Semi-empirical method for estimating the β-strength function

A method of estimating the β-strength function from β-decay data on three neighbouring nuclei is proposed. This method is most effective for the β^? decay ofodd-Z even-N nuclei with the neutron number equal to a magic number plus two, and is applied to the β^? decays of ⁸⁷Br and ¹³⁷I The strength functions estimated by this method represent the general trend of experimental data fairly well except for the regions of the lowest and highest excitation energies, where this method is either inapplicable or subject to large uncertainties. The delayed neutron emission probabilities are estimated for these precursors by use of these strength functions, and the results are in agreement with experiment within a factor of two.     

Strengthening Aqueous Electrolytes without Strengthening Water

Aqueous electrolytes typically suffer from poor electrochemical stability; however, eutectic aqueous solutions—25 wt.% LiCl and 62 wt.% H₃PO₄—cooled to −78 °C exhibit a significantly widened stability window. Integrated experimental and simulation results reveal that, upon cooling, Li⁺ ions become less hydrated and pair up with Cl⁻, ice-like water clusters form, and H⋅⋅⋅Cl⁻ bonding strengthens. Surprisingly, this low-temperature solvation structure does not strengthen water molecules’ O−H bond, bucking the conventional wisdom that increasing water's stability requires stiffening the O−H covalent bond. We propose a more general mechanism for water's low temperature inertness in the electrolyte: less favorable solvation of OH⁻ and H⁺, the byproducts of hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. To showcase this stability, we demonstrate an aqueous Li-ion battery using LiMn₂O₄ cathode and CuSe anode with a high energy density of 109 Wh/kg. These results highlight the potential of aqueous batteries for polar and extraterrestrial missions.     

Modulation of structure and dynamics by disulfide bond formation in unfolded states

During oxidative folding, the formation of disulfide bonds has profound effects on guiding the protein folding pathway. Until now, comparatively little is known about the changes in the conformational dynamics in folding intermediates of proteins that contain only a subset of their native disulfide bonds. In this comprehensive study, we probe the conformational landscape of non-native states of lysozyme containing a single native disulfide bond utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), circular dichroism (CD) data, and modeling approaches. The impact on conformational dynamics varies widely depending on the loop size of the single disulfide variants and deviates significantly from random coil predictions for both NMR and SAXS data. From these experiments, we conclude that the introduction of single disulfides spanning a large portion of the polypeptide chain shifts the structure and dynamics of hydrophobic core residues of the protein so that these regions exhibit levels of order comparable to the native state on the nanosecond time scale.     

Heat capacity of the spinel superconductors CuRh2S4 and CuRh2Se4

We report low-temperature heat capacity measurements on CuRh₂S₄ and CuRh₂Se₄. These compounds undergo a superconducting transition at $T_c=4.72$ and 3.38 K, respectively, with a fully opened superconducting gap. With increasing magnetic field $H$, the Sommerfeld coefficient $\gamma \left(H\right)$ shows a crossover from linear to sublinear $H$ dependence that is consistent with the predictions of recent theoretical calculations. Compared to CuRh₂Se₄, CuRh₂S₄ exhibits a smaller region of the linear-$H$ dependence in $\gamma \left(H\right)$ and pronounced positive curvature in the temperature dependence of the upper critical field.     

New aspects of quantum electrodynamics on electronic structure and dynamics

Application of Alpha-oscillator theory to quantum electrodynamics (QED) solves the mystery (Feynman) of the double-slit phenomenon involved in the foundation of quantum mechanics (QM). Even if with the same initial condition given, different spots on the screen can be predicted deterministically with no introduction of hidden variables. The interference pattern is similar to, but cannot be reproduced quantitatively by, that of the QM wave function, contrary to many-years-anticipation: a new prediction, awaiting experimental test over and above the Bohr–Einstein gedanken experiment. The general proof has already been published in Ref. [3a] and the concrete numerical algorithm of the extended normal mode technique for concrete trajectory of one electron in Ref. [3b]. In this article, (1) the new “interpretation” of the QED wave function is given in section “Interpretation of Wave Function in QED”: the QED wave function used in the extended normal mode technique gives probability density distribution function of the initial values of trajectories. Moreover, (2) for the sake of demonstration of this new interpretation, the time-independent stationary state QM wave function is substituted to the QED wave function in section “Internal Self-Stress of Energetic Particles”: the QED wave function is realized by internal self-stress revealed as energy density at the initial conditions. The renewed energy density is applied to study a unified scheme for generalized chemical reactivity. This is a new kind of chemical force acting in between electrons not in between nuclei. This paves a way for more advanced time-dependent simulation of electronic structure and dynamics in chemical reaction dynamics by tracing trajectories of many electrons. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Novel variational principles of chemical reaction

Minimum principles of chemical reaction coordinates are established. IRC (intrinsic reaction coordinate) draws the path of minimum distance from reactant to product. The distance is measured in the rigged configuration Riemannian space whose metric is determined by the distribution of the adiabatic potential energy. Moreover, minimum property of the intrinsic principle of least action is established for the intrinsic dynamism of chemical reaction. Minimum principle of the path connecting intercell boundary with cell is also discussed.     

Radiation-induced polymerization at high dose rate. III. Isoprene in bulk

Radiation-induced polymerization of isoprene in bulk state was studied at 25°C in a wide dose rate range. Variations of the rate of polymerization and molecular weight of the products were essentially the same as those observed in the monomers which were capable of both radical and cationic polymerizations. At low dose rate, 7.0-230 rad/sec, radical polymerization took place. At high dose rate, 8.8 × 10³-2.2 × 10⁵ rad/sec, radical and cationic polymerizations took place concurrently. The average molecular weight of the high-dose-rate product was about 850, independent of dose rate. The microstructure of the products at high dose rate consisted mainly of trans- 1,4 units with only about 7% of cis- 1,4 and 10% of 3,4-vinyl units. The residual unsaturation in the high-dose-rate products was 90%. Decreases in cis units and residual unsaturation at high dose rate were accounted for by the change in predominant mechanism of polymerization with dose rate.     

Development of multiple drywall with high sound insulation performance

Experimental studies for the development of multiple drywalls with a high sound insulation performance are performed. Firstly, a means of preventing the sound insulation deterioration due to the coincidence effect at high frequencies is investigated by layering two plasterboards with different physical characteristics. Based on the results, a double drywall with a sound insulation performance of R_w = 61 is developed. Further more, a double drywall of R_w = 64 , a triple drywall of R_w = 86 and a quadruple drywall of R_w = 90 are developed.