Discrimination of aqueous and aeolian paleoenvironments by atomic force microscopy-- a database for the characterization of martian sediments

In the search for aqueous habitats on Mars direct proof of (ancient) flowing water is still lacking, although remote sensing has provided indications of young fluvial systems. To demonstrate that such proof can be given, we examined surface marks on recent terrestrial sand grains by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and applied a quantitative three-dimensional analysis that can numerically distinguish between aeolian and aquatic transport mechanisms in sedimentary deposits on Earth. The surfaces of natural quartz grains as well as olivine, feldspar pyroxene, and monazite sands of known origin were imaged, each image yielding a three-dimensional map of the mineral surface. A fully automated analysis of distribution patterns of the structural elements that constitute the grain surfaces shows that wind-transported quartz grains have short linear elements irregularly distributed on the surface. Linear elements on water-transported grains, however, are longer with orientations that reflect the mineral symmetry. Because the surface patterns found on aqueous grains are due to preferential etching, they can be used as diagnostic fingerprints for the existence of past or present aqueous transport systems. We used a cluster analysis of the cross-correlation distance of distribution patterns in the structures of aeolian and aquatic sand grains to build a phenogram that provides a map for the relationship of the various sediments found on earth. The analysis shows that the method is highly significant and that water and wind transport can clearly be differentiated. In particular, feldspar and olivine sands contributed even more to the discrimination than quartz grains, which indicated that the method is promising for its application on future missions to Mars. Assuming that martian aqueous sand grains exhibit similar erosional patterns to mineral grains on Earth, simple AFM experiments on a Mars lander would be capable of proving the activity of flowing water in modern runoff systems and of analyzing the paleoenvironments of Mars.     

OPTIMAL CONTROL OF REDUNDANT ROBOTS WITH LOCAL DEGREES OF FREEDOM

SupportedbytheNationalNaturalScienceFoundationofChinaRedundantrobotsprovideflexibilityinavarietyoftasks.Methedsusedtodevelopthere-dundancycontrolarewellknown[1~4J-Inthesemethods,kinematicflexibilityisensuredwhiledynamicperformanceisbeingimproved.Itisverydifficult,however,toimplementoptimalredundancycontrolthatsimultaneouslyincludesbothkinematicsanddynamics(dual-optimiza-tion)forrobotmechanismsthathavebeenpreviouslydeveloped.Inthefollowingsections,aredundantrobotmechanismhavinglocaldegreesof…     

第一章 液压振动器的简图、参数和应用范围

将供给的液体能量转换为工作构件的机械振动的机构叫做液压振动器。通常,液压振动器由液压发动机(电动机、涡轮机、动力缸)和激励机械振动的工作部件所组成。所有的液压振动器、液压振动机按能量转换方式分为动力式和容积式两种。动力式液压振动器是通过利用流经振动器的液体动能,     

美国陆军着眼于研制小型巡航导弹

美国陆军正在试验一种可从轻型车辆或直升机发射的多用途的巡航导弹,以便使地面部队具有在敌方前线后方达596千米处进行精确攻击和空中侦察的能力。陆军对这种被称为“雪貂”(Ferret)的巡航导弹感兴趣,意味着其作战准则发生了变化。陆军的传统作战准则是把空中纵深攻击和远程侦察留给空军和海军战术航空部队和价格为50万～150万美元的巡航导弹来干。诺斯罗普·格鲁门公司研制的这种正在由陆军进行鉴定的长1.8米、翼     

茫茫宇宙话银河

我们的银河系不仅仅是一个巨大的旋涡星系,而且还是一个横跨100多万光年至少支配着10多个星系的辽阔大帝国的中心.我们居住的银河系决非普通星系,它比大多数星系庞大而明亮,有巨大的质量,而且能产生巨大的万有引力.像环绕行星旋转的卫星一样,银河系的周围也有10个小星系绕其旋转.这些伴星系是我们银河系辽阔大帝国中的重要成员,它们不仅证明了银     

水星—不可能是行星吗？

水星是一颗特殊的行星,它距离太阳最近,旋转最快:它不但非常炎热,而且也非常寒冷.在另一方面,水星也是特殊的,迄今为止,它是太阳系九大行星中最不被人注意的内行星.已经有几艘空间探测器飞过了遥远的木星和土星,而我们最近的邻星—水星,只接待了一位地球来访者.无可否认.甚至对太空最热心的人来说,水星的气候也未必引人入胜.然而水星的重要性在于,其表面特征难以形容,充满铁的内核显得稀奇古怪.水星的内核比月球的内核更像地球.     

陀螺仪可靠性预计模型

位置陀螺和速率陀螺是控制系统中使用的两种主要惯性仪表.对每一种具体应用,要根据对陀螺仪的特定可靠性和技术要求,对陀螺仪进行专门的设计.业已发现,陀螺仪的运行特性同其性能和可靠性有直接关系.根据详细的故障模型分析,举出这两种陀螺仪的可靠性预计分析实例.讨论性能可靠性和工艺可靠性,使用不同的模型来确定各自的整个仪表的可靠性.采用米勒定理以及简化能量和统计安全因数法.可靠性论证采用了贝叶斯方法.     

撩开撒丁岛神秘的面纱

撒丁岛,地中海中仅次于西西里岛的第二大岛,位于第勒尼安海之西,距亚平宁半岛200公里,属意大利.如果用一只篮子盛满湿沙,然后倒扣过来,会得到最简单的“努拉格”形状,这是撒了岛人对古代塔楼的称谓.努拉格哥特式的拱形屋顶和相互堆砌的房间在建筑上极为复杂,可以和中世纪宏伟的大教堂媲美.桑图安太因努拉格,由巨大的石块建成,高20米,长长的走廊联接着庭院,迷宫一般,侧旁螺旋式的楼梯通向顶端一个个高大的拱形屋顶的房间.才华横溢的设计者的作品历3000余年的风雨至今     

目击者才有发言权

靠飞碟学可以赚钱、成名,甚至获得飞碟学专家的尊称.但我觉得好笑的是一些人并没有目睹飞碟和外星人,却来对外星人的目击者评头论足.在这种情况下,他们的鉴定最后便会归结到一点,即查明该目击者是否患有精神病.5年前,凡是见到过外星人的人,都被宣布精神失常.现在,那些怀疑论者们使用了一个较为温和的字眼,说这是“臆想”.在德国,直到前不久都没有人敢郑重其事地说自己见过不明飞行物,更不能说看见了外星人.有人冒险一吐真情,结果遭到嘲笑.于是,聪明人有幸遇上不明飞行物奇观,便将秘密默藏于心,害怕