Etching of CaF2 single crystals in silica gels

Etching of {111} cleavage faces of CaF₂ crystals in aqueous solution of 50% HCl is carried out in citric acid set silica gel, and the kinetics of growth of etch pits at the sites of dislocations is investigated as a function of temperature, time of etching and height of gel column above the crystal surface. It is observed that the transient period required to initiate etch pit at the sites of a dislocation decreases (1) at particular temperature, with a decrease in gel height, and (2) for a particular gel height, with an increase in the temperature of etching. It is also observed that the morphology of dislocation etch pits remains triangular irrespective of the gel height and the temperature of etching. The results are compared with those of solution etching and discussed.     

An abnormalτ-meson decay

An unusual example of aτ ⁺-meson decay in nuclear emulsions is described. From the measurements made on the momenta and direction of the threeπ-mesons emitted, the event is interpreted as a decay of aτ-meson according to the scheme:

$$\tau ^ + \to \underline {\pi ^ + + \pi ^ + + \pi ^ - + \gamma } + Q$$     

Partial molar volumes of gases dissolved in liquids. Part II. A dilatometer for measuring infinite-dilution partial molar volumes,and results for 40 liquid-gas systems

A dilatometer with an imprecision of less than 0.4% is described for the determination of partial molar volumes of gases dissolved in liquids. Measurements at 298.15 K are reported for 40 liquid-gas systems having n-alkanes and 1-alkanols as the liquid component. The results are interpreted in terms of a number of empirical and semiempirical correlations.     

Evaluation of high energy natural neutrino experiments

The directional intensities of neutrinos of various types produced in the decay of cosmic ray secondaries in the earth’s atmosphere have been estimated. The calculated energy spectra are believed to be uncertain by <20% for neutrino energies up to 100 GeV. Using these fluxes and making various assumptions about the behaviour of neutrino cross-section with energy, the energy spectra of neutrino-induced muons at large depths underground have been calculated. It is shown that a cross-section increasing only linearly with energy up to ～ 100 GeV. would account only for about one-fifth of the preliminary counting rate observed in a recent underground experiment. A more rapid increase in cross-section is indicated somewhere between 10 GeV. and 100 GeV. and this is shown to be quantitatively consistent with the existence of a charged intermediate boson of mass 2 GeV. ～ M_w < 5 GeV. (However see the note added in proof.) The question of detecting high energy neutrino signals from extra-terrestrial sources is briefly discussed.     

Annealing of polymers in the solid-melt region. I. A new approach to estimate the equilibrium melting temperature of polymer crystals

An annealing scheme for semicrystalline polymers is presented whereby a polymer is annealed in its solid-melt region, leading to crystals approaching the equilibrium crystals in terms of melting temperature. The annealing data is mathematically treated to estimate the equilibrium melting temperature (T⁰_m) of polymer crystals. As is the case with any extrapolation procedure, there are minor shortcomings with our approach, but these are far outweighed by the advantages; the latter are exemplified by a comparison with the widely used Hoffman-Weeks method for estimating (T⁰_m). The validity of our annealing scheme for the estimation of (T⁰_m) is demonstrated by analysis of well-studied polymers such as nylon 6, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypivalolactone (PPL), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); other polymers studied include polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and nylon 4,6.     

Estimation of pure component properties: Part 3. Estimation of the vapor pressure of non-electrolyte organic compounds via group contributions and group interactions

A group contribution method for the estimation of the normal boiling point of non-electrolyte organic compounds, which was published earlier, has been the basis for development of subsequent physical property methods. In this work, the model was extended to enable the prediction of vapor pressure data with special attention to the low-pressure region. The molecular structure of the compound and a reference point, usually the normal boiling point, are the only required inputs and enables the estimation of vapor pressure at other temperatures by group contribution. The structural group definitions are similar to those proposed earlier for the normal boiling point, with minor modifications having been made to improve the predictions. Structural groups were defined in a standardized form and fragmentation of the molecular structures was performed by an automatic procedure to eliminate any arbitrary assumptions. The new method is based on vapor pressure data for more than 1600 components. The results of the new method are compared to the Antoine correlative equation using parameters stored in the Dortmund Data Bank, as well as, the DIPPR vapor pressure correlations. The group contribution method has proven to be a good predictor, with accuracies comparable to the correlations. Moreover, because the regression of group contributions was performed for a large number of compounds, the results can in several cases be considered more reliable than those of the correlative models that were regressed to individual components only. The range of the method is usually from about the triple or melting point to a reduced temperature of 0.75–0.8.     

Organobismuth(III) Derivatives of Sterically Hindered Bifunctional Tetradentate Schiff Bases: Synthesis and Spectroscopic Characterization

The equimolar reactions of Ph 3 Bi with the bifunctional tetradentate Schiff bases proceed with cleavage of two Bi--C bond of Ph 3 Bi and result in the formation of phenylbismuth(III) derivatives PhBi[RC(NC 6 H 4 S)CH 2 (NC 6 H 4 S)CCOOCH 3 ] where R = C 6 H 5 , 4-ClC 6 H 4 ,4-BrC 6 H 4 , and 4-CH 3 C 6 H 4 . Physico-chemical, IR, and NMR ( 1 H and 13 C) spectral studies have been carried out to investigate the structural aspect of these derivatives which reveal a penta coordination around the central Bi atom.     

Cytochrome c: Ascorbate reduction site and possible electron-transfer path

The ascorbate reduction reaction of the native and urea-perturbed forms, 0–8M urea, of horse heart ferricytochrome c is found to be a three-step process: a urea-dependent equilibrium step between a reducible and an irreducible form with a midconcentration of urea of 7.4M, a binding step with a binding constant of 5.9M^–1, and a reduction step with a urea-independent rate constant of 2.9 ± 0.3 s^–1 [J. Biol. Chem. 255 , 9666 (1980)]. The effect of adding urea, in addition to the generation of an irreducible form, is a slight lowering of the ascorbate-protein binding constant, 5.9 to 2.7M^–1, which is limited to the 0–5.5M concentration range. The thermodynamics of the ureadenaturation process also yields a three-step mechanism, N? X₁? X₂? D, with midconcentrations of urea of 2.5–3M, 6.2M, and 7.5M, respectively, where N, D, and the X_s are the native, the 9-M-urea, and the intermediate forms. The three processes are described as the loosening of the heme crevice opening, the solvent exposure of the polypeptide backbone, and the disruption of the tryptophan–porphyrin interactions, respectively [Biochemistry 19 , 199 (1980)]. The reaction of the protein with 2,3-butanedione, a group-specific reagent for the guanidinium groups and an electron donor for this protein, is inhibited in the presence of ascorbate, but only one of the two functional groups is involved [J. Biol. Chem. 255 , 11094 (1980)]. A correlation of kinetic and thermodynamic observations led to the conclusion that the ascorbate reduction of the protein is independent of the state of the heme crevice opening and of the polypeptide organized structures; instead, it is determined by the integrity of the tryptophan indole–porphyrin interactions. This information, when taken in conjunction with the selective inhibition of the reaction of the arginine side chains by ascorbate, establishes the binding site of ascrobate as one of the two arginyl side chains, and not the opening of the crevice or its vicinity. From the three-dimensional structure of the protein, and taking into consideration the variability of the protein sequence, it is suggested that Arg-38 is the ascorbate binding site, and that the electronic interaction between the indole of Trp-59 and the porphyrin moiety must constitute, at least in part, the electron-transfer path to heme iron.