Photographic investigations in molecular spectroscopy

The determination of the energy levels and the probabilities of transition between them, by the formal analysis of observed electronic, vibrational, and rotational band structures, forms the direct goal of all investigations of molecular spectra, but the significance of such data lies in the possibility of relating them theoretically to more concrete properties of molecules and the radiation field. From the well developed electronic spectra of diatomic molecules, it has been possible, with the aid of the non-relativistic quantum mechanics, to obtain accurate moments of inertia, molecular potential functions, electronic structures, and detailed information concerning the coupling of spin and orbital angular monenta with the angular momentum of nuclear rotation. The silicon fluori1e molecule has been investigated in this laboratory, and is found to emit bands whose vibrational and rotational structures can be analyzed in this detailed fashion.

Like silicon fluoride, however, the great majority of diatomic molecules are formed only under the unusual conditions of electrical discharge, or in high temperature furnaces, so that although their spectra are of great theoretical interest, the chemist is eager to proceed to a study of polyatomic molecules, in the hope that their more practically interesting structures might also be determined with the accuracy and assurance which characterize the spectroscopic determinations of the constants of diatomic molecules. Some progress has been made in the determination of molecule potential functions from the vibrational term values deduced from Raman and infrared spectra, but in no case can the calculations be carried out with great generality, since the number of known term values is always small compared with the total number of potential constants in even so restricted a potential function as the simple quadratic type. For the determination of nuclear configurations and bond distances, however, a knowledge of the rotational terms is required. The spectra of about twelve of the simpler polyatomic molecules have been subjected to rotational analyses, and a number of bond distances are known with considerable accuracy, yet the number of molecules whose rotational fine structure has been resolved even with the most powerful instruments is small. Consequently, it was felt desirable to investigate the spectra of a number of other promising polyatomic molecules, with the purpose of carrying out complete rotational analyses of all resolvable bands, and ascertaining the value of the unresolved band envelopes in determining the structures of such molecules, in the cases in which resolution is no longer possible. Although many of the compounds investigated absorbed too feebly to be photographed under high dispersion with the present infrared sensitizations, the location and relative intensities of their bands, determined by low dispersion measurements, will be reported in the hope that these compounds may be reinvestigated in the future with improved techniques.

Plate tectonic constraints on flat subduction and paleomagnetic constraints on rifting

Plate tectonics shapes our dynamic planet through the creation and destruction of lithosphere. This work focuses on increasing our understanding of the processes at convergent and divergent boundaries through geologic and geophysical observations at modern plate boundaries. Recent work had shown that the subducting slab in central Mexico is most likely the flattest on Earth, yet there was no consensus about what caused it to originate. The first chapter of this thesis sets out to systematically test all previously proposed mechanisms for slab flattening on the Mexican case. What we have discovered is that there is only one model for which we can find no contradictory evidence. The lack of applicability of the standard mechanisms used to explain flat subduction in the Mexican example led us to question their applications globally. The second chapter expands the search for a cause of flat subduction, in both space and time. We focus on the historical record of flat slabs in South America and look for a correlation between the shallowing and steepening of slab segments with relation to the inferred thickness of the subducting oceanic crust. Using plate reconstructions and the assumption that a crustal anomaly formed on a spreading ridge will produce two conjugate features, we recreate the history of subduction along the South American margin and find that there is no correlation between the subduction of a bathymetric highs and shallow subduction. These studies have proven that a subducting crustal anomaly is neither a sufficient or necessary condition of flat slab subduction. The final chapter in this thesis looks at the divergent plate boundary in the Gulf of California. Through geologic reconnaissance mapping and an intensive paleomagnetic sampling campaign, we try to constrain the location and orientation of a widespread volcanic marker unit, the Tuff of San Felipe. Although the resolution of the applied magnetic susceptibility technique proved inadequate to contain the direction of the pyroclastic flow with high precision, we have been able to detect the tectonic rotation of coherent blocks as well as rotation within blocks.

On the behavior of pliable plate dynamics in wind : application to vertical axis wind turbines

Numerous studies have shown that flexible materials improve resilience and durability of a structure. Several studies have investigated the behavior of elastic plates under the influence of a free stream, such as studies of the fluttering flag and others of shape reconfiguration, due to a free stream.

The principle engineering contribution of this thesis is the design and development of a vertical axis wind turbine that features pliable blades which undergo various modes of behavior, ultimately leading to rotational propulsion of the turbine. The wind turbine design was tested in a wind tunnel and at the Caltech Laboratory for Optimized Wind Energy. Ultimately, the flexible blade vertical axis wind turbine proved to be an effective way of harnessing the power of the wind.

In addition, this body of work builds on the current knowledge of elastic cantilever plates in a free stream flow by investigating the inverted flag. While previous studies have focused on the fluid structure interaction of a free stream on elastic cantilever plates, none had studied the plate configuration where the trailing edge was clamped, leaving the leading edge free to move. Furthermore, the studies presented in this thesis establish the geometric boundaries of where the large-amplitude flapping occurs.