Structurally and Surface-Modified Alumina Particles as a Reinforcement in Polyester-Based Composites with an Improved Toughness

Mechanics of Composite Materials - Commercial γ ? Al2O3 particles, Al2O3 n, and synthesized Al2O3 doped with iron oxide (Al2O3 Fe) were used as reinforcements to enhance the toughness of...     

Two-photon photoemission from Ni (1 1 0) and (1 1 1) surfaces

Photoemission was observed when the samples were irradiated with photons in the energy range from 2.5 to 3.3 eV from a tunable dye laser with an intensity of 10⁸Wcm^?2. The emission shows a quadratic intensity dependence. The variation with angle of incidence and polarization is different for the two surfaces. The result obtained from the (1 1 0) surface is discussed with help of the band structure as a two-photon surface photoelectric effect.     

The angular dependence of flux,mean energy and speed ratio for D2 molecules desorbing from a Ni(111) surface

Experimental data are presented for the angular dependence of the relative flux, the mean energy and the speed ratio of deuterium molecules desorbing from a Ni(111) crystal surface at a surface temperature of T_s = 1143 K and at sulphur coverages ranging between 30% and less than 2% of a monolayer.The angular flux distribution is sharply peaked in the forward direction (cos^dθwith 3 ? d ? 5) and the mean energy 〈E〉 of the desorbate depends strongly on the desorption angle θ. For normal desorption $\text{(θ = 0°)}\text{〈E〉}\text{2k}$ is about 700 K higher than T_s and for glancing angles (θ = 80°) it decreases to about 400 K below T_s The results obtained on sulphur free and sulphur covered Ni(111) surfaces are compared with our former data on polycrystalline nickel. The main differences in the kinetic features can be ascribed to the surface roughness. Accordingly, the angular distributions of flux, mean energy, and speed ratio, which deviate strongly from the Knudson and Maxwellian law, do not seem to depend considerably on sulphur coverage and surface structure. A qualitative explanation for these deviations is presented using the principle of detailed balancing.     

Vibrational dynamics of fullerene molecules adsorbed on metal surfaces studied with synchrotron infrared radiation

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy of chemisorbed C₆₀ on Ag (111), Au (110) and Cu (100) reveals that a non-IR-active mode becomes active upon adsorption, and that its frequency shifts proportionally with the charge transferred from the metal to the molecule by about 5 cm^-1 per electron. The temperature dependence of the frequency and the width of this IR feature have also been followed for C₆₀/Cu (100) and were found to agree well with a weak anharmonic coupling (dephasing) to a low-frequency mode, which we suggest to be the frustrated translational mode of the adsorbed molecules. Additionally, the adsorption is accompanied by a broadband reflectance change, which is interpreted as due to the scattering of conduction electrons of the metal surface by the adsorbate. The reflectance change allows determination of the friction coefficient of the C₆₀ molecules, which results in rather small values (∼2×10⁹ s^-1 for Ag and Au, and ∼1.6×10⁹ s^-1for Cu), consistent with a marked metallic character of the adsorbed molecules. Pre-dosing of alkali atoms onto the metal substrates drastically changes the IR spectra recorded during subsequent C₆₀ deposition: anti-absorption bands, as well as an increase of the broadband reflectance, occur and are interpreted as due to strong electron–phonon coupling with induced surface states. Received: 6 June 2001 / Accepted: 23 October 2001 / Published online: 3 April 2002     

Oscillations of linear integro-differential equations

Sufficient conditions which guarantee that certain linear integro-differential equation cannot have a positive solution are established.     

Physics of evolution: Selection without fitness

Traditionally evolution is seen as a process where from a pool of possible variations of a population (e.g. biological species or industrial goods) a few variations get selected which survive and proliferate, whereas the others vanish. Survival probabilities and proliferation rates are typically associated with the ‘fitness’ of particular variations. In this paper we argue that the notion of fitness is an a posteriori concept, in the sense that one can assign higher fitness to species that survive but one can generally not derive or predict fitness per se. Proliferation rates can be measured, whereas fitness landscapes, i.e. the inter-dependence of proliferation rates, cannot. For this reason we think that in a physical theory of evolution such notions should be avoided. In this spirit, here we propose a random matrix model of evolution where selection mechanisms are encoded in interaction matrices of species, thereby extending the previous work of ours by a control parameter describing suppressors in the system. We are able to recover some key facts of evolution dynamics endogenously, such as punctuated equilibrium, i.e. the existence of intrinsic large extinction events, and, at the same time, periods of dramatic diversification, as known e.g. from the fossil record. Further, we comment on two fundamental technical problems of a ‘physics of evolution’, the non-closedness of its phase space and the problem of co-evolving boundary conditions, apparent in all systems subject to evolution.     

Semiparametric random coefficient regression models

Linear regression models with random coefficients express the idea that each individual sampled may have a different linear response function. Technically speaking, random coefficient regression encompasses a rich variety of submodels. These include deconvolution or affine-mixture models as well as certain classical linear regression models that have heteroscedastic errors, or errors-in-variables, or random effects. This paper studies minimum distance estimates for the coefficient distributions in a general, semiparametric, random coefficient regression model. The analysis yields goodness-of-fit tests for the semiparametric model, prediction regions for future responses, and confidence regions for the distribution of the random coefficients.This research was supported in part by NSF Grant DMS 9001710.     

In situ measurement of pressure and strain effects in corundum ceramics

Abstract

An Equipement has been built for the generation of uniaxial pressure and of bending stress respectivety directly in the cavity of an X-band ESR spectrometer. Changes of the structure of paramagnetic centres (Fe³⁺ on Al³⁺ sites) could be detected in materials with a high content of corundum under the innuence of pressure and bending stress. The objects of investigation are not only suitable model system but also have practical relevance. The Fe³⁺-ions, incorporated in the materials react very sensitive on mechanically or thermally induced changes of the state of the matrix. They give insight into the materials at a microscopic level The interpretation of the observed intensity and shift effects is possible on the basis of an adequate spin-hamiltonian.     

Synthesis and characterization of a polyaniline-modified SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanocomposite

Polyaniline-modified tin oxide and tin oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using a solution route technique. The obtained pristine products were characterized with X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and optical absorption spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis results showed that the polyaniline-modified SnO₂ nanoparticles exhibit higher thermal stability than the SnO₂ nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy analysis on the as-synthesized powders showed spherical particle in the range of 50–100 nm.