Non-Gravitational Effects with Density-Matching in Evaluating the Influence of Sedimentation on Colloidal Coagulation

The method of density matching between the solid and liquid phases is often adopted to effectively eliminate the effect of sedimentation of suspensions in studies on dynamic behaviour of a colloidal system. However, the associated changes in the solvent composition may bring side effects to the properties investigated and therefore might lead to a faulty conclusion if the relevant correction is not made. To illustrate the importance of this side effect, we present an example of the sedimentation influence on the coagulation rate of suspensions of 2μm （diameter） polystyrene. The liquid mixtures, in the proper proportions of water （H2O）, deuterium oxide （D2O） and methanol （MeOH） as the liquid phase, density-matched and unmatched experiments are performed. Besides the influence of viscosity, the presence of methanol in solvent media, used to enhance the sedimentation effect, causes significant changes （reduction） in rapid coagulation rates compared to that in pure water. Without the relevant corrections for those non-gravitational factors it seems that gravitational sedimentation would retard the coagulation. The magnitude of the contribution from the non-gravitational factor is quantitatively determined, making the relevant correction possible. After necessary the influence of the sedimentation on coagulation rates at corrections for all factors, our experiments show that the initial stage of the coagulation is not observable.     

Spin squeezing and quantum correlations

We discuss the notion of spin squeezing considering two mutually exclusive classes of spin-s states, namely, oriented and non-oriented states. Our analysis shows that the oriented states are not squeezed while non-oriented states exhibit squeezing. We also present a new scheme for construction of spin-s states using 2s spinors oriented along different axes. Taking the case of s=1, we show that the ‘non-oriented’ nature and hence squeezing arise from the intrinsic quantum correlations that exist among the spinors in the coupled state.     

Dissociation of alkane ionized molecules

The subject of investigation is the fragmentation of variously charged molecular ions arising in col-lisions of several kiloelectronvolt H⁺, He²⁺, and Ar⁶⁺ ions with molecules of the simplest alkanes (from methane to butane). Using the method of time-of-flight mass spectrometry, the formation cross sections of dissociation-induced fragment ions are measured. The dissociation takes place when an incident ion captures an electron from a methane, ethane, or propane molecule. The role of additional ionization of the molecule, which accompanies the electron capture by the incident ion, is elucidated. The kinetic energy spectrum for protons resulting from the fragmentation of multiply charged alkane ions is determined. The most plausible kinetic energies of protons depending on the degree of ionization and molecule size fall into the range 1–25 eV. It is shown that, when the molecule loses several electrons, the kinetic energies of protons are governed by Coulomb interaction between all fragment ions and are determined by their flying apart from the relative spatial arrangement of corresponding atoms in a parent molecule.     

Spectroscopic and quantum chemical studies of isocytosine

The methods of electronic and vibrational (IR) spectroscopy were used to study the spectral properties of isocytosine in H₂O, D₂O, chloroform, and hexane in a wide concentration interval. Quantum chemical calculations of tautomeric forms and dimers of isocytosine were carried out. The bands of the calculated and experimental spectra were assigned. The results of the quantum calculations were compared with the experimental data. The spectral bands were classified according to the type of tautomer or dimer to which they belong.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 29–36, January–February, 1988.The authors are grateful to I. M. Ginzberg and L. F. Strelkova for their participation in the discussion of the infrared spectroscopy results.