The effects of acoustic flow and mechanical flow on the sonochemical efficiency in a rectangular sonochemical reactor

Visualization of cavitation behavior in a rectangular sonochemical reactor at 490 kHz was carried out by a laser sheet technique and the distribution of liquid flow was measured by a laser Doppler velocimeter. The pattern of liquid flow and distribution of acoustic pressure of the rectangular sonochemical reactor were investigated as a function of the input power from 10 to 50 W. The liquid moved upward above the transducer at every power. As increasing the input power, the random flow out side the cylindrical part above the transducer changed into the convective one and the region of the visualized standing wave which was formed in the cylindrical part changed with the input power. The position showing the sonochemical luminescence exists inside or near the region where the standing wave was visualized. Introduction of a stirrer resulted in disturbance of liquid flow and expanded the position showing the sonochemical luminescence, but the luminescence intensity was weakened. The sonochemical efficiency was enhanced by about twice by introduction of the stirrer. From these results, we discussed the effects of liquid flow on sonochemical efficiency with and without a stirrer.     

Mode-coupling study on the dynamics of hydrophobic hydration II: Aqueous solutions of benzene and rare gases

The dynamic properties of both the solute and solvent of the aqueous solution of benzene, xenon and neon are calculated by the mode-coupling theory for molecular liquids based on the interaction-site model. The B-coefficients of the reorientational relaxation and the translational diffusion of the solvent are evaluated from their dependence on the concentration of the solute, and the reorientational relaxation time of water within the hydration shell is estimated based on the two-state model. The reorientational relaxation times of water in the bulk and within the hydration shell, that of solute, and the translational diffusion coefficients of solute and solvent, are calculated at 0-30 degrees C. The temperature dependence of these dynamic properties is in qualitative agreement with that of NMR experiment reported by Nakahara et al. (M. Nakahara, C. Wakai, Y. Yoshimoto and N. Matubayasi, J. Phys. Chem., 1996, 100, 1345-1349, ref. 36), although the agreement of the absolute values is not so good. The B-coefficients of the reorientational relaxation times for benzene, xenon and neon solution are correlated with the hydration number and the partial molar volume of the solute. The proportionality with the latter is better than that with the former. These results support the mechanism that the retardation of the mobility of water is caused by the cavity formation of the solute, as previously suggested by us (T. Yamaguchi, T. Matsuoka and S. Koda, J. Chem. Phys., 2004, 120, 7590-7601, ref. 34), rather than the conventional one that the rigid hydration structure formed around the hydrophobic solute reduces the mobility of water.     

Dynamics of ultrasonically induced birefringence of in rod-like colloidal solutions

This review summarized our experimental studies of ultrasonically induced birefringence on aqueous solution of rigid rod-like colloids and rod-like micelles from the view point of dynamics of particle orientation. For rigid rod-like colloids in dilute concentration, the orientational relaxation time was described in terms of the Debye–Einstein equation. This indicated that the ultrasonically induced birefringence could be one of useful tools for determining the size of particles of anisotropic shape. For rod-like micelles, the birefringence showed anomalous damping oscillation when the rod-like micelle was in an entangling state. The mechanism of damping oscillation was discussed using the results of the rheological measurements.     

Interaction of Near-Field Light with Ordered Polystyrene Spheres: Experimental Studies

We have experimentally observed the interaction of near-field light excited in a total internal reflection geometry with a periodic two-dimensional array of polystyrene spheres. The angular- and frequencyscanned attenuated-total-reflection (ATR) method was employed to observe the interaction. ATR spectra indicate that there is an easy axis and a difficult axis for the light propagation. When light is incident toward the easy axis, resonant dips appear in the ATR spectra. The experimental results were compared with those obtained by finite-difference time-domain analysis. The numerical results obtained by this method are able to explain a part of the experimental ones. Parts of the dips in the ATR spectra were considered to stem from propagating and whispering-gallery (WG) modes. That is, the propagation of the WG-modes over several spheres may enhance the coupling between the spheres and the incident light, and consequently may induce resonant structures in the ATR spectra.This paper was originally presented at the 5th International Conference on NEAR FIELD OPTICS and RELATED TECHNOLOGIES (NFO-5), which was held on December 6–10, 1998 at Coganoi Bay Hotel, Shirahama, Japan, in cooperation with the Japan Society of Applied Physics and Mombusho Grant-in Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas “Nearfield Nano-optics” Project, sponsored by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.     

Automatic sensitivity analysis of kinetic mechanisms

An algorithm for the automatic sensitivity analysis of kinetic mechanisms based on the Fourier amplitude sensitivity test (FAST) method of Shuler and co-workers is reported. The algorithm computes a measure of the relative sensitivity of each concentration to each parameter of interest, such as rate constants, Arrhenius parameters, stoichiometric coefficients, and initial concentrations. Arbitrary variations in the magnitude of the parameters are allowable. The algorithm is illustrated for the simple example of computing the sensitivity of the concentration of species A to variation of the two Arrhenius parameters for the hypothetical reaction A + A →.     

Time-reversal symmetry-breaking superconductivity in heavy-fermion PrOs4Sb12 detected by muon-spin relaxation

We report on muon-spin relaxation measurements of the 4f(2)-based heavy-fermion superconductor filled-skutterudite Pr(Os4Sb12. The results reveal the spontaneous appearance of static internal magnetic fields below the superconducting transition temperature, providing unambiguous evidence for the breaking of time-reversal symmetry in the superconducting state. A discussion is made on which of the spin or orbital component of Cooper pairs carries a nonzero momentum.     

Synchrotron radiation spectroscopy of quasi-one-dimensional materials

The optical reflectivity spectra of quasi-one-dimensional polymers (SN)_x, trans-(CH)_x, and polydiacetylene are investigated in an energy range from 1 to 25 eV by use of synchrotron radiation. Observed structures associated with π-electron states are interpreted in terms of the quasi-one-dimensional one-electron bands calculated by the LCAO -type model.