Instrumentation for X-ray astronomy

Less than five decades ago, the first X-ray observations of the sky were made using simple devices such as film and geiger counters with crude collimators. These instruments were carried aloft by sounding rockets and made observations lasting only a few minutes at most. Today, orbiting observatories, utilizing high-resolution CCDs at the focus of arc sec optics, have lifetimes measured in years. To maintain the pace of discovery in X-ray astronomy, detectors must continue to evolve into devices of ever increasing sensitivity and sophistication. Further progress depends upon a host of technologies: grazing incidence optics, proportional counters, semiconductors, calorimeters, etc. In this article we present a brief qualitative overview of these technologies and of the principles behind them, as well as some examples of how they are employed in scientific missions for X-ray observations at energies up to 100 keV.     

Supernova explosions — The role of a Rayleigh-Taylor instability

A two dimensional hydrodynamic study indicates that convectively unstable gradients which develop during core collapse and bounce give rise to large scale core overturn. It is also shown that the concomitant release of neutrini can deposit large amounts of energy and momentum in the infalling envelope and give rise to a powerful supernova explosion.     

Satellite observations of type III solar radio bursts at low frequencies

Type III solar radio bursts have been observed from 10 MHz to 10 kHz by satellite experiments above the terrestrial plasmasphere. Solar radio emission in this frequency range results from excitation of the interplanetary plasma by energetic particles propagating outward along open field lines over distances from 5 R to at least 1 AU from the Sun. This review summarizes the morphology, characteristics and analysis of individual as well as storms of bursts. Substantial evidence is available to show that the radio emission is observed at the second harmonic instead of the fundamental of the plasma frequency. This brings the density scale derived by radio observations into better agreement with direct solar wind density measurements at 1 AU and relaxes the requirement for type III propagation along large density-enhanced regions. This density scale with the measured direction of arrival of the radio burst allows the trajectory of the exciter path to be determined from 10 R to 1 AU. Thus, for example, the dynamics and gross structure of the interplanetary magnetic field can be investigated by this method. Burst rise times are interpreted in terms of exciter length and dispersion while decay times refer to the radiation damping process. The combination of radio observations at the lower frequencies and in-situ measurements on non-relativistic electrons at 1 AU provide data on the energy range and efficiency of the wave-particle interactions responsible for the radio emission.     

Power Electronics in Space: A Review and Projection

Power electronics has emerged as a distinct field of electrical engineering in recent years. This emergence is closely linked with the development of power control and conversion equipment for space application over the last 20 years. Development of switched-mode power conversion techniques has been the dominant activity in this field, spurred by both the improvements in solid-state power devices and the needs of space systems for light weight, highly efficient techniques for dc power regulation. This history is reviewed and projections are made in the four key areas of circuit fundamentals, components, circuit practice, and applications.     

边界层吸气对压气机叶栅角区分离损失的控制

压气机角区的大范围回流通常会引起叶片通道中的三维阻塞现象,并伴随有强烈的掺混流动损失。采用德国航空航天中心(DLR)开发的TRACE程序,在其推进技术研究所的高速压气机叶栅试验台(包含5个NACA65K48直叶片)上,研究了位于端壁上的边界层吸气措施——叶片弦中近尾缘吸气槽(MTE)对该直压气机叶栅通道的角区分离进行控制,减小二次流动损失,进而削弱其对总损失的影响。通过基于定常雷诺平均Navier-Stokes(RANS)方法的数值模拟研究与相应的试验研究对比,端壁边界层吸气能够较好地重新组织角区气流流动,减弱附着于叶片吸力面尾缘的集中脱落涡,使得角区分离涡强度显著降低,由此引起的二次流损失也明显降低,与无吸气状态相比最大降幅可达81.2%;在设计状态下采用吸气流量率为1%的MTE,总压损失有很大程度的降低:在数值计算中,降幅为15.2%;试验测量中为9.7%。     

The search for extraterrestrial artifacts (SETA)

The rationale for the use of interstellar artifacts by intelligent life in the universe is described. The advantages of using interstellar probes as a means of exploration and communication are presented and shown to be significant enough to counter the time, energy, and technology arguments generally raised against contact via extraterrestrial artifacts. Four classes of artifacts are defined: Those seeking contact, those seeking to avoid contact, those intended to provide a passive technological threshold for detection, and those for which detection is irrelevant. The Search for Extraterrestrial Artifacts (SETA) is based on the latter two classes. Under the assumption that an extraterrestrial probe will be interested in life in our solar system, a near-Earth search space is defined. This search space is accessible to us now with ground and satellite observing facilities. The current observational status of SETA is reviewed and contrasted with the achievable detection limits for the different parts of the search space.     

Possible effects of organelle charge and density on cell metabolism

To respond to gravity a biological system must: First, perceive the stimulus; and, second transduce the stimulus into an appropriate response. This laboratory has studied a system of perception and transduction involving the gravity-induced asymmetric distribution of a plant growth hormone. From these studies we have developed a working theory which states as its postulates that: a) The perception of the gravitational stimulus involved a perturbation of the plant's bio-electric field; and b) that the transduction of the stimulus involved voltage-gating of hormone movement from the plant's vascular tissue into the hormone responsive growing tissue. These studies may provide the simplest system for studing the mechanism whereby the gravity signal is translated into a biological response.     

Fullerenes and interplanetary dust at the Permian-Triassic boundary

We recently presented new evidence that an impact occurred approximately 250 million years ago at the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB), triggering the most severe mass extinction in the history of life on Earth. We used a new extraterrestrial tracer, fullerene, a third carbon carrier of noble gases besides diamond and graphite. By exploiting the unique properties of this molecule to trap noble gases inside of its caged structure (helium, neon, argon), the origin of the fullerenes can be determined. Here, we present new evidence for fullerenes with extraterrestrial noble gases in the PTB at Graphite Peak, Antarctica, similar to PTB fullerenes from Meishan, China and Sasayama, Japan. In addition, we isolated a (3)He-rich magnetic carrier phase in three fractions from the Graphite Peak section. The noble gases in this magnetic fraction were similar to zero-age deep-sea interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and some magnetic grains isolated from the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. The helium and neon isotopic compositions for both the bulk Graphite Peak sediments and an isolated magnetic fraction from the bulk material are consistent with solar-type gases measured in zero-age deep-sea sediments and point to a common source, namely, the flux of IDPs to the Earth's surface. In this instance, the IDP noble gas signature for the bulk sediment can be uniquely decoupled from fullerene, demonstrating that two separate tracers are present (direct flux of IDPs for (3)He vs. giant impact for fullerene).