Melting behaviours of nickel nanorods

We report the synthesis and measurement of an ultra-precise and extremely stable optical frequency in the telecommunications window around 1543 nm. Using a fibre-based femtosecond frequency comb we have phase-stabilised a fibre laser at 194 THz to an optical frequency standard at 344 THz, thus transferring the properties of the optical frequency standard to another spectral region. Relative to the optical frequency standard, the synthesised frequency at 194 THz is determined to within 1 mHz and its fractional frequency instability is measured to be less than 2×10^-15 at 1 s, reaching 5× 10^-18 after 8000 s. We also measured the synthesised frequency against a caesium fountain clock: here the frequency comparison itself contributes less than 4 mHz (2×10^-17) to the uncertainty. Our results confirm the suitability of fibre based frequency comb technology for precision measurements and frequency synthesis, and enable long-distance comparison of optical clocks by using optical fibres to transmit the frequency information.     

An integrated optical coupler used in a fibre interferometry system for on-line surface measurements

In this paper, an integrated optical (IO) coupler produced using the technique of silica-on-silicon was described. A fibre interferometry system using the IO coupler was then developed and its performance was tested. The environmental noise and disturbances in this system were reduced significantly after combining a reference interferometer and an all fibre polarisation scrambler so as to produce good stability and repeatability. Furthermore, the measurement mirror was mounted on a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) and disturbances were introduced in the system in order to simulate on-line surface measurements. Both a commercial fibre and the IO couplers were compared using this method. Better experimental results were achieved when the system using the IO coupler than using the fibre one.     

Bragg grating writing through the polyimide coating of high NA optical fibres with femtosecond IR radiation

Bragg gratings are written with ultrafast 800 nm radiation and a phase mask through the polyimide polymer coatings of commercially available high NA fibres that are both unloaded and loaded with high pressure hydrogen gas. For polyimide coated fibres with very high germanium core concentrations, index modulations greater than 1 × 10⁻⁴ are induced. Stable core index modulations 60% of their original value were present after 115 h at 500 °C.     

The behavior of capillary suspensions at diverse length scales: From single capillary bridges to bulk

Liquid-liquid-solid systems are becoming increasingly common in everyday life with many possible applications. Here, we focus on a special case of such liquid-liquid-solid systems, namely, capillary suspensions. These capillary suspensions originate from particles that form a network based on capillary forces and are typically composed of solids in a bulk liquid with an added secondary liquid. The structure of particle networks based on capillary bridges possesses unique properties compared with networks formed via other attractive interactions where these differences are inherently related to the properties of the capillary bridges, such as bridge breaking and coalescence between adjacent bridges. Thus, to tailor the mechanical properties of capillary suspensions to specific requirements, it is important to understand the influences on different length scales ranging from the dynamics of the bridges with varying external stimuli to the often heterogeneous network structure.     

Advances in stable and flexible perovskite solar cells

Roll-to-roll (R2R) production is an innovative approach and is fast becoming a very popular industrial method for high throughput and mass production of solar cells. Replacement of costly indium tin oxide (ITO), which conventionally has served as the transparent electrode would be a great approach for roll to roll production of flexible cost effective solar cells. Indium tin oxide (ITO) and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) are brittle and ultimately limit the device flexibility. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been the centre of photovoltaic research community during the recent years owing to its exceptional performance and economical prices. The best reported PSCs fabricated by employing mesoporous TiO₂ layers require elevated temperatures in the range of 400–500 °C which limits its applications to solely glass substrates. In such a scenario developing flexible PSCs technology can be considered a suitable and exciting arena from the application point of view, them being flexible, lightweight, portable, and easy to integrate over both small, large and curved surfaces.     

Use of grapevine cell cultures for the production of phytostilbenes of cosmetic interest

Plant cell cultures constitute pesticide-free sources for obtaining plant secondary metabolites or plant extracts. Additionally, they do not contain any fungal contaminants, mycotoxins or heavy metals providing to the consumer potential health benefits and justifying the development of this technology at an industrial scale. Significant production levels of these secondary metabolites can be obtained through the use of elicitors, which activate plant defense mechanisms. Resveratrol, a well-known grapevine polyphenolic compound which possesses potent antioxidant and antiaging activities as well as a protective action on skin, is a good example of such plant secondary metabolites. Resveratrol and its oligomeric derivatives are used by several companies of cosmetic products but their extraction from vine stems and similar vegetal sources remains difficult. Therefore grapevine cell suspensions could represent interesting systems for the large-scale bioproduction of those compounds. Here we present an update of the methods used for the production of phytostilbenes by using grapevine cell cultures and the results obtained.     

浓悬浮液中纳米SiO_2团聚体的渗透率

本文基于悬浮液中渗透性颗粒的短时扩散动力学理论,采用低相干光纤动态光散射方法,测量了相同粒径的纳米SiO_2团聚体在不同体积分数时的扩散系数,利用扩散系数随渗透率的变化关系得到纳米SiO_2团聚体的渗透率.结果表明:恒温条件下,具有一定渗透率的团聚体颗粒扩散得比硬球颗粒快.实验测量得到的团聚体渗透率与采用photoshop CS6对团聚体SEM图像进行处理计算得到的渗透率符合较好.     

The zeta potential of kaolin suspensions measured by electrophoresis and electroacoustics

The zeta potentials of kaolin dilute and concentrated suspensions were monitored using the techniques of electrophoresis and electroacoustics, respectively. The effect of addition of salt (KCl), a polymer material (Triton X-100), and an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate, SDS) on the suspension properties was investigated by electrophoresis. Electroacoustics was employed for the measurement of zeta potentials for the highest possible kaolin content in suspension and the effect of dilution. The effect of aging of a freshly prepared sample and kaolin isoelectric point was also studied. Using both techniques it was noted that there was no isoelectric point, just a maximum value in the magnitude of the kaolin suspension zeta potential. These maxima were observed also in the presence of Triton X-100 and SDS. An increase of the concentration of KCl and SDS in suspension shifted the maxima towards more acidic values, while in the presence of Triton X-100 the position of the zeta potential maxima remained constant. Electroacoustic techniques revealed that a freshly prepared concentrated suspension requires about six hours to equilibrate to achieve a steady zeta potential. Diluting the concentrated suspensions led to decrease of the zeta potential as ions bound to the surface desorbed and screened the surface charge. The zeta potential maxima remained unchanged even after heating the powder in an oven at 200°C (to remove any organic material) thereby suggesting that the most likely explanation for the maxima is isomorphic substitution.     

Geometry of the Aharonov–Bohm Effect

We show that the connection responsible for any Abelian or non-Abelian Aharonov–Bohm effect with n parallel “magnetic” flux lines in ℝ³, lies in a trivial G-principal bundle P→M, i.e. P is isomorphic to the product M×G, where G is any path connected topological group; in particular a connected Lie group. We also show that two other bundles are involved: the universal covering space , where path integrals are computed, and the associated bundle P× _G ℂ ^m →M, where the wave function and its covariant derivative are sections.     

Al-Mg MMH溶胶和钠土悬浮体的相互作用机理

通过流变参数、电泳淌度和pH值的测定,研究了无机盐(CaCl₂、KCl、NaCl)和pH值对铝镁混合金属氢氧化物与钠土悬浮体间相互作用的影响。发现随着混合金属氢氧化物含量的增加,钠土体系的pH值逐渐降低,而动切力(YP)先上升,经最大值后逐渐下降;当钠土体系为NaCl所饱和时,相同混合金属氢氧化物加量下YP的上升幅度明显减小,在实验混合金属氢氧化物浓度范围内,YP未出现峰值。混合金属氢氧化物/钠土体系的YP随pH值的变化曲线呈抛物线形,加入相同浓度的无机盐,△YP、△pH(绝对值)按CaCl₂KCl～NaCl次序递减。