Planar Line Processes for Void and Density Statistics in Thin Stochastic Fibre Networks

Using results for the distribution of perimeters of random polygons arising from random lines in a plane, we obtain new analytic approximations to the distributions of areas and local line densities for random polygons and compute various limiting properties of random polygons. Using simulation, we show that the lengths of adjacent sides of polygons generated by random line processes in the plane are correlated with ρ=0.616±0.001.     

Templated electrodeposition of silver nanowires in a nanoporous polycarbonate membrane from a nonaqueous ionic liquid electrolyte

Template electrodeposition has been used to prepare a wide range of nanostructures but has generally been restricted to aqueous electrolytes. We report the deposition of silver nanowires in a commercial nuclear track-etched polycarbonate template from the nonaqueous ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF₆]) using silver electrochemically dissolved from the anode. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that the nanowires have a very high aspect ratio with an average diameter of 80 nm and length of 5 μm. Ionic liquid electrolytes should greatly extend the range of metals that can be electrodeposited as nanowires using templates. PACS 81.15.Pq; 81.07.-b     

The national ignition facility: path to ignition in the laboratory

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a 192-beam laser facility presently under construction at LLNL. When completed, NIF will be a 1.8-MJ, 500-TW ultraviolet laser system. Its missions are to obtain fusion ignition and to perform high energy density experiments in support of the US nuclear weapons stockpile. Four of the NIF beams have been commissioned to demonstrate laser performance and to commission the target area including target and beam alignment and laser timing. During this time, NIF demonstrated on a single-beam basis that it will meet its performance goals and demonstrated its precision and flexibility for pulse shaping, pointing, timing and beam conditioning. It also performed four important experiments for Inertial Confinement Fusion and High Energy Density Science. Presently, the project is installing production hardware to complete the project in 2009 with the goal to begin ignition experiments in 2010. An integrated plan has been developed including the NIF operations, user equipment such as diagnostics and cryogenic target capability, and experiments and calculations to meet this goal. This talk will provide NIF status, the plan to complete NIF, and the path to ignition.     

Ultra fine carbon nitride nanocrystals synthesized by laser ablation in liquid solution

Crystalline carbon nitride nanopowders and nanorods have been successfully synthesized at room temperature and pressure using the novel technique of pulsed laser ablation of a graphite target in liquid ammonia solution. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to systematically study the morphology, nanostructure and chemical bonding. The experimental composition and structure of the nanoparticles are consistent with the theoretical calculations for α-C₃N₄. After 2 h ablation the particles had a size distribution ∼8–12 nm, whereas after 5 h ablation the particles had grown into nanorod-like structures with a crystalline C₃N₄ tip. A formation mechanism for these nanorods is proposed whereby nanoparticles are first synthesized via rapid formation of an embryonic particle, followed by a slow growth, eventually leading to a one-dimensional nanorod structure.     

Sonolytic degradation of halogenated organic compounds in groundwater: mass transfer effects

Organic pollutants in liquid exposed to acoustic waves behave differently according to their physical and chemical properties. Laboratory batch experiments of sonication for the degradation of trichloroethylene (TCE) and ethylene dibromide (EDB) were carried out in groundwater at 20 kHz, and 12.5 and 35 W/cm(2). A theoretical model for the batch sonication system was derived to examine the mass transfer dependency of the ultrasonic degradation. Experimental results were supported with model predictions suggesting that both liquid phase diffusion coefficient and Henry's law constant are important parameters for the sonolytic degradation of the halogenated organic compounds in groundwater. When compared with the effect of the diffusion coefficient, Henry's constant exerts a greater influence on sonolytic degradation. When Henry's constant exceeds a value of 1 (volume/volume ratio), however, it no longer has much influence on the degradation process. The results also suggest that degradation is enhanced with an increase in ultrasonic power probably due to a greater bubble residence time and the formation of larger bubble at high-energy intensities.     

Interfacial electronic structure of molybdenum oxide on the fullerene layer,a potential hole-injecting layer in inverted top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes

The interfacial electronic structures of molybdenum oxide (MoO_x) deposited on fullerene (C₆₀) which could be used as a hole-injecting layer in inverted top-emitting organic light-emitting diodes (TE-OLEDs) were investigated by photoemission spectroscopy. The hole-injecting barrier height (Φ_B^h) at each interface investigated by an ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy was reduced to from 1.4 to 0.1 eV as the thickness of MoO_x (Θ_MoOx) was increased from 0.1 to 5.0 nm on C₆₀. In these interface system, the sign of vacuum-level shift, highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-level shift, and core-level shifts were all positive indicating that the interface mechanism is attributed to the work-function differences due to a band bending at these interfaces. Moreover, the near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectra at carbon K-edge did not show any structural modification as well as any chemical reaction at the MoO_x-on-C₆₀ interfaces when Θ_MoOx was changed on C₆₀. From these results, the inverted TE-OLED with C₆₀ (5.0 nm)/MoO_x (5.0 nm) showed the power efficiency of 1.7 lm/W at a luminance of about 1000 cd/m² and the maximum luminance of about 76.000 cd/m² at the bias voltage of 11.0 V. It exhibited the highest performance among the inverted TE-OLEDs fabricated as a function of MoO_x thickness from 0 to 5.0 nm.     

Time correlation functions in classical dense fluids

The velocity autocorrelation functions and memory functions of dense classical fluids may be directly obtained from the static radial distribution function g(r) in an approximate way. Following the Mori projection operator formalism, the memory functions may be related to the fluctuating force correlation. At low densities, these functions may be evaluated by following the trajectories of particle pairs in the interatomic potential. At higher densities, the force correlation functions can be evaluated approximately from particle pair trajectories via the potential of the mean force. The contributions to the memory function come mainly from particle pairs with rather specific and rather short interatomic distances. At higher temperatures, this specific distance is even shorter, hence the memory function decays quickly with time. At lower temperatures, a negative region of the memory function may develop. On the other hand, there is relatively little density dependence of the normalized memory function. The results for argon fluids at various densities and temperatures agree satisfactorily with the molecular dynamics and the Enskog values. The decrease of the diffusion coefficient with density is partly due to the nature of g(r) which reflects the stronger clustering of atoms at higher densities.     

Spectral Characterization of Nitrogen in Farmland Soil by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Nitrogen is one of the most important elements in farmland soil, and nitrogen content is one of the evaluation indicators of fertilizers. It is difficult to measure the nitrogen content in farmland soil because the chemical and physical properties of farmland soil are complex. Through the adoption of buffer gases to remove the influence of the nitrogen in air, this paper studied the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) characteristics of nitrogen in soil to establish a foundation for in situ measurement of nitrogen in farmland soil. Three characteristic spectral lines have been found. Based on the precise controlling of laser power and triggering of delay time between laser generation and spectra collection, we have studied the effects of laser energy on LIBS spectral characteristics and the time evolution characteristics to supply the basis of parameter optimization for the measurement. In addition, we have studied the relationship between nitrogen concentration and LIBS spectral intensity. The results demonstrated that LIBS was an effective measurement method of nitrogen content in farmland soil with simple hardware structure, fast detection, and high precision.     

Magnetic resonance studies of laryngeal tumors implanted in nude mice: effect of treatment with bleomycin and electroporation

Recently, a new type of cancer treatment has been introduced that combines pulsed electric fields (PEF) with anticancer drugs. The proposed mode of action is that PEF create transient pores in the membranes which allow entry of drugs into the cells. This method increases cytotoxicity of some anticancer drugs like bleomycin (BLM) by 2-3 orders of magnitude, which, in turn, reduces systemic drug dosage without decreasing efficacy. In the present study, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to determine changes in apparent water self-diffusion coefficients (ADC) and spin-lattice (T(1)) and spin-spin (T(2)) relaxation times that occur in an animal laryngeal tumor (HEp-2 cells) model with BLM delivered by PEF. A Bruker 14 Tesla (600 MHz) wide-bore spectrometer with micro-imaging capability was used to generate all the data. Mice carrying approximately 8 mm tumors were treated with several combinations of drug and PEF. All measurements were made on tumor samples excised from mice 24 and 48 hours after treatment with (i) saline, intratumor injection (i.t.), (ii) BLM, i.t., (iii) saline with PEF, and (iv) BLM, i.t., followed by PEF. Although T(1) does not differ between the controls (i, ii, and iii) and full treatment (iv) 6.72 +/- 0.20 s vs. 6.31 +/- 1.7 s, T(2) for (iv) at 24 hours is significantly different from the controls 52.4 +/- 0.91 ms vs. 46.5 +/- 1.54 ms. T(2) differences between treatment and controls disappear at 48 hours. ADC increases significantly from 24 to 48 hours (7.31 +/- 0.16 x 10(-6) to 8.28 +/- 0.28 x 10(-6) cm(2)/sec, p = 0.05). Longer T(2) values may reflect early apoptosis and tumor death when the tumor is structurally less dense. Higher ADC's, associated with the periphery of the tumors and the central region, may indicate loose structural organization and necrosis resulting from the combination treatment.