Thermodynamic theory of the Tolman's length

There still exists controversy on the sign and magnitude of the Tolman's length and the Tolman's gap. Further experimental, computational and theoretical investigations on them are needed to solve this problem. In 2006, Blokhuis and Kuipers obtained a rigorous relationship between the Tolman's length and other thermodynamic quantities for the single-component liquid-vapour system. In the present paper, we derive two general relationships between the Tolman's length and other thermodynamic quantities for the single-component liquid vapour system. The relationship derived by Blokhuis and Kuipers and an earlier result turn out to be two special cases of our results.

The new concepts and new developments in hte theory of polymer crystallization

Recently a debate about the initial crystallization process which has not been the hotspot for a long time since the theory proposed by Hoffman- Lauritzen (LH) dominated the field arose again. For a long time the Hoffman-Lauritzen model was always confronted by criticism,and some of the points were taken up and led to modifications, but the foundation remained unchanged which deemed that before the nucleation and crystallization the system was uniform. In this article the classical nucleation and growth theory of polymer crystallization was reviewed, and the confusion of the explanations to the polymer crystallization phenomenon was pointed out. LH theory assumes that the growth of lamellae is by the direct attachment of chain sequences from the melt onto smooth lateral sides.

THEORY OF STEADY-STATE CURRENT AT MULTIPLE MICROCYLINDER ELECTRODES COUPLED WITH A PARALLEL PLANAR ELECTRODE

A novel device of multiple cylinder microelectrodes coupled with a parallel planar electrode was proposed. The feedback diffusion current at this device was studied using bilinear transformation of coordinates in the diffusion space, where lines of mass flux and equiconcentration are represented by orthogonal circular functions. The derived expression for the steady-state current shows that as the gap between cylindrical microelectrodes and planar electrode diminishes, greatly enhanced currents can be obtained with high signal-to-noise ratio. Other important geometrical parameters such as distance between adjacent microcylinders, cylinder radius, and number of microcylinders were also discussed in detail.

APPLICATION OF ULTRAMICROELECTRODES IN STUDIES OF HOMOGENEOUS CATALYTIC REACTIONS .2. A THEORY OF QUASI-1ST AND 2ND-ORDER HOMOGENEOUS CATALYTIC REACTIONS

The analytical expressions of quasi-first and second order homogeneous catalytic reactions with different diffusion coefficients at ultramicrodisk electrodes under steady state conditions are obtained by using the reaction layer concept. The method of treatment is simple and its physical meaning is clear. The relationship between the diffusion layer, reaction layer, the electrode dimension and the kinetic rate constant at an ultramicroelectrode is discussed and the factor effect on the reaction order is described. The order of a catalytic reaction at an ultramicroelectrode under steady state conditions is related not only to C(Z)*/C(O)* but also to the kinetic rate constant and the dimension of the ultramicroelectrode; thus the order of reaction can be controlled by the dimension of the ultramicroelectrode. The steady state voltammetry of the ultramicroelectrode is one of the most simple methods available to study the kinetics of fast catalytic reactions.

A theory of nonlinear AC response in coated composites

A method for determining effective dielectric responses of Kerr-like coated nonlinear composites under the alternating current (AC) electric field is proposed by using perturbation approach. As an example, we have investigated the composite with coated cylindrical inclusions randomly embedded in a host under an external sinusoidal field with finite frequency omega. The local field and potential of composites in general consists of components with all harmonic frequencies. The effective nonlinear AC responses at all harmonics are induced by the coated nonlinear composites because of the nonlinear constitutive relation. Moreover, we have derived the formulae of effective nonlinear AC responses at the fundamental frequency and the third harmonic in the dilute limit.

A semi-analytical theory of coastal upwelling and jet

The general forms of the conservation of momentum, temperature and potential vorticity of coastal ocean are obtained in the x-z plane for the nonlinear ocean circulation of Boussinesq fluid, and a elliptic type partial differential equations of second order are derived. Solution of the partial differential equations are obtained under the conditions that the fluid moves along the topography. The numerical results show that there exist both upwelling and downwelling along coastline that mainly depends on the large scale ocean condition. Numerically results of the upwelling (downwelling), coastal jet and temperature front zone are favorable to the observations.

The effect of land management on plant community composition, species diversity, and productivity of alpine Kobersia steppe meadow

Grassland degradation is widespread and severe on the Tibet Plateau. To explore management approaches for sustainable development of degraded and restored ecosystems, we studied the effect of land degradation on species composition, species diversity, and vegetation productivity, and examined the relative influence of various rehabilitation practices (two seeding treatments and a non-seeded natural recovery treatment) on community structure and vegetation productivity in early secondary succession. The results showed: (1) All sedge and grass species of the natural steppe meadow had disappeared from the severely degraded land. The above-ground and root biomass of severely degraded land were only 38 and 14.7%, respectively, of those of the control. So, the original ecosystem has been dramatically altered by land degradation on alpine steppe meadow. (2) Seeding measures may promote above-ground biomass, particularly grass biomass, and ground cover. Except for the grasses seeded, however, other grass and sedge species did not occur after seeding treatments in the sixth year of seeding. Establishment of grasses during natural recovery treatment progressed slowly compared with during seeding treatments. Many annual forbs invaded and established during the 6 years of natural recovery. In addition, there was greater diversity after natural recovery treatment than after seeding treatments. (3) The above-ground biomass after seeding treatment and natural recovery treatment were 114 and 55%, respectively, of that of the control. No significant differences in root biomass occurred among the natural recovery and seeded treatments. Root biomass after rehabilitation treatment was 23-31% that of the control.

The effect of land management on carbon and nitrogen status in plants and soils of alpine meadows on the Tibetan plateau

Large-scale grassland rehabilitation has been carried out on the severely degraded lands of the Tibetan plateau. The grasslands created provide a useful model for evaluating the recovery of ecosystem properties. The purposes of this research were: (1) to examine the relative influence of various rehabilitation practices on carbon and nitrogen in plants and soils in early secondary succession; and (2) to evaluate the degree to which severely degraded grassland altered plant and soil properties relative to the non-disturbed native community. The results showed: (1) The aboveground tissue C and N content in the control were 105-97 g m(-2) and 3.356gm(-2), respectively. The aboveground tissue C content in the mixed seed treatment, the single seed treatment, the natural recovery treatment and the severely degraded treatment was 137 per cent, 98 per cent, 49 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, of that in the control. The corresponding aboveground tissue N content was 109 per cent, 84 per cent, 60 per cent and 47 per cent, respectively, of that in the control. (2) Root C and N content in 0-20 cm depths of the control had an 2 2 average 1606 gm(-2) and 30-36 gm(-2) respectively. Root C and N content in the rehabilitation treatments were in the range of 26-36 per cent and 35-53 per cent, while those in the severely degraded treatment were only 17 per cent and 26 per cent of that in the control. (3) In the control the average soil C and N content at 0-20 cm was 11307 gm(-2) and 846 gm(-2), respectively. Soil C content in the uppermost 20 cm in the seeded treatments, the natural recovery treatment and the severely degraded treatment was 67 per cent, 73 per cent and 57 per cent, respectively, while soil N content in the uppermost 20cm was 72 per cent, 82 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively, of that in the control. The severely degraded land was a major C source. Restoring the severely degraded lands to perennial vegetation was an alternative approach to sequestering C in former degraded systems. N was a limiting factor in seeding grassland. It is necessary for sustainable utilization of seeding grassland to supply extra N fertilizer to the soil or to add legume species into the seed mix. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.