A new four-parameter empirical potential energy function for diatomic molecules

A new empirical four-parameter function is proposed for the construction of potential curves of 15 stable states of diatomic molecules. The parameters are evaluated in terms of experimentally known spectroscopic constants. On comparing its performance with other functions, the proposed function is found to be simple and reliable for a wide range of molecules.      

Intensity discrimination with gated and continuous sinusoids

Detectability of sinusoidal signals at several durations was measured in the presence of sinusoidal maskers of the same frequency. Maskers were either continuous or gated on and off with the signal. For all signal durations and both types of maskers, delta I/I varied with I raised to the -0.1 power, approximately. Psychometric functions were two or three times steeper with continuous than with gated maskers. Signal duration had only a small effect that varied with the masking condition.     

F-X and G-X systems of K2

Absorption spectra of K₂ in the UV region of 3480 Å to 3700 Å have been recorded in the second order of a 3.4 meter Ebert Spectrograph giving a reciprocal dispersion of 2.6 Å/mm. This region consisting of F-X and G-X band systems has been found to contain 37 new bands. The vibrational analysis is performed and the molecular constants are evaluated using computer methods.     

The Alexander-Orbach conjecture holds in high dimensions

We examine the incipient infinite cluster (IIC) of critical percolation in regimes where mean-field behavior has been established, namely when the dimension d is large enough or when d>6 and the lattice is sufficiently spread out. We find that random walk on the IIC exhibits anomalous diffusion with the spectral dimension d_s=frac43d_{s}=frac{4}{3} , that is, p _t (x,x)=t ^−2/3+o(1). This establishes a conjecture of Alexander and Orbach (J. Phys. Lett. (Paris) 43:625–631, 1982). En route we calculate the one-arm exponent with respect to the intrinsic distance.     

New chiral selenium electrophiles derived from functionalized terpenes

A convenient method for the synthesis of optically active dialkyl diselenides derived from bicyclic terpenes functionalized with hydroxy, etheral, sulfide, and selenide groups is described. The diselenides were used for a synthesis of chiral electrophilic selenium reagents, then in the asymmetric selenenylation of styrene and selenocyclization with o-allylphenol. The influence of nonbonding selenium-heteroatom interactions in the generated organoselenium electrophiles on the stereoselectivity of an addition reaction has been investigated. Calculations by a DFT method on a B3LYP (6-311G (d)) level, confirmed the existence of nonbonded selenium-heteroatom interactions in the investigated systems.     

Chemical durability of lead silicate glass in HNO3, HCl and H2SO4 aqueous acid solutions

Acid dissolution of silicate glasses with different lead contents was rigorously investigated. Aqueous solutions containing 0.5, 1, and 2 N HNO₃, HCl and H₂SO₄ were used to measure the durability of the glass probes. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and weight loss analyses were used to evaluate the morphological/compositional changes of the probes, the ash deposit, and the aqueous solutions produced due to the dissolution of the glass specimens. Empirical results showed that any increase in the lead content of the probes deteriorated the durability of the glasses by accelerating the hydrolysis of the silica network. ZrO₂ and TiO₂ additions had inverse effect and improved the chemical durability and the practical life-time of the lead glasses.