Cavity radiometer Patent

Black body cavity radiometer with thermal resistance wire bridge circui

Plural output optimetric sample cell and analysis system

An apparatus suitable for receiving a sample for optimetric analysis includes a sample cell comprising an opaque hollow tube. Several apertures are defined in the wall of the tubing and a lens barrel which extends beyond to opposite surfaces of the wall is supported within at least one of the apertures. A housing is provided with one channel for receiving the sample cell and a series of channels extending from the exterior housing to the sample cell apertures. A filter element is housed in each of these latter channels. These channels slidingly receive an excitation light source for a photodetector cell to permit selective focusing. A sample cell containing at least three apertures in the walls can be mounted for rotation relative to a light source or photoconduction means for simultaneous or alternative optimetric determination of the components of a single sample. The sample cell is fabricated by supporting a lens barrel within the aperture. A molten portion of glass is deposited in the lens barrel and cooled while in a horizontal position to form a lens having an acceptable angle

Optimetric system facilitates colorimetric and fluorometric measurements

Compact, unitary optimetric systems uses a single device for colorimetric, fluorometric and spectral absorption measurements. The basic element of the unitary systems is a test cell containing filter elements with uniquely fabricated lenses

Irradiation effect at cryogenic temperature on tensile properties of titanium and titanium- base alloys

Irradiation effects on tensile behavior of titanium alloys and titanium at cryogenic temperature

Using Problem Frames and projections to analyze requirements for distributed systems

Subproblems in a problem frames decomposition frequently make use of projections of the complete problem context. One specific use of projec-tions occurs when an eventual implementation will be distributed, in which case a subproblem must interact with (use) the machine in a projection that represents another subproblem. We refer to subproblems used in this way as services, and propose an extension to projections to represent services as a spe-cial connection domain between subproblems. The extension provides signifi-cant benefits: verification of the symmetry of the interfaces, exposure of the machine-to-machine interactions, and prevention of accidental introduction of shared state. The extension’s usefulness is validated using a case study

From flux to dust mass: Does the grain-temperature distribution matter for estimates of cold dust masses in supernova remnants?

The amount of dust estimated from infrared to sub-millimetre (submm) observations strongly depends on assumptions of different grain sizes, compositions and optical properties. Here we use a simple model of thermal emission from cold silicate/carbon dust at a range of dust grain temperatures and fit the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the Crab Nebula as a test. This can lower the derived dust mass for the Crab by ~50% and 30-40% for astronomical silicates and amorphous carbon grains compared to recently published values (0.25M_sun -> 0.12M_sun and 0.12M_sun -> 0.072M_sun, respectively), but the implied dust mass can also increase by as much as almost a factor of six (0.25M_sun -> 1.14M_sun and 0.12M_sun -> 0.71M_sun) depending on assumptions regarding the sizes/temperatures of the coldest grains. The latter values are clearly unrealistic due to the expected metal budget, though. Furthermore, we show by a simple numerical experiment that if a cold-dust component does have a grain-temperature distribution, it is almost unavoidable that a two-temperature fit will yield an incorrect dust mass estimate. But we conclude that grain temperatures is not a greater uncertainty than the often poorly constrained emissivities (i.e., material properties) of cosmic dust, although there is clearly a need for improved dust emission models. The greatest complication associated with deriving dust masses still arises in the uncertainty in the dust composition.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, to appear in MNRA

Engaging and Inclusive Education: A Case Study

The goal of education is to enrich the lives of the students entering the classroom in such a way that sees them leaving after the school year as better and more developed students eager to continue learning. However, there has been a disconnect between educators and the population of their classrooms that requires modifications and special attention. In part, this is because it is time consuming and difficult to make sure that every student, including the handicapped students, is having his or her needs met. In order for classrooms to be effective, there has to be an inclusive environment that seeks to engage the students where they are and an educator that is committed to the learning of all the students. For this to be effective, the teacher will have to discover each student’s individual needs, strengths, interests, and passions. When an educator is committed to doing this and to following through with the information, the classroom experience will be much improved for all students (Cox, 2009)

Exploring the evolution of a trade-off between vigilance and foraging in group-living organisms

Despite the fact that grouping behavior has been actively studied for over a century, the relative importance of the numerous proposed fitness benefits of grouping remain unclear. We use a digital model of evolving prey under simulated predation to directly explore the evolution of gregarious foraging behavior according to one such benefit, the "many eyes" hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, collective vigilance allows prey in large groups to detect predators more efficiently by making alarm signals or behavioral cues to each other, thereby allowing individuals within the group to spend more time foraging. Here, we find that collective vigilance is sufficient to select for gregarious foraging behavior as long there is not a direct cost for grouping (e.g., competition for limited food resources), even when controlling for confounding factors such as the dilution effect. Further, we explore the role of the genetic relatedness and reproductive strategy of the prey, and find that highly related groups of prey with a semelparous reproductive strategy are the most likely to evolve gregarious foraging behavior mediated by the benefit of vigilance. These findings, combined with earlier studies with evolving digital organisms, further sharpen our understanding of the factors favoring grouping behavior.Comment: 26 pages (double-spaced, single column), 6 figures, 2 SI figure

Estimation of Kalman filter model parameters from an ensemble of tests

A methodology for estimating initial mean and covariance parameters in a Kalman filter model from an ensemble of nonidentical tests is presented. In addition, the problem of estimating time constants and process noise levels is addressed. Practical problems such as developing and validating inertial instrument error models from laboratory test data or developing error models of individual phases of a test are generally considered

Evaluation of automated decisionmaking methodologies and development of an integrated robotic system simulation, volume 2, part 1. Appendix A: Software documentation

Documentation of the preliminary software developed as a framework for a generalized integrated robotic system simulation is presented. The program structure is composed of three major functions controlled by a program executive. The three major functions are: system definition, analysis tools, and post processing. The system definition function handles user input of system parameters and definition of the manipulator configuration. The analysis tools function handles the computational requirements of the program. The post processing function allows for more detailed study of the results of analysis tool function executions. Also documented is the manipulator joint model software to be used as the basis of the manipulator simulation which will be part of the analysis tools capability