Using multi-exposure of color fringes to measure the beating motion of a moth

A multi-exposure of color fringes method has been developed to improve the capture speed of a conventional color CCD camera. In the method, four groups of projected fringe patterns encoded with different colors and different directions are stored in one CCD frame. Therefore the capture frequency of the conventional CCD can be improved to 200 Hz. It is available to measure the insect wings with low beating frequency, such as dragonfly, moth, or butterfly, whose beating frequency is about 30–40 Hz. We have used the method to measure the beating motion of a moth successfully.     

Surface profile measurement of low-frequency vibrating objects using temporal analysis of fringe pattern

A simple and accurate algorithm (phase scanning method) is proposed for 3D surface contouring and dynamic response determination of a vibrating object. A sinusoidal fringe pattern is projected onto a low-frequency vibrating object by a programmable liquid crystal display projector. The fringe patterns are captured by a high-speed CCD camera with a telecentric gauging lens. Phase values are evaluated point by point using phase scanning method. From the phase values of each point on the object, the contour of the specimen at different instants of vibration can be retrieved. In this paper, a small vibrating coin is used to demonstrate the validity of the method and the experimental results are compared with test results on a stationary coin using four-step phase shifting and fast Fourier transform methods. The technique is especially useful in applications where the vibrating object has a complicated shape.     

Analysis of heterojunction resonant cavity-enhanced Schottky photodiodes by using two-valley transport model

The article concerns heterojunction resonant cavity-enhanced (RCE) Schottky photodiodes with GaAs in the absorption layer. The quantum efficiency and linear pulse response have thoroughly been analysed. For the first time, the response of a heterojunction photodiode has been modelled by the phenomenological model for a two-valley semiconductor. The results obtained have shown that the satellite valleys, as well as the parasitic time constant, significantly influence the response and, accordingly, have to be taken into account when analysing and optimizing RCE photodetectors.     

Are the pyrazolines formed from the reaction of [60]fullerene with alkyl diazoacetates unstable?

[60]Fullerene-fused pyrazolines 1 were prepared by the reaction of C₆₀ with alky diazoacetates under the solid-state high-speed vibration milling conditions as well as in toluene solution. Pyrazolines 1 were stable in refluxing toluene and its thermolysis process in 1,2-dichlorobenzene was investigated, the decomposition rates and activation energies of pyrazolines 1 were obtained. The current work demonstrated that the liquid-phase reaction of C₆₀ with alkyl diazoacetates undergoes via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition pathway at room temperature, or proceeds via carbene mechanism at a temperature of refluxing toluene, thus clarifies the previous ambiguity of its reaction mechanism.     

The use of high-speed differential scanning calorimetry (Hyper-DSC™) to study the thermal properties of carbamazepine polymorphs

The thermal properties of two polymorphs of the drug carbamazepine, Forms I and III, were studied using high-speed differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Previously, accurate determination of the heat enthalpy of fusion of Form III has not been possible using DSC at typical heating rates, due to concurrent exothermic recrystallisation to the higher-melting Form I. Here, it is demonstrated that heating rates of 250° C/min altered the kinetics of the melting transition of Form III such that this concurrent exothermic recrystallisation was inhibited. This allowed direct measurement of the enthalpy of the melting endotherm for Form III from a single transition. The enthalpy of this transition was found to be 109.5 J/g. Further investigations were then performed to test the utility of this technique in quantifying relative amounts of Forms I and III in mixtures of the two polymorphs. It was demonstrated that a limit of detection of 1% (w/w) was possible in this system. However, accurate quantification was not possible due to seeding effects initiating recrystallisation to Form I in these mixtures, even at these elevated heating rates. The utility of this novel technique as a fast analytical tool for studying the polymorphic behaviour of metastable polymorphs has been successfully demonstrated.     

STRUCTURE EVOLUTION OF POLYMER CHAINS FOR NECKING FORMATION IN HIGH-SPEED FIBER SPINNING PROCESS

Finite element method is used to simulate the high-speed melt spinning process,based on the equation system proposed by Doufas et al.Calculation predicts a neck-like deformation,as well as the related profiles of velocity,diameter, temperature,chain orientation,and crystallinity in the fiber spinning process.Considering combined effects on the process such as flow-induced crystallization,viscoelasticity,filament cooling,air drag,inertia,surface tension and gravity,the simulated material flow behaviors are consistent with those observed for semi-crystalline polymers under various spinning conditions.The structure change of polymer coils in the necking region described by the evolution of conformation tensor is also investigated.Based on the relaxation mechanism of macromolecules in flow field different types of morphology change of polymer chains before and in the neck are proposed,giving a complete prospect of structure evolution and crystallization of semi-crystalline polymer in the high speed fiber spinning process.     

Versatile wideband balanced detector for quantum optical homodyne tomography

We present a comprehensive theory and an easy to follow method for the design and construction of a wideband homodyne detector for time-domain quantum measurements. We show how one can evaluate the performance of a detector in a specific time-domain experiment based on the electronic spectral characteristic of that detector. We then present and characterize a high-performance detector constructed using inexpensive, commercially available components such as low-noise high-speed operational amplifiers and high-bandwidth photodiodes. Our detector shows linear behavior up to a level of over 13 dB clearance between shot noise and electronic noise, in the range from DC to 100 MHz. The detector can be used for measuring quantum optical field quadratures both in the continuous-wave and pulsed regimes with standard commercial mode-locked lasers.     

Infrared evidence for the folded-chain model of trans-1,4-polybutadiene

The influence of the first-order crystalline transformation at about 60°C on the infrared bands of trans-1,4-polybutadiene yields microscopic information that supports the two-component microcrystalline model of a folded chain having loose and tight end loops at the lamellar surfaces. The temperature dependence of the band parameters of the 908-cm^?1 vinyl band indicates that 1,2-(side vinyl) units are not easily taken into the crystalline component, thus forming long loops at the crystal surface that account for the micro-Brownian motion detected in the low-temperature phase. The results argue that infrared band parameters are excellent probes for details of the thermodynamics and morphology of polymers.