Microwave heating of ceramic composites

The microwave heating of a ceramic composite is modelled andanalysed. The composite consists of many small ceramic particlesembedded in a ceramic cement. The composite is assumed to bewell insulated, and each particle is assumed to be in imperfectthermal contact with the surrounding cement. Based on thesetwo assumptions an asymptotic theory exploiting the small Biotnumber and small non-dimensional contact conductance is developed.Our asymptotic theory yields a set of nonlinear partial differentialequations which govern the temperature in the composite. Theseare reduced to a set of coupled nonlinear ordinary differentialequations in which the surface area of each particle entersas a parameter. Recent experiments with such composites haveshown that the steady-state temperature of the composite isstrongly dependent upon the radii of the embedded particles.Our model captures this effect. In fact, our analysis showsthat the assumption of imperfect thermal contact between theparticles and the ceramic cement is essential for this trendto be established.     

Effect of pressure on a heavy-atom isotope effect of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase

Hydrostatic pressure causes a monophasic decrease in the (13)C primary isotope effect expressed on the oxidation of benzyl alcohol by yeast alcohol dehydrogenase. The primary isotope effect was measured by the competitive method, using whole-molecule mass spectrometry. The effect is, therefore, an expression of isotopic discrimination on the kinetic parameter V/K, which measures substrate capture. Moderate pressure increases capture by activating hydride transfer, the transition state of which must therefore have a smaller volume than the free alcohol plus the capturing form of enzyme [Cho, Y.-K.; Northrop, D. B. Biochemistry 1999, 38, 7470-7475]. The decrease in the (13)C isotope effect with increasing pressure means that the transition state for hydride transfer from the heavy atom must have an even smaller volume, measured here to be 13 mL.mol(-1). The pressure data factor the kinetic isotope effect into a semiclassical reactant-state component, with a null value of k(12)/k(13) = 1, and a transition-state component of Q(12)/Q(13) = 1.028 (borrowing Bell's nomenclature for hydrogen tunneling corrections). A similar experiment involving a deuterium isotope effect previously returned the same volume and null value, plus a pressure-sensitive isotope effect [Northrop, D. B.; Cho, Y.-K. Biochemistry 2000, 39, 2406-2412]. Consistent with precedence in the chemical literature, the latter suggested a possibility of hydrogen tunneling; however, it is unlikely that carbon can engage in significant tunneling at ambient temperature. The fact that the decrease in activation volumes for hydride transfer is equivalent when one mass unit is added to the carbon end of a scissile C-H bond and when one mass unit is added to the hydrogen end is significant and suggests a common origin.     

Optical colours and polarization of a model reflection nebula

Simple models of a reflection nebula in the form of a plane-parallel slab containing smooth spherical solid particles in submicron size range have been considered. Single scattering has been assumed. The effect of varying the composition and size distribution function of the grains have been brought out in the calculations using Mie theory of scattering. The analytical part of the geometry of the problem has been treated quite rigorously and the resulting expression for nebular intensity has been presented in a somewhat new form. In this paper, the case of the star behind the nebula has been examined. A comparison of the theoretical results with the observations of the Merope nebula shows that the dirty ice grains with index of refraction about 1·3–0·1i and size parametera ₀ = 0·5μ give reasonable agreement with the colours. Simultaneously, the polarization in the visual and blue wavelength bands agree approximately up to offset angle of 6 minutes of arc. The larger offset angles pose an intriguing problem. The general trends of nebular colours and polarization with variation of real and imaginary parts of index of refraction and the size distribution parameter have been tabulated to serve as a guide for further study of reflection nebulae with the star in the rear. A part of this work was presented at the first scientific meeting of the Astronomical Society of India, held on 27 and 28 February 1974 at Hyderabad. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Ca0．80Zn0．20Te晶体的生长及性能研究

用本实验室合成的Ca0．80Zn0．20Te多晶料为原料，采用改进的布里奇曼法在镀碳和未镀碳的石英安瓿中生长出Ca0．80Zn0．20Te晶锭。使用X射线衍射仪对合成产物及晶锭进行了分析，生长晶体的X射线衍射峰尖锐，摇摆谱对称，表明晶锭的结晶性能较好；用IRPrestige-21红外光谱仪分析了晶体的红外透射光谱，测试结果表明安瓿镀碳后生长的晶体位错密度小，均匀性较好，电阻率优于未镀碳安瓿生长的晶体；晶体的蚀坑密度在10^3-10^4cm^-2之间，比未镀碳安瓿生长的晶体低1个数量级。     

Improved threshold diagnostic plots for extreme value analyses

A crucial aspect of threshold-based extreme value analyses is the level at which the threshold is set. For a suitably high threshold asymptotic theory suggests that threshold excesses may be modelled by a generalized Pareto distribution. A common threshold diagnostic is a plot of estimates of the generalized Pareto shape parameter over a range of thresholds. The aim is to select the lowest threshold above which the estimates are judged to be approximately constant, taking into account sampling variability summarized by pointwise confidence intervals. This approach doesn’t test directly the hypothesis that the underlying shape parameter is constant above a given threshold, but requires the user subjectively to combine information from many dependent estimates and confidence intervals. We develop tests of this hypothesis based on a multiple-threshold penultimate model that generalizes a two-threshold model proposed recently. One variant uses only the model fits from the traditional parameter stability plot. This is particularly beneficial when many datasets are analysed and enables assessment of the properties of the test on simulated data. We assess and illustrate these tests on river flow rate data and 72 series of significant wave heights.     

Die Bindungsform des Phosphors in der St?rke

Ohne Zusammenfassung