Photochemical generation of ketenes. An ultra-violet and infrared spectroscopic study of 1− and 2-diazonaphthalenones at 77K.

Direct photolysis of 1? or 2-diazonaphthalenone and 2-diazonaphthalenone -5-sulfonyl chloride at 77K yields the respective indeno- ketenes which were identified by ultra-violet and infra-red spectroscopy.     

Scale size of magnetic turbulence in tokamaks probed with 30-MeV electrons

Measurements of synchrotron radiation emitted by 30-MeV runaway electrons in the TEXTOR-94 tokamak show that the runaway population decays after switching on neutral beam injection (NBI). The decay starts only with a significant delay, which decreases with increasing NBI heating power. This delay provides direct evidence of the energy dependence of runaway confinement, which is expected if magnetic modes govern the loss of runaways. Application of the theory by Mynick and Strachan [Phys. Fluids 24, 695 (1981)] yields estimates for the "mode width" (delta) of magnetic perturbations: delta<0.5 cm in Ohmic discharges, increasing to delta = 4.4 cm for 0. 6 MW NBI.     

Molecular mobility in polymer thin films

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching was used to measure in-plane dye-probe diffusion coefficients, D, in thin films of monodisperse polystyrene supported on fused quartz substrates. The substrates were prepared with a high density of surface hydroxyl groups which interact favorably with repeat units of the polymer. The effects of temperature and film thickness were investigated, at temperatures above the bulk glass transition of the polymer, T(g), and in the range of film thicknesses from 1-10(2) times the radius of gyration (R(g)) of individual polymer molecules. As the film thickness decreases towards R(g) the value of D increases above the bulk values, with significant effects first appearing in films approximately 20R(g). In the thinnest films studied, about 4R(g), the values of D lie as much as two orders over bulk values. At the same time, the temperature dependence of D becomes much weaker than in bulk. Analysis by free volume theory indicates that apparent values of both T(g) and the thermal expansion coefficient for liquid state, alpha(L), decrease as the film thickness decreases. The possible effects of surface segregation of the dye probe are discussed.     

Geometric and Topological Thinking in Organic Chemistry

The beginning student of organic chemistry is often bewildered by what appears to be an enormous maze of random structural variations and reactions that can be mastered only by tedious memorization. To the organic chemist, however, the same subject is often a beautifully ordered discipline of elegant simplicity. An important value of learning organic chemistry is the mastering of “organic thinking,” an approach to intellectual processing whereby the “sameness” of many families of structures and reactions is revealed. This article offers the author's personal views of organic thinking and explores the intellectual and scientific foundations of organic chemistry and of the powerful methods that provide the field with a platform for making rapid conceptual and experimental advances. It is proposed that these methods involve a geometric and topological approach to scientific reasoning within the framework of scientific paradigms that guide experimental design and execution. The basis of this approach is considered in relation to day-to-day thinking, problem solving, and the psychological drive for intellectual closure. The power of the approach is illustrated by the analysis of several photochemical and chemiluminescent reactions.