and growth stimulators for poultry. In early studies, there was a correlation shown between the intake of arsenic and carcinogensis. Several investigators have strongly disputed these results. The purpose of this study was not to verify or discredit this carcinogenic theory but simply to determine if the arsenic levels in poultry could be measured using instrumental activation analysis. These analyses indicate that arsenic concentrations in poultry can be measured at levels below the mandatory maximum levels of arsenic in poultry.