The Anthonomus juniperinus group, with descriptions of two new species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

The Anthonomus juniperinus (Sanborn) species group is defined and two new species, Anthonomus sanborni, new species, and A. rileyi new species, from the United States are described, keyed and illustrated. The three species of the group are associated with the plant genus Juniperus and the larvae of A. juniperinus are known to develop in fungal galls of Gymnosporangium spp. as well as fruits of the Eastern redcedar, Juniperus virginiana L. The biology of the group and its taxonomic relationships to other species of Anthonomus Germar are also discussed

Zebra battery technologies for all electric smart car

This paper describes the operational behaviour and advantages of the high temperature, sodium nickel chloride (Zebra) battery, for use in all electric urban (city) vehicles. It is shown that an equivalent parallel electrical circuit can be employed to accurately simulate the electrochemical behaviour inherent in the most recent generation of Zebra cells. The experimental procedure is outlined and summary attributes of the investigation validated by both simulation studies, and experimentally, via measurements from a prototype battery module intended for use in an all electric smart ca

Oxidation and emittance of superalloys in heat shield applications

Recently developed superalloys that form alumina coatings have a high potential for heat shield applications for advanced aerospace vehicles at temperatures above 1095C. Both INCOLOY alloy MA 956 (of the Inco Alloys International, Inc.), an iron-base oxide-dispersion-strengthened alloy, and CABOT alloy No. 214 (of the Cabot Corporation), an alumina-forming nickel-chromium alloy, have good oxidation resistance and good elevated temperature strength. The oxidation resistance of both alloys has been attributed to the formation of a thin alumina layer (alpha-Al2O3) at the surface. Emittance and oxidation data were obtained for simulated Space Shuttle reentry conditions using a hypersonic arc-heated wind tunnel. The surface oxides and substrate alloys were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning and transmission electron microscopy with an energy-dispersive X-ray analysis unit. The mass loss and emittance characteristics of the two alloys are discussed

Revision of the weevil genus Epimechus Dietz (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Anthonomini)

Epimechus curvipes Dietz is designated as type species of the genus Epimechus Dietz. Ten additional species from western North America, including four new species, are assigned to the genus: E. aemulus Fall; E. flavirostris Fall; E. mimicus Dietz; E. adspersus Dietz; E. mobilis Fall; E. nevadicus Dietz; E. molina, new species (Arizona, Baja California Norte); E. combustus, new species (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah); E. signum, new species (Arizona, Coahuila, Colorado, New Mexico, Saskatchewan, Texas, Utah) and E. hesperius, new species (Arizona, California, Colorado, Guanajuato, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Nuevo Leon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming). These are distinguished from other Anthonomini by the short, simple tarsal claws. The names Epimeclws modicus Fall, E. soriculus Dietz, and E. nanulus Fall are placed in new synonymy under E. curvipes. Lectotypes are designated for E. adspersus and E. nevadicus. Two species formerly in Epimechus are transferred the subgenus Cnemocyllus Dietz in Anthonomus Germar: E. arenicolor Fall as Anthonomus arenicolor (Fall), new combination, and E. canoides Fall as Anthonomus canoides (Fall), new combination. Adults of species of Epimechus have been collected on plants in the genera Baccharis, Chrysothamnus, Ericameria, Gutierrezia, Haplopappus, Senecio and Tetradymia (all Asteraceae)

Charged spin 1/2 particle in an arbitrary magnetic field in two spatial dimensions: a supersymmetric quantum mechanical system

It is shown that the 2 X 2 matrix Hamiltonian describing the dynamics of a charged spin 1/2 particle with g-factor 2 moving in an arbitrary, spatially dependent, magnetic field in two spatial dimensions can be written as the anticommuator of a nilpotent operator and its hermitian conjugate. Consequently, the Hamiltonians for the two different spin projections form partners of a supersymmetric quantum mechanical system. The resulting supersymmetry algebra can then be exploited to explicitly construct the exact zero energy ground state wavefunction for the system. Modulo this ground state, the remainder of the eigenstates and eigenvalues of the two partner Hamiltonians form positive energy degenerate pairs. We also construct the spatially asymptotic form of the magnetic field which produces a finite magnetic flux and associated zero energy normalizable ground state wavefunction.Comment: 10 pages, LaTe

Condition matters: pupil voices on the design and condition of secondary schools

This research was produced by Sheffield Hallam University. The project aimed to inform the creation of a national schools Facilities Management network and an ongoing programme to research and benchmark the impact of school condition and design on pupils

Revision of the subgenus Cnemocyllus Dietz of the weevil genus Anthonomus Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Anthonomini)

Anthonomus (Cnemocyllus) decipiens Dietz is designated as type species of Cnemocyllus Dietz. The twenty-three North American species assigned to the Anthonomus subgenus Cnemocyllus include ten previously placed in the subgenus: A. albus Hatch, A. decipiens LeConte, A. dorothyae Hatch, A. elongatus LeConte, A. jacobinus Dietz, A. juncturus Fall, A. ligatus Dietz, A. pictus Blatchley, A. quesnelensis Sleeper, and A. tenuis Fall; three species formerly in Anthonomus but not in Cnemocyllus: A. stolatus Fall, A. inermis Boheman, and A. ornatulus Dietz; two species once in Epimechus Dietz but subsequently transferred to Anthonomus: A. arenicolor (Fall) and A. canoides (Fall); and eight new species: A. californiensis, new species (California and Baja California); A. bajaensis, new species (Baja California); A. intermedius, new species (Utah); A. extensus, new species (British Columbia, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington); A. deserticolus, new species (Arizona, Baja California, California, Guerrero, New Mexico, Sonora, and Texas); A. schuhi, new species (California and Oregon); A. latus, new species (California); and A. squamoerectus, new species (California and Oregon). The species of Anthonomus in the subgenus Cnemocyllus are distinguished from other Anthonomini by the combination of having vestiture of more-or-less broad, dense scales, 6 or 7 antennal funicular articles, a slender endophallic transfer apparatus and, in most, the slightly to strongly curved metatibia of the male. The tarsal claws are variable, toothed or untoothed. The names Anthonomus cycliferus (Fall), A. malkini Hatch and A. summeri Hatch are placed in new synonymy under A. jacobinus Dietz; A. cretaceus (Champion) is placed in new synonymy under A. decipiens LeConte; A. imbricus Hatch is placed in new synonymy under A. quesnelensis Sleeper; A. mannerheimi Dieckmann (A. brunnipennis Mannerheim, not Curtis) and A. subvittatus LeConte are placed in new synonymy under A. inermis (Boheman); A. minutus Hatch is placed in new synonymy under A. dorothyae Hatch. Adults of many of the species of the subgenus Cnemocyllus have been collected on plants in the family Asteraceae. The larvae of several of the species are known to develop on these plants

Pulsed electromagnetic gas acceleration

Terminal voltage measurements with long cathodes in a high power, quasi-steady MPD discharge show that the critical current for the onset of voltage fluctuations, which was previously shown to be a function of cathode area, approaches an asymptote for cathodes of very large surface area. Floating potential measurements and photographs of the discharge luminosity indicate that the fluctuations are confined to the vicinity of the cathode and hence reflect a cathode emission process rather than a fundamental limit on MPD performance. Photoelectric measurements of particular argon neutral and ion transitions show that the higher electronic states are populated more heavily than would be calculated on the basis of Saha-Boltzmann equilibrium at the local electron temperature and number density. Preliminary optical depth measurements show that for a current of 4 kA and an argon mass flow of 12 g/sec, a population inversion exists between the upper and lower states of the 4880 A argon ion transition

Detection of Single Ion Spectra by Coulomb Crystal Heating

The coupled motion of ions in a radiofrequency trap has been used to connect the frequency- dependent laser-induced heating of a sympathetically cooled spectroscopy ion with changes in the fluorescence of a laser-cooled control ion. This technique, sympathetic heating spectroscopy, is demonstrated using two isotopes of calcium. In the experiment, a few scattered photons from the spectroscopy ion are transformed into a large deviation from the steady-state fluorescence of the control ion. This allows us to detect an optical transition where the number of scattered photons is below our fluorescence detection limit. Possible applications of the technique to molecular ion spectroscopy are briefly discussed.Comment: 7 Pages,10 Figure