New insights into Titan's organic chemistry in the gas and aerosol phases.

Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, with a dense atmosphere very rich in organics, and many couplings in the various parts of its "geofluid", is a reference for studying prebiotic chemistry on a planetary scale. New data have been obtained from experiments simulating this organic chemistry (gas and aerosol phases), within the right ranges of temperature and a careful avoiding of any chemical contamination. They show a very good agreement with the observational data, demonstrating for the first time the formation of all the organic species already detected in Titan atmosphere including, at last, C4N2, together with many other species not yet detected in Titan. This strongly suggests the presence of more complex organics in Titan's atmosphere and surface, including high molecular weight polyynes and cyanopolyynes. The NASA-ESA Cassini-Huygens mission has been successfully launched in October 1997. The Cassini spacecraft will reach the Saturn system in 2004 and become an orbiter around Saturn, while the Huygens probe will penetrate into Titan's atmosphere. In situ measurements, in particular from Huygens GC-MS and ACP instruments, will provide a detailed analysis of the organics present in the air, aerosols, and surface. This very ambitious mission should yield much information of crucial importance for our knowledge of the complexity of Titan's chemistry, and, more generally for the field of exobiology.     

提高电铸局部电沉积速率试验研究

电铸成型是采用离子沉积的方法制造复制件，具有很好的复制精度，因此电铸技术得到了广泛的应用。但由于受极限电流密度等多方面因素的影响，电铸速率一直是制约电铸技术发展的一个瓶颈，许多学者为此做了大量的理论和试验研究，但对如何提高极限电流密度还没有提供一个比较满意的答案，为提高电铸局部电沉积速率，本文在前人工作的基础上，讨论了影响电铸速率的因素，提出了一种新型的电铸方法－喷射式电铸，并通过两组试验分析了局部电沉积速率怀电铸液流量的关系以及局部铸速率与喷嘴口径的关系，试验结果表明，采用喷射式电铸可以大大提高局部极限电流密度，从而使电铸局部电沉积速率有一个较大范围的提高，为将电铸与快速成型结合奠定了试验基础。     

基于市场的最适宜质量水平模型

以企业利润最大化为目标，引入效用的概念，提出了一个基于市场的最适宜质量水平模型。该模型突破了现有的质量经济学理论仅以质量成本确定最适宜质量水平的模式，将质量水平与产品成本，效用和市场绩效联系起来，使模型具有更为方法的适用性，本文还就市场不确定性，消费者偏好，技术进步，市场竞争等因素对模型的影响展开了讨论，揭示了质量，销量，价格，成本，技术与竞争之间的关系，为企业产品决策，技术改造决策和质量策划提供了参考依据。     

共析钢的相变超塑性扩散连接

根据高温扩散和空洞蠕变闭合理论，在恒温超塑性扩散连接基础上建立相变超塑性扩散连接数学模型，可确定各工艺参数，诸如循环上限温度、压力、循环次数以及升、降温速率等对连接的影响，作为选择合适工艺参数的依据。经过对T8共析钢相变超塑性扩散连接试验研究，证明该理论模型与试验结果吻合较好。     

Galileo Photopolarimeter/Radiometer experiment

The Photopolarimeter/Radiometer (PPR) is a remote sensing instrument on the Galileo Orbiter designed to measure the degree of linear polarization and the intensity of reflected sunlight in ten spectral channels between 410 and 945 nm to determine the physical properties of Jovian clouds and aerosols, and to characterize the texture and microstructure of satellite surfaces. The PPR also measures thermal radiation in five spectral bands between 15 and 100 m to sense the upper tropospheric temperature structure. Two additional channels which measure spectrally integrated solar and solar plus thermal radiation are used to determine the planetary radiation budget components. The PPR photopolarimetric measurements utilize previously flown technology for high-precision polarimetry using a calcite Wollaston prism and two silicon photodiodes to enable simultaneous detection of the two orthogonal polarization components. The PPR radiometry measurements are made with a lithium tantalate pyroelectric detector utilizing a unique arrangement of radiometric stops and a scene/space chopper blade to enable a warm instrument to sense accurately the much colder scene temperatures.     

Model-based segmentation of FLIR images

The use of gray-scale intensities together with the edge information present in a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) image to obtain a precise and accurate segmentation of a target is presented. A model of FLIR images based on gray-scale and edge information is incorporated in a gradient relaxation technique which explicitly maximizes a criterion function based on the inconsistency and ambiguity of classification of pixels with respect to their neighbors. Four variations of the basic technique which provide automatic selection of thresholds to segment FLIR images are considered. These methods are compared, and several examples of segmentation of ship images are given     

Comments with reply, on `A new look at nonseparable syntheticaperture radar processing' by A. Di Cenzo

The commenters point out that the idea using a two-dimensional digital correlation technique to perform synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) processing, presented as new in the above-titled paper (see ibid., vol.24, p.218-23, May 1988), was described by them as early as 1978 and has since been described by other authors. They discuss some of these earlier studies. The author replies that he was unaware of the earlier work, and that he did not intend to convey the impression that the nonseparable transform domain processor that he presented was the first     

Radial and meridional trends in solar wind thermal electron temperature and anisotropy: Ulysses

Ulysses plasma measurement from 1.15 to 5.31 AU and from S6.4° to S48.3° solar latitude are used to assess the trends in the solar wind thermal electron temperature and anisotropy. Improved spacecraft potential corrections and data products have been incorporated. The radial temperature gradient is steeper than in previous determinations, but flatter than adiabatic. When normalized to 1 AU, temperature decrease with increasing latitude. Little change in the average thermal anisotropy has been seen during the mission.     

Wind asymmetries in massive stars

We are in the process of surveying the linear polarization in luminous, early-type stars. We here report on new observations of the B [e] stars S 18 and R 50, and of the Luminous Blue Variables HR Car, R 143, and HD 160529. Together with previously published data, these observations provide clear evidence for the presence of intrinsic polarization in 1 B[e] star (HD 34664) and in 5 LBVs ( Car, P Cyg, R 127, AG Car, and HR Car). The data indicate that anisotropic stellar winds are a common occurrence among massive stars in these particular evolutionary stages. For such stars, mass-loss rates estimated using the assumption of a spherical, homogeneous and stationary outflow may be in error.     

SWE,a comprehensive plasma instrument for the WIND spacecraft

The Solar Wind Experiment (SWE) on the WIND spacecraft is a comprehensive, integrated set of sensors which is designed to investigate outstanding problems in solar wind physics. It consists of two Faraday cup (FC) sensors; a vector electron and ion spectrometer (VEIS); a strahl sensor, which is especially configured to study the electron strahl close to the magnetic field direction; and an on-board calibration system. The energy/charge range of the Faraday cups is 150 V to 8 kV, and that of the VEIS is 7 V to 24.8 kV. The time resolution depends on the operational mode used, but can be of the order of a few seconds for 3-D measurements. Key parameters which broadly characterize the solar wind positive ion velocity distribution function will be made available rapidly from the GGS Central Data Handling Facility.