Dynamic Poynting coupling

Summary Plane wave propagation in a compressible isotropic hyperelastic material is treated. Emphasis is on the Poynting coupling, which is analysed in a linear and a weakly nonlinear approximation for a statically predeformed material. Unidirectional and resonating waves in the material with and without predeformation are described. Received 24 November 1997; accepted for publication 11 March 1998     

Temporal weights in the level discrimination of time-varying sounds

To determine how listeners weight different portions of the signal when integrating level information, they were presented with 1-s noise samples the levels of which randomly changed every 100 ms by repeatedly, and independently, drawing from a normal distribution. A given stimulus could be derived from one of two such distributions, a decibel apart, and listeners had to classify each sound as belonging to the "soft" or "loud" group. Subsequently, logistic regression analyses were used to determine to what extent each of the ten temporal segments contributed to the overall judgment. In Experiment 1, a nonoptimal weighting strategy was found that emphasized the beginning, and, to a lesser extent, the ending of the sounds. When listeners received trial-by-trial feedback, however, they approached equal weighting of all stimulus components. In Experiment 2, a spectral change was introduced in the middle of the stimulus sequence, changing from low-pass to high-pass noise, and vice versa. The temporal location of the stimulus change was strongly weighted, much as a new onset. These findings are not accounted for by current models of loudness or intensity discrimination, but are consistent with the idea that temporal weighting in loudness judgments is driven by salient events.     

Two new [Ni(tren)2]2+ complexes: [Ni(tren)2]Cl2 and [Ni(tren)2]WS4

Both title compounds, bis­[tris(2‐amino­ethyl)­amine]­nickel(II) dichloride, [Ni(tren)₂]Cl₂, (I), and bis­[tris(2‐amino­ethyl)­amine]­nickel(II) tetra­thio­tungstate, [Ni(tren)₂]WS₄, (II), contain the [Ni(tren)₂]²⁺ cation [tren is tris(2‐amino­ethyl)­amine, C₆H₁₈N₄]. The tren mol­ecule acts as a tridentate ligand around the central Ni atom, with the remaining primary amine group not bound to the central atom. In (I), Ni²⁺ is located on a centre of inversion surrounded by one crystallographically independent tren mol­ecule. In the [Ni(tren)₂]²⁺ cation of (II), the Ni atom is bound to two crystallographically independent tren mol­ecules. The Ni atoms in the [Ni(tren)₂]²⁺ complexes are in a distorted octahedral environment consisting of six N atoms from the chelating tren mol­ecules. The counter‐ions are chloride anions in (I) and the tetrahedral [WS₄]^2? anion in (II). Hydro­gen bonding is observed in both compounds.     

Psychoacoustic correlates of individual noise sensitivity

In environmental noise surveys, self-reported noise sensitivity, a stable personality trait covering attitudes toward a wide range of environmental sounds, is a major predictor of individual noise-annoyance reactions. Its relationship to basic measures of auditory functioning, however, has not been systematically explored. Therefore, in the present investigation, a sample of 61 unselected listeners was subjected to a battery of psychoacoustic procedures ranging from threshold determinations to loudness scaling tasks. No significant differences in absolute thresholds, intensity discrimination, simple auditory reaction time, or power-function exponents for loudness emerged, when the sample was split along the median into two groups of "low" vs "high" noise sensitivity on the basis of scores obtained from a psychometrically evaluated questionnaire [Zimmer and Ellermeier, Diagnostica 44, 11-20 (1998)]. Small, but systematic differences were found in verbal loudness estimates, and in ratings of the unpleasantness of natural sounds, thus suggesting that self-reported noise sensitivity captures evaluative rather than sensory aspects of auditory processing.     

Using beamforming and binaural synthesis for the psychoacoustical evaluation of target sources in noise

The potential of spherical-harmonics beamforming (SHB) techniques for the auralization of target sound sources in a background noise was investigated and contrasted with traditional head-related transfer function (HRTF)-based binaural synthesis. A scaling of SHB was theoretically derived to estimate the free-field pressure at the center of a spherical microphone array and verified by comparing simulated frequency response functions with directly measured ones. The results show that there is good agreement in the frequency range of interest. A listening experiment was conducted to evaluate the auralization method subjectively. A set of ten environmental and product sounds were processed for headphone presentation in three different ways: (1) binaural synthesis using dummy head measurements, (2) the same with background noise, and (3) SHB of the noisy condition in combination with binaural synthesis. Two levels of background noise (62, 72 dB SPL) were used and two independent groups of subjects (N=14) evaluated either the loudness or annoyance of the processed sounds. The results indicate that SHB almost entirely restored the loudness (or annoyance) of the target sounds to unmasked levels, even when presented with background noise, and thus may be a useful tool to psychoacoustically analyze composite sources.     

Resonant wave motion in a non-homogeneous system

A nonlinear theory of resonant wave motion in an inhomogeneous system (arising from different mechanical applications) is considered. Depending on the magnitude of the influence of inhomogeneity two different situations are encountered. The system may behave either as a nonlinear one-degree-of-freedom oscillator exhibiting a response curve with either soft or hard spring behaviour or for a sufficiently small influence of inhomogeneity, there are periodic shock waves in a certain frequency band about the linear resonance frequency, a phenomenon that is familiar from homogeneous systems like a gas filled tube being excited close to resonance.     

Weakly nonlinear magnetohydrodynamic wave motion

One-dimensional magnetchydrodynamic (mhd) waves are treated including nonlinearity up to the second order in the wave amplitude; particular emphasis is on the effects of the diffusivity of the electromagnetic field on plane wave propagation. Unidirectional propagation is either governed by an equation of the Varley-Rogers type in the high frequency limit or by the Burgers equation in the low frequency limit. External resonant excitation in a finite layer leads to equations well known from resonance in various other physical systems.     

Solvothermal Syntheses, Crystal Structures, and Properties of New [Mn( dien )2]2+ Complexes

 The two new compounds Mn(dien)₂[MoS₄] (1) and Mn(dien)₂[Mo₂O₂S₆] (2) (dien = diethylenetriamine) were prepared under solvothermal conditions. Both compounds were obtained as phase-pure products. The structures consist of new [Mn(dien)₂]²⁺ cations and isolated tetrahedral [MoS₄]²⁻ (1) or [Mo₂O₂S₆]²⁻ (2) anions. Between the anions and the cations, hydrogen bonding is observed. Compound 1 crystallizes in the tetragonal space group I (a = 10.219(2), c = 9.259(2) ?, Z = 2), whereas 2 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c (a = 8.703(2), b = 18.390(4), c = 14.603(3) ?, β = 103.18(3)°, Z = 4). The thermal behaviour of the thiomolybdates was investigated using difference thermoanalysis (DTA) and thermogravimetry (TG). Both compounds decompose under argon with a single endothermic signal in the DTA curve (peak maximum: 252 (1) and 242°C (2)).     

Solvothermal Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Properties of the New Oxothiomolybdate Ni(dien)2[Mo2O2S6]

Summary.  The reaction of NiCl₂ · 6H₂O, Na₂MoO₄ ċ 2H₂O, and sulfur in a mixture of diethylenetriamine and 0.2 M ammonia solution (1:4) under solvothermal conditions leads to the formation of orange-red crystals of the oxothiomolybdate Ni(dien)₂[Mo₂O₂S₆] (dien = diethylenetriamine) in nearly 100% yield. The structure consists of [Ni(dien)₂]²⁺ cations and discrete dimeric [Mo₂O₂S₆]²⁻ anions. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c (a = 8.726(2), b = 18.111(4), c = 14.419(3) ?, β = 101.686(3)°). Upon heating the compound decomposes in a single step starting at about 250°C. The final decomposition product was identified by X-ray powder diffractometry as MoS₂ and Ni₃S₂. Spectroscopic data as well as detailed synthetic procedures for Ni(dien)₂[Mo₂O₂S₆] are reported. Received November 6, 2000. Accepted November 17, 2000