Relation between laser flux,temperature and ionisation equilibrium in laser produced plasmas

Laser produced plasmas are a useful source of highly stripped ions for XUV spectroscopy and it is therefore important to understand the relation between the incident laser flux, plasma temperature and ionisation equilibrium.     

The FAA's new lithium battery technical standard misses the mark

For the first time in seventeen years, there is to be a new lithium battery standard for aviation. In 1990, the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) struck a committee to write a new standard to cover the variety of lithium batteries that would find use in aircraft equipment. In June 1995, the RTCA published its MOPS for Lithium Batteries, RTCA Document No. RTCAiDO-227. The FAA will adopt the MOPS as the new TSO at the completion of the sixty-day response period after publication in the Federal Register. It would then become the new standard in the US. It would almost certainly be adopted here in Canada, and affect civil aviation worldwide. Some possible problems with the standard are discussed     

Laser Doppler Velocimeter Development

A new two-channel laser Doppler velocimeter developed for the Ames High Reynolds Channel No. II is described. Design features required for the satisfactory operation of the optical system in the channel environment are discussed. Fiber optics are used to transmit the megahertz Doppler signal to the photodetectors located outside the channel pressure vessel, and provision is made to isolate the optical system from pressure and thermal strain effects. Computer-controlled scanning mirrors are used to psoition the laser beams in the channel flow. Techniques used to seed the flow with 0.5-?-diam polystyrene spheres avoiding deposition on the test-section windows and porous boundary-layer removal panels are described. Preliminary results are presented with a discussion of several of the factors affecting accuracy.