Normal Coordinate Analysis of Pyridine-N-Oxide

We have been interested for some time in the study of the hydrogen bonded complexes in the far-infrared region with special attention to the adducts between phenol and pyridine-N-oxides (1). In such systems the intermolecular mode vσ was identified and some intramolecular vibrations related to the N-O group were observed to be remarkably shifted consequent on hydrogen bonding. In this context we wished to obtain a force field for the complex which could fit the observational results. Unfortunately for one of the constituents i. e. pyridine-N-oxide a force field, suitable for our purposes, was not available and therefore preliminarily we determined it. We report here the results of such analysis.     

Cooling-down of thermal thick probes after flash excitation – A measure for the real energy density?

Though flash lamps are one of the most applied heat sources in the field of Thermographic Testing (TT) using active thermography, only little is known about the actually achieved energy input into test objects. In this paper, an easy to realize sensor concept is proposed and experimentally evaluated. The concept is based on the measurement of the surface temperature of a thermal thick probe after flash excitation. After considering the sensor concept with FEM simulations the experimental investigation of four materials (two polymer and two building materials) is described. It will be shown that a suited coating is essential for the realization of the sensor concept. The experimental results prove the suitability of black rigid PVC as the most promising material. Using a coated PVC sample the energy density of short laser pulses, similar to flashes of flash lamps, could be determined exactly with an estimated relative uncertainty of only a few percent.     

Dielectric-Barrier Discharges: Their History, Discharge Physics, and Industrial Applications

Dielectric-barrier discharges (silent discharges) are used on a large industrial scale. They combine the advantages of non-equilibrium plasma properties with the ease of atmospheric-pressure operation. A prominent feature is the simple scalability from small laboratory reactors to large industrial installations with megawatt input powers. Efficient and cost-effective all-solid-state power supplies are available. The preferred frequency range lies between 1 kHz and 10 MHz, the preferred pressure range between 10 kPa and 500 kPa. Industrial applications include ozone generation, pollution control, surface treatment, high power CO₂ lasers, ultraviolet excimer lamps, excimer based mercury-free fluorescent lamps, and flat large-area plasma displays. Depending on the application and the operating conditions the discharge can have pronounced filamentary structure or fairly diffuse appearance. History, discharge physics, and plasma chemistry of dielectric-barrier discharges and their applications are discussed in detail.     

Photodynamic Therapy for Cancer Cells Using a Flash Wave Light Xenon Lamp

We determined photodynamic therapy (PDT) efficacy using a flash wave (FW) and a continuous wave (CW) light, of which the fluence rate was 70 W/cm², for murine thymic lymphoma cells (EL-4) cultivated in vitro. The irradiation frequency and the pulse width of the FW light were in the range of 1–32 Hz and less than one millisecond, respectively. 5-Aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX (ALA-PpIX) was used as a photosensitizer. When EL-4 with ALA administration was irradiated by the light for 4 h (irradiation fluence: 1.0J/cm²), the survival rate of EL-4 by the FW light was lower than that by the CW light, except for the FW light with irradiation frequency of 32 Hz, and decreased gradually with decreasing irradiation frequency. Moreover, the FW light, especially at lower irradiation frequency, was superior to the CW light for the generation of singlet oxygen in an aqueous PpIX solution. Therefore, thehigher PDT efficacy for EL-4 of the FW light would be caused by the greater generation of singlet oxygen in the cells.     

Continuum radiation spectroscopy in a high-pressure argon-mercury lamp

A primary study of the continuum emission from the arc of a high-intensity discharge (HID) lamp with an argon-mercury chemistry at pressures higher than is reported. Spectrally and spatially resolved calibrated continuum spectra from a vertically mounted test lamp (an MHN150 vessel filled at room temperature with 12 mg mercury and 400 mbar argon) are reported for the visible and infrared wavelength range 0.3-. These spectra were analyzed to quantify the infrared (IR) losses and to determine the temperature profile inside the lamp.     

GC analysis of gas in halogen lamps using a new sampling device

Summary A new type of gas sampling device was constructed to improve the analysis of the gas in halogen lamps. Low levels of gases such as O₂, CH₄, C₂H₄ and CH₃Br could be determined by the techniques worked out.     

Flame synthesis of carbon nanotubes for panel field emission lamp

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized on the surfaces of Ni-alloy plated Fe-wires with the diameter of 2 mm using a conventional laboratory ethanol (C₂H₅OH) flame method at 560 °C. SEM showed that the product had bush-shaped micron-structures with diameters from 100 to 450 nm and lengths of over 1.0 μm. TEM revealed that the micron-structures were composed of multi-walled nanotube bundles with the diameters of about 50 nm. The test on the diode configuration field emission of the Fe-wire arrays was performed. The onset electric field was 2.95 V/μm and the emission current can reach 50 mA/cm² at an electric field of 9 V/μm. The average fluctuation of the emission current density was less than 7%. The result suggests that the field emission was uniform and the present technique was feasible to fabricate Panel Field Emission Lamp (PFEL) with arrays of carbon nanotubes. PFEL has the advantages of high luminescence as well as stability, and thus, it can be used to replace ordinary lights.     

Investigations by various analytical techniques to the correct classification of archaeological finds and delineation of technological features: Late Roman lamps from Egnatia: From imports to local production

Late Roman oil lamps from the archaeological site of Egnatia (Fasano, Brindisi, Italy) were characterized from physical–chemical, mineralogical and morphological points of view. Atomic Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Diffraction analyses were carried out on ceramic body and coatings with the aim of identifying the provenance of lamps, in order to arrive at a correct archaeological classification of finds and to outline their technological features.The analytical results show that the finds differ in raw materials and in production technology. The statistical multivariate treatment of compositional data of ceramic bodies groups the objects into two macro clusters and, according to a study of their different petrographic features and by a comparison with coeval pottery whose provenance is already known, suggests one group to have been imported from North Africa and the other to have been locally produced. Moreover, chemical results and in-depth archaeological analyses allow us to split the imported lamps into two subgroups, hypothesizing the first group to originate from central Tunisia and the second from the north of the same country.The analytical characterisation of finds, by different complementary techniques, has allowed us to identify the raw materials and the technological solutions used by the ancient potters from Egnatia to produce lamps. The potters made lamps which had an external appearance very similar to that of African prototypes, but which were nevertheless different as they employed the locally available materials.     

Research on calibration method in lab of direct solar channels of Sun photometer

We develop a new calibration method in lab by measuring the absolute spectral irradiance responsivity of Sun photometer sun channel. The absolute power responsivity of Sun photometer is obtained when a white laser double monochromator system serve as a source, and a standard transfer detector calibrated against cryogenic absolute radiometer is assembled to measure the absolute power of laser beam. The effective area of aperture is measured through laser raster scanning method, and the relative spectral irradiance responsivity of the corresponding channel is obtained by using tungsten-halogen lamps double monoehromator system. On the basis of the above results, the top of the atmosphere responsive constants V0 （500, 675, and 870 nm） are obtained by integration with extraterrestrial solar spectral irradiance data. Comparing the calibration results with that of CIMEL, France in November 2011, the relative differences are 4.38%, 2.23%, and 2.45%, respectively. The calibration uncertainty reaches to 2.048×10^-2, which shows a remarkable consistency with the Langley plot method. Further, our scheme can overcome the limits of space and atmospheric conditions which are only available at a high-altitude calibration site in particular date. The advantages lie in not only shortening the experiment period but also being of high precision. This new scheme definitely plays an important role in supporting the current and future sun photometry calibration activities which are significant to earth observation.     

Review of Fluorescence Spectroscopy in Environmental Quality Applications

Fluorescence spectroscopy is an optical spectroscopic method that has been applied for the assessment of environmental quality extensively during the last 20 years. Most of the earlier works have used conventional light sources in spectrofluorometers to assess quality. Many recent works have used laser sources of light for the same purpose. The improvement of the energy sources and of the higher resolution spectrometers has led to a tremendous increase in applications. The motivation for the present review study is the increasing use of laser sources in environmental applications. The review is divided in two parts. The fundamental principles of fluorescence spectroscopy are described in the first part. The environmental applications are described in the second part.