Review of: Elizabeth M. Whelan, Toxic Terror: The Truth Behind the Cancer Scares

Review of: Elizabeth M. Whelan, Toxic Terror: The Truth Behind the Cancer Scares (Prometheus Books 1993). Acknowledgements, appendix, figures, foreword by Norman F. Borlaug, index, notes tables. LC 92-34154; ISBN 0-87975-788-4. [476 pp. Cloth $26.95. 59 John Glenn Drive, Buffalo NY 14228-2197.

Properties of Turbulence in the Very Local Interstellar Clouds

We have investigated the degree to which turbulence in the Very Local Interstellar Clouds resembles the highly-studied turbulence in the solar corona and the solar wind. The turbulence diagnostics for the Local Clouds are the absorption line widths measured along 32 lines of sight to nearby stars, yielding measurements for 53 absorption components (Redfield and Linsky 2004). We have tested whether the Local Cloud turbulence has the following properties of turbulence in the solar corona or the solar wind: (a) velocity fluctuations mainly perpendicular to the average magnetic field, (b) a temperature anisotropy in the sense that the perpendicular temperature is larger than the parallel temperature (or at least enhanced relative to expectation), and (c) an ion temperature which is dependent on the ion Larmor radius, in the sense that more massive ions have higher temperatures. Our analysis of the data does not show compelling evidence for any of these properties in Local Cloud turbulence, indicating possible differences with heliospheric plasmas. In the case of anisotropy of velocity fluctuations, although the expected observational signature is not seen, we cannot exclude the possibility of relatively high degrees of anisotropy (anisotropy parameter $\epsilon \sim 0.50 - 0.70$), if some other process in the the Local Clouds is causing variations in the turbulent line width from one line of sight to another. We briefly consider possible reasons for differences between coronal and solar wind turbulence and that in the Local Clouds.Comment: Submitted to the Astrophysical Journa

Steady state quantum mechanics of thermally relaxing systems

A theoretical description of quantum mechanical steady states is developed. Applications for simple quantum mechanical systems described in terms of coupled level structures yield a formulation equivalent to time independent scattering theory. Applications to steady states of thermally relaxing systems leads to time independent scattering theory in Liouville space that is equivalent to the tetradic Green's function formalism. It provides however a direct route to derive particular forms of the Liouville equation applicable in steady state situations. The theory is applied to study the conduction properties in the super-exchange model of a metal-molecule-metal contact weakly coupled to the thermal environment. The energy resolved temperature dependent transmission probability, as well as its coherent (tunneling) and incoherent (activated) parts, are calculated using the Redfield approximation. These components depend differently on the energy gap (or barrier), on the temperature and on the bridge length. The coherent component is most important at low temperatures, large energy gaps and small chain lengths. The incoherent component dominates in the opposite limits. The integrated transmission provides a generalization of the Landauer conduction formula for small junctions in the presence of thermal relaxation.Comment: 31 pages, 6 figures. Chemical Physics, in pres

Evaluation and verification of epitaxial process sequence for silicon solar cell production

The applicability of solar cell and module processing sequences, to be used on lower cost epitaxial silicon wafers was evaluated. The extent to which the process sequences perform effectively when applied to film solar cells formed by epitaxial deposition of Si on potentially inexpensive substrates of upgraded metallurgical grade Si is examined. It is concluded that these substrates are satisfactory in their cell performance

The accretion-diffusion scenario for metals in cool white dwarfs

We calculated diffusion timescales for Ca, Mg, Fe in hydrogen atmosphere white dwarfs with temperatures between 5000 and 25000 K. With these timescales we determined accretion rates for a sample of 38 DAZ white dwarfs from the recent studies of Zuckerman et al. (2003) and Koester et al. (2005). Assuming that the accretion rates can be calculated with the Bondi-Hoyle formula for hydrodynamic accretion, we obtained estimates for the interstellar matter density around the accreting objects. These densities are in good agreement with new data about the warm, partially ionized phase of the ISM in the solar neighborhood.Comment: To be published in A&

Observational Tests of the Properties of Turbulence in the Very Local Interstellar Medium

The Very Local Interstellar Medium (VLISM) contains clouds which consist of partially-ionized plasma. These clouds can be effectively diagnosed via high resolution optical and ultraviolet spectroscopy of the absorption lines they form in the spectra of nearby stars. Among the information provided by these spectroscopic measurements are the root-mean-square velocity fluctuation due to turbulence in these clouds and the ion temperature, which may be partially determined by dissipation of turbulence. We consider whether this turbulence resembles the extensively studied and well-diagnosed turbulence in the solar wind and solar corona. Published observations are used to determine if the velocity fluctuations are primarily transverse to a large-scale magnetic field, whether the temperature perpendicular to the large scale field is larger than that parallel to the field, and whether ions with larger Larmor radii have higher temperatures than smaller gyroradius ions. Although a thorough investigation of the data is underway, a preliminary examination of the published data shows neither evidence for anisotropy of the velocity fluctuations or temperature, nor Larmor radius-dependent heating. These results indicate differences between solar wind and Local Cloud turbulence.Comment: Paper submitted to Nonlinear Processes in Geophysic