Some remarks on the equatorial sporadicE layer at kodaikanal

It is shown that the sporadicE layer at an equatorial station is not always of the commonly known equatorial (q) type Es. Broadly there occur two types of Es at a station near the magnetic equator,viz., (i) diffuseq type and (ii) multiple or blanketing (b) type. The latter may be of diffuse type or of thin layer type. The Es-b is due to highly dense cloud of ions which are localised, whereas Es-q occurs over an extended area at any time. The effect of counter-electrojet is seen on both the types of Es layers. The disappearance of sporadicE during counter-electrojet is valid for only theq type of Es, but sometimes Es-b may occur during periods of very weak or reversed electrojet. It is suggested that published equatorial Es data should be used with caution unless the type of Es is also indicated. The plausible causes of the sudden disappearance of Es-q on some occasions and the appearance of Es-b during others are suggested.     

The disappearance of equatorial E s and the reversal of electrojet current

Based on simultaneous observations of the horizontal geomagnetic field component H, sporadic E (E _s ) and E-W electron drifts at stations close to the dip equator within the equatorial electrojet region, it has been found that on quiet days and sometimes on disturbed days, when there is an abnormal large decrease in H during daytime, there is a simultaneous disappearance of E _s and a reversal of the direction of drift of electrons from westward to eastward. This suggests that the disappearance of equatorial E _s during day-time is due to a temporary reversal of the electrojet current, which is caused by the imposition of an additional electrostatic field opposite in direction to that of normal S _a field.     

The effect of polar magnetic sub-storms on the equatorial sporadic E

It is known that equatorial sporadic E disappears at night when dynamo field is east to west. During some DP₂ type magnetic sub-storms, which cause a depression of the geomagnetic horizontal field at the equator, theq type of sporadic E is found to disappear at the equatorial stations Huancayo and Kodaikanal. This suggests that one of the mechanisms causing the temporary disappearance of E _s —q during daytime in equatorial ionograms is the replacement of the east to west dynamo electric field by a west to east electric field due to the imposition of an electric field opposing the normal daytime S _q field.     

EquatorialE region electric fields — longitudinal differences in diurnal reversal times

The times of reversal of east-west electrostatic field in the ionosphere near the equator in the Indian zone have been estimated from the measurements of ionospheric drift at Thumba. The reversal of electric field in the morning from westward to eastward is delayed with respect to the sunrise at 100 km by 1.5 hr during winter and by about 3 hr during summer months. The reversal in the evening from eastward to westward occurs around 2100 hrs,i.e., well after sunset during winter months and around 16–17 hrs,i.e., well before sunset during summer months. The electric field in the American zone is known to reverse 1–2 hr after the sunrise and sunset at 100 km; the duration of daytime eastward electric field varies with season between 12 and 16 hr. In the Indian zone, duration of the eastward field during the J months is only 8 hr. These longitudinal differences in the reversal times of electrostatic field are suggested to be the cause of longitudinal differences in the equatorial ionosphere,viz., high incidence of blanketing sporadicE layer in the Indian zone and the longitudinal differences in the occurrence of spreadF.     

Range and frequency spreadF at Huancayo

The mean occurrence of frequency type of spreadF at Huancayo has been shown to have practically no solar cycle dependence. The occurrence of range type of spreadF is shown to be inversely related to sunspot number. The range spread occurs mostly around 2100 LT for any of the solar epoch, while frequency spread has maximum occurrence between 2300 and 0000 LT in high sunspot years and between 0000 and 0100 LT in low sunspot years. The seasonal variation in the occurrence of either type of spreadF shows minimum in northern solstices (June months) and maximum occurrence in southern solstices (December months). The post-sunset rise ofF layer is most predominant during high sunspot years. These results point out the inadequacy of the theory of spreadF based entirely on the post-sunset upward rise of theF region after sunset.     

On associative curves. I

Acta Mathematica Hungarica -     

Kinetics and mechanism of solid-state reaction between bismuth(III) oxide and molybdenum(VI) oxide

The mechanism of the following solid-state reactions between bismuth(III) oxide and molybdenum(VI) oxide was investigated within the temperature range 400–650°C.

$\text{(i)}\text{Bi}{}_2\text{O}{}_3\text{+ MoO}{}_3\text{→ Bi}{}_2\text{MoO}{}_6\text{, (ii)}\text{Bi}{}_2\text{O}{}_3\text{+ 2MoO}{}_3\text{→ Bi}{}_2\text{MO}{}_2\text{O}{}_9\text{, (iii)}\text{Bi}{}_2\text{O}{}_3\text{+ 3MoO}{}_3\text{→ Bi}{}_2\text{(MOO}{}_4\text{)}{}_3\text{, (iv)}\text{Bi}{}_2\text{MoO}{}_6\text{+ MoO}{}_3\text{→ Bi}{}_2\text{MO}{}_2\text{O}{}_9\text{, (v)}\text{Bi}{}_2\text{Mo}{}_2\text{O}{}_9\text{+ MoO}{}_3\text{→ Bi}{}_2\text{(MoO}{}_{\mathrm{2)3}}\text{.}$

Two types of experiments, capillary and particle size, were performed to ascertain whether MoO₃ diffuses into Bi₂O₃ or vice versa. These show that molybdenum trioxide diffuses into bismuth oxide grains. If α is the fraction of molybdenum trioxide reacted, the kinetics in all five cases are found to be governed by the equation αⁿ = kt throughout the temperature range, where n and k are constants at a given temperature and t is the time. Both n and k are temperature dependent. The characteristic feature of these reactions is that they proceed to completion. Results are also fitted by the relation $\text{α = k}{}_2\text{t}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}\text{? k}{}_3\text{t}$, where k₂ and k₃ are constants, which shows that the reactions occur by bulk diffusion through grain boundary contacts. The number of grain boundary contact points decreases with time in the course of reaction.     

Photoelectric properties of pure and aluminium doped CdS films

Photoelectric properties of pure and Al doped vacuum deposited CdS films have been studied to explore the possibility of their application in photoactivated liquid crystal light valves. The effect of heat treatment in oxygen atmosphere, rate of deposition and the extent of Al doping, etc. on the resistivity, photo-response spectral characteristics, rise and decay time of photo-current, etc. have been investigated. It has been found that in contrast to pure CdS films, the properties of Al-doped films significantly depend on both the rate of deposition and the extent of Al doping. The dark resistivity in all cases was found to increase with heat treatment in oxygen. Unlike pure CdS films, Al doped films show photo-conductivity which is enhanced by heat treatment. Al doped films deposited at higher rates show better photo response even at lower light levels. At various light levels the rise and decay time of Al-doped films were found to be fairly constant and lower than that for pure CdS films. All these properties have been explained in terms of the presence of trapping levels due to doping. These trapping levels are also indicated by TSC, optical absorption and EPR studies.     

Additivity model study of EHT electron densities in some fluoro- and aza-substituted naphthalenes

It has been shown that a simple additivity model can be used quite successfully to predict EHT electron densities in a series of fluoro- and aza-substituted naphthalenes. The predicted electrondensities have been used to obtain good estimates of ¹H NMR chemical shifts in a series of aza-naphthalenes.