A search for fractional electric charge in sea water

The magnetic levitation technique has been used to test for fractional electric charge in sea water, using steel balls coated with sea water residue by evaporation. The objective was to reach concentration levels below 1 g^?1 which might result from cosmic ray interactions. Four stages of increasing sensitivity are reported: (1) residue from direct evaporation of unprocessed sea water, (2) residue from sea water samples enriched by ion exchangen, (3) residue reduced by high temperature evaporation, and (4) hypothetical enrichment by dilution and separation of soluble residue. Stages 1–3 are based on the generally accepted preferential retention of fractional charge during evaporation, but stage 4 limits are subject to uncertainties in the enrichment process. No evidence for fractional charge was found in a total of about 130 samples tested in these four stages. Samples containing positive and negative ions were tested separately, and concentration limits are reported for each of the stages. Levels in the region 0.01–0.1g^?1 were reached in stage 3, and 0.001 g^?1 in stage 4.     

Hysteretic spin-density-wave ordering in confined geometries

We have measured the antiferromagnetic spin-density-wave (SDW) order in Cr/Cr(97.5)Mn2.5(001) superlattices. The Mn doping creates a high Néel temperature layer that confines the incommensurate SDW order within the Cr layers. With temperature cycling we observe a transition from commensurate to incommensurate SDW order and discrete changes in the SDW period. We find that these transitions show significant hysteresis (up to 75 K) when the number of SDW nodes within the Cr layer changes by an odd number, while there is no hysteresis for changes of an even number of nodes. This results from the competition between maintaining the spin structure at the interfaces and introducing a spin slip at the nodes of the Cr SDW.     

Measurement of the charging of individual dust grains in a plasma

An experiment is described for investigating the charging of dust grains in a plasma. The apparatus is a double plasma device into which single dust grains are dropped from the top. The dust charge is detected and measured by a sensitive electrometer attached to a Faraday cup on the bottom. Experiments with electrons from the emissive filaments but without plasma indicate that the grains charge to approximately the filament potential for filament bias voltages smaller in absolute value than -70 V. The charge is of order 10⁶ electrons for SiC grains 30-150 μm in diameter. At higher bias voltage the charge is reduced due to secondary emission. The charge on grains increases with grain size and is nearly independent of the filament emission current. With plasma in the device, the grains charge both positively and negatively     

Identification of 180Pb

The α decay of the new isotope ¹⁸⁰Pb was observed in ⁴⁰Ca bombardments of ¹⁴⁴Sm: E _α = 7.23(4) MeV, and, \({T_{1/2}} = \left( {4_{ - 2}^{ + 4}} \right){\text{ ms}}\) . With this decay energy and the known mass of ¹⁷⁶Hg, the mass excess of ¹⁸⁰Pb was calculated to be ?1.98(5) MeV.     

A model for the shell current in a reversed field pinch

A model for the shell current in a reversed field pinch which includes the current induced by the motion of the plasma is discussed. This model gives a good approximation to the magnitude and time dependence of a shell current measured experimentally     

Intensity stabilisation of an argon laser using an electro-optic modulator —Performance and limitations

An intensity-stabilisation system for an argon laser using an electro-optic modulator is described. We achieved a degree of stabilisation of up to 40 dB (factor of 100) for intensity fluctuations below a few kHz. The performance in this frequency range did not reach that expected from the available loop gain. We have identified two serious limiting factors to the performance of our system at low frequency: geometrical fluctuations and frequency fluctuations of the laser light.     

Catalyst patterning methods for surface-bound chemical vapor deposition of carbon nanotubes

We present three different catalyst preparation and patterning techniques for plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of carbon nanostructures from acetylene and ammonia mixtures. The different merits and potential areas of application are highlighted for each technique as compared to the benchmark of e-beam-lithography patterning. Maskless, focused ion beam written Pt can nucleate aligned carbon nanofibers, thereby allowing a sub-100 nm lateral resolution on non-planar substrate geometries combined with an in-situ monitoring. Ion beam milling additionally enables the pre-shaping and marking of the substrate, which is shown for the growth of individual nanofibers on the apex of commercial scanning probe tips. Pulsed electrochemical deposition was used to form Ni and Fe catalyst islands of controlled size and density. This is also demonstrated on complex substrate geometries such as carbon cloth. Nanocontact printing was employed to deposit a highly purified Co colloid in regular patterns with feature sizes down to 100 nm onto silicon wafers for low cost patterning over large areas. We analyze the catalyst restructuring upon exposure to elevated temperatures for each technique and relate this to the nucleated nanofiber dimensions and array densities. The flexibility in catalyst and substrate material allows a transfer of our achievements to catalyst-assisted growth of nanostructures in general facilitating their hierarchical device integration and future application. PACS 81.16.Rf; 81.16.Hc; 61.46.+w     

Efficient carbonylation reactions in phosphonium salt ionic liquids: anionic effects

Application of phosphonium salt ionic liquids in the carbonylation of aryl and vinyl halides is presented. Anionic effects were uncovered with the bromide ionic liquid emerging as the superior media. Acid bromide intermediates were detected in control experiments providing an extended view on the overall catalytic cycle involved. Solvent-free product isolation and recycling of the ionic liquid containing active Pd-catalyst are also demonstrated.