Laser-produced continua for absorption spectroscopy in the VUV and XUV

Recent work has shown that with appropriate targets, laser-produced plasmas provide clean essentially linefree continua suitable for absorption spectroscopy from 40 to 2000 Å. A systematic study of the continua emitted by the elements from samarium to ytterbium is reported, and their use in absorption spectroscopy is demonstrated. The temporal profiles of the continuum pulses at different wavelengths are studied with a photomultiplier system and are found to have essentially the same halfwidths as the pulse from the exciting Q-switched ruby laser (~25 nsec). Pulse heights are shown to be reproducible to 15% or better. Ambient gases, at least at pressures up to several Torr, do not affect the emission mechanism. A comparison with other continuum sources at XUV wavelengths (i.e., BRV, synchrotron) is made, and possible future developments are outlined

The Due Process Clause as a Limitation on the Reach of State Legislation: An Historical and Analytical Examination of Substantive Due Process

Since the adoption of the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment, the Supreme Court has vacillated on the appropriate standard of review by which questions of infringement of liberty and property interests by state legislation are to be judged. This Article discusses the doctrine of substantive due process and examines its use by the Supreme Court since the adoption of the fourteenth amendment. The authors criticize the current Court\u27s narrow and inconsistent construction of the due process clause. They recommend that the Court adopt and apply a standard of reasonableness when reviewing the reach of state legislation