Analysis of long duration flares

Yohkoh has observed many long duration events permitting a statistical study of the properties of these interesting events. We have selected ten flares for analysis which have durations between 5 and 20 hours, and size ranging from C to X GOES class. Employing the Soft X-ray Telescope, the Bragg Crystal Spectrometer, GOES spacecraft, and ground-based H data, we examine the morphology, temperature, emission measure, location of the hard X-ray source, non-thermal velocities and upflows of the plasma at different stages in the flare development. Our results are used to address the question of the energy source that maintains the hot plasma at temperatures of several million degrees for many hours.     

Conception of spacecraft centralized power supply

A reliable power supply for spacecraft is one of the central problems determining the future development of space technology. The traditional solution to this problem implies having an autonomous power plant on board each spacecraft. The most widely used are power plants with solar cells. However, there exists an alternative power supply concept of using a centralized power supply system (CPSS) and power transmission to the user satellites by laser or microwave beams. Use of a CPSS has a number of advantages. In particular, it allows the spacecraft to increase power supply level and service life as well as to decrease the spacecraft mass and cost. However, it sets new physical and technical problems associated with long distance power transmission and requires some changes in spacecraft structure and concepts. The feasibility study of CPSS development and use has to rely on existing or firmly forecastable technologies. An attempt of such an analysis has been done by a group of scientists at Moscow State Aviation Institute during 1994-1996. The very first results have already been published. This paper discusses new results obtained lately regarding a space based CPSS     

Simulation of space cabin atmosphere

The Soyuz 22 space cabin atmosphere was studied for volatile organic trace contaminants. By gas chromatography the following constituents were identified: methane, ethane, heptane, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, acetaldehyde, acetone, ethyl benzene. Except for acetone, concentrations of the above compounds were close to the values determined in the mock-up experiments.     

On the line ratio diagnostics for NeV, MgV, SiVII and MgVII solar ions

We present NeV/MgV and MgVII/SiVII theoretical line intensity ratios as a function of electron density and temperature for physical conditions within the solar chromosphere-corona transition region. The electron pressure within the emission regions has been assumed to be a constant parameter. These line intensity ratios in addition could be useful for estimating relative element abundances Ne/Mg and Mg/Si. Line intensities of these ions have been computed using a model solar atmosphere and these have been compared with the available observed values for the quiet -Sun conditions. The analysis suggests the need for observations at higher spectral resolution. The successful launch of the SOHO satellite recently should provide such spectra.     

Frequency-controlled series-resonant converter with synchronous rectifier

This paper presents an analysis and experimental results for a frequency-controlled series-resonant dc-dc converter that consists of a Class-D zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) series-resonant inverter and a center-tapped synchronous rectifier. If the dc output voltage is low, the efficiency of the converter is dominated by the efficiency of the rectifier. Low on-resistance metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are used in the rectifier instead of diodes because the forward voltage drop across the rectifying device is low, resulting in a high efficiency. The dc output voltage is regulated against variations in the load resistance and the dc input voltage by varying the operating frequency. Experimental results are presented for a converter with a dc input voltage of 150 V, an output voltage of 5 V, and a dc load resistance ranging from 0.5 to 5.5 R. The measured efficiency was 86% for a 50 W output and 89% for a 25 W output. The theoretical results were in good agreement with the measured results.     

Extreme ultraviolet observations of the solar corona: First results from the coronal diagnostic spectrometer on SOHO

We present first results from the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) aboard the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). CDS is a double spectrometer operating in the 151–785 Å range. This region of the solar spectrum is rich in emission lines from trace elements in the solar atmosphere, which can be used to derive diagnostic information on coronal and transition region plasmas. Early spectra are presented and well identified lines are listed. In addition, examples of images in selected wavelength ranges are shown, for a prominence, a loop system and a bright point, demonstrating well the power of such extreme ultraviolet observations.     

ATS-6 Solar Cosmic Ray and Trapped Particle Experiment

The Solar Cosmic Ray and Trapped Particle Experiment was designed to study the entry, propagation, and loss of solar cosmic rays and the acceleration and loss of trapped electrons and protons in the magnetosphere. Two orthogonal proton and alpha partical telescopes measure protons from 300 keV to 250 MeV and alphas from 2 MeV to 200 MeV. Electron spectrometers measure electrons from 50 keV to 1 MeV and are used in conjunction with the 300-keV to 1.2-MeV proton channels to study the injection of electrons and protons into the magnetosphere during substorms. Two solar cosmic ray events were observed during the first four months of operation. The first of these began on July 3, 1974, and is probably one of the more complicated events in recent years. There were numerous flares and sudden commencements as well as intense fluxes of low energy plasma with a severly perturbed magnetosphere. The second solar cosmic ray event was smaller and was associated with an isolated east limb flare. The first increase was observed on September 11, 1974.