Applications of reverse saturable absorbers in laser science

A variety of applications exist for reverse saturable absorbers (RSAs) in the area of optical pulse processing and computing. An RSA can be used as power limiter/pulse smoother and energy limiter/pulse shortner of laser pulses. A combination of RSA and saturable absorber (SA) can be used for mode locking and pulse shaping between high power laser amplifiers in oscillator amplifier chain. Also, an RSA can be used for the construction of a molecular spatial light modulator (SLM) which acts as an input/output device in optical computers. A detailed review of the theoretical studies of these processes is presented. Current efforts to find RSAs at desired wavelength for testing these theoretical predictions are also discussed.

Aspects of tautomerism. 7. Study of keto participation in alkaline hydrolysis of normal esters of .gamma.-keto acids

Study of the alkaline hydrolysis of a number of variously substituted normal o-benzoylbenzoic esters has been reported. Although carbonyl-assisted hydrolysis is the general rule, in compounds containing strongly electron-donating groups, the ester function is directly attacked. The cause of rate enhancement in carbonyl-assisted hydrolysis and in greater detail the case of 6-substituted derivatives are discussed. It is shown that the carbonyl-assisted hydrolyses are characterized by decreased sensitivity to leaving-group structure. The implications of this result are pointed out.

Synthetic and physicochemical studies of uranium complexes with semicarbazone and hydrazone

Uranyl complexes of two Schiff bases, semicarbazone and hydrazone containing OON donor atoms have been synthesized and characterized on the basis of NMR, IR and electronic spectral studies, conductance, magnetic susceptibility and thermogravimetric data. The 1H NMR spectrum of the semicarbazone complex shows low field signals due to OH, NH and ---CH=N groups at 10.23, 9.31 and 8.17 ppm, respectively. The aromatic protons appear in the range 7.74–7.40 ppm. On complexation with U(VI) the signals due to OH and NH disappear evidently due to their participation in coordination. The coordination number of the o-vanillin semicarbazone (oVSC) complex is 6 whereas, that of the o-vanillin isonicotinic acid hydrazone (oVINAH) complex is 8, in addition to the two oxygen atoms already bonded to U(VI) in each species. The thermograms show the presence of 3 and 2 water molecules in these complexes, respectively and the IR spectral data also support the above conclusion. Suitable structures have been assigned.

A survey of indian logic from the point of view of computer science

Indian logic has a long history. It somewhat covers the domains of two of the six schools (darsanas) of Indian philosophy, namely, Nyaya and Vaisesika. The generally accepted definition of Indian logic over the ages is the science which ascertains valid knowledge either by means of six senses or by means of the five members of the syllogism. In other words, perception and inference constitute the subject matter of logic. The science of logic evolved in India through three ages: the ancient, the medieval and the modern, spanning almost thirty centuries. Advances in Computer Science, in particular, in Artificial Intelligence have got researchers in these areas interested in the basic problems of language, logic and cognition in the past three decades. In the 1980s, Artificial Intelligence has evolved into knowledge-based and intelligent system design, and the knowledge base and inference engine have become standard subsystems of an intelligent system. One of the important issues in the design of such systems is knowledge acquisition from humans who are experts in a branch of learning (such as medicine or law) and transferring that knowledge to a computing system. The second important issue in such systems is the validation of the knowledge base of the system i.e. ensuring that the knowledge is complete and consistent. It is in this context that comparative study of Indian logic with recent theories of logic, language and knowledge engineering will help the computer scientist understand the deeper implications of the terms and concepts he is currently using and attempting to develop.

Role of multicritical points in addressing some key problems concerning condensed matter science

We illustrate the potential of using higher order critical points in the deeper understanding of several interesting problems of condensed matter science, e.g. critical adsorption, finite size effects, morphology of critical fluctuations, reversible aggregation of colloids, dynamics of the ordering process, etc.