Unsteady free Convection MHD Boundary Layer Flow Near a Three-Dimensional Stagnation Point

The unsteady free convection boundary layer hydromagnectic flow near a stagnation point of a three-dimensional body with applied magnetic field and time-dependent wall temperature has been studied. Both semi-semilar and self-similar cases have been considered. The equations governing the above flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme due to Keller. The magnetic field is found to reduce both the heat transfer and skin friction. The effect of the variation of the wall temperature with time and of mass transfer is found to be more pronounced on the heat transfer than on the skin friction. In self-similar case, for decelerating flow, there is temperature overshoot in the presence of fmagnetic field, but in semi-similar case overshoot occurs even without magnetic field due to the unsteadiness

Wigner distributions for finite-state systems without redundant phase-point operators

We set up Wigner distributions for N-state quantum systems following a Dirac-inspired approach. In contrast to much of the work in this study, requiring a 2N x 2N phase space, particularly when N is even, our approach is uniformly based on an N x N phase-space grid and thereby avoids the necessity of having to invoke a `quadrupled' phase space and hence the attendant redundance. Both N odd and even cases are analysed in detail and it is found that there are striking differences between the two. While the N odd case permits full implementation of the marginal property, the even case does so only in a restricted sense. This has the consequence that in the even case one is led to several equally good definitions of the Wigner distributions as opposed to the odd case where the choice turns out to be unique.

Resonant absorption of alfvén waves near a neutral point

It is shown that, although the mathematical analysis of the Alfven-wave equation does not show any variation at non-zero or zero singular points, the role of surface waves in the physical mechanism of resonant absorption of Alfven waves is very different at these points. This difference becomes even greater when resistivity is taken into account. At the neutral point the zero-frequency surface waves that are symmetric surface modes of the structured neutral layer couple to the tearing mode instability of the layer. The importance of this study for the energy balance in tearing modes and the association of surface waves with driven magnetic reconnection is also pointed out.

Persistent passive hopping and juggling is possible even with plastic collisions

We describe simple one-dimensional models of passive (no energy input, no control), generally dissipative, vertical hopping and one-ball juggling. The central observation is that internal passive system motions can conspire to eliminate collisions in these systems. For hopping, two point masses are connected by a spring and the lower mass has inelastic collisions with the ground. For juggling, a lower point-mass hand is connected by a spring to the ground and an upper point-mass ball is caught with an inelastic collision and then re-thrown into gravitational free flight. The two systems have identical dynamics. Despite inelastic collisions between non-zero masses, these systems have special symmetric energy-conserving periodic motions where the collision is at zero relative velocity. Additionally, these special periodic motions have a non-zero sized, one-sided region of attraction on the higher-energy side. For either very large or very small mass ratios, the one-sided region of attraction is large. These results persist for mildly non-linear springs and non-constant gravity. Although non-collisional damping destroys the periodic motions, small energy injection makes the periodic motions stable, with a two-sided region of attraction. The existence of such special energy conserving solutions for hopping and juggling points to possibly useful strategies for both animals and robots. The lossless motions are demonstrated with a table-top experiment.

Succinate esters: odd-even effects in melting points

Dialkyl succinates show a pattern of alternating behavior in their melting points, as the number of C atoms in the alkane side chain increases, unlike in the dialkyl oxalates Joseph et al. (2011). Acta Cryst. B67, 525-534]. Dialkyl succinates with odd numbers of C atoms in the alkyl side chain show higher melting points than the immediately adjacent analogues with even numbers. The crystal structures and their molecular packing have been analyzed for a series of dialkyl succinates with 1 - 4 C atoms in the alkyl side chain. The energy difference (Delta E) between the optimized and observed molecular conformations, density, Kitaigorodskii packing index (KPI) and C-H center dot center dot center dot O interactions are considered to rationalize this behavior. In contrast to the dialkyl oxalates where a larger number of moderately strong C-H center dot center dot center dot O interactions were characteristic of oxalates with elevated melting points, here the molecular packing and the density play a major role in raising the melting point. On moving from oxalate to succinate esters the introduction of the C2 spacer adds two activated H atoms to the asymmetric unit, resulting in the formation of stronger C-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds in all succinates. As a result the crystallinity of long-chain alkyl substituted esters improves enormously in the presence of hydrogen bonds from activated donors.

Haemophilus influenzae Genome Database (HIGDB): A single point web resource for Haemophilus influenzae

Background: Haemophilus influenzae (H. Influenzae) is the causative agent of pneumonia, bacteraemia and meningitis. The organism is responsible for large number of deaths in both developed and developing countries. Even-though the first bacterial genome to be sequenced was that of H. Influenzae, there is no exclusive database dedicated for H. Influenzae. This prompted us to develop the Haemophilus influenzae Genome Database (HIGDB). Methods: All data of HIGDB are stored and managed in MySQL database. The HIGDB is hosted on Solaris server and developed using PERL modules. Ajax and JavaScript are used for the interface development. Results: The HIGDB contains detailed information on 42,741 proteins, 18,077 genes including 10 whole genome sequences and also 284 three dimensional structures of proteins of H. influenzae. In addition, the database provides ``Motif search'' and ``GBrowse''. The HIGDB is freely accessible through the URL:http://bioserverl.physicslisc.ernetin/HIGDB/. Discussion: The HIGDB will be a single point access for bacteriological, clinical, genomic and proteomic information of H. influenzae. The database can also be used to identify DNA motifs within H. influenzae genomes and to compare gene or protein sequences of a particular strain with other strains of H. influenzae. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new two point method of obtaining Cv from a consolidation test: Discussion

Careful study of various aspects presented in the note reveals basic fallacies in the concept and final conclusions.The Authors claim to have presented a new method of determining C-v. However, the note does not contain a new method. In fact, the method proposed is an attempt to generate settlement vs. time data using only two values of (t,8). The Authors have used a rectangular hyperbola method to determine C-v from the predicated 8- t data. In this context, the title of the paper itself is misleading and questionable. The Authors have compared C-v values predicated with measured values, both of them being the results of the rectangular hyperbola method.

Temperature dependent vibrational lifetimes in supercritical fluids near the critical point

Vibrational relaxation measurements on the CO asymmetric stretching mode (similar to 1980 cm(-1)) of tungsten hexacarbonyl (W(CO)(6)) as a function of temperature at constant density in several supercritical solvents in the vicinity of the critical point are presented. In supercritical ethane, at the critical density, there is a region above the critical temperature (Tc) in which the lifetime increases with increasing temperature. When the temperature is raised sufficiently (similar to T-c + 70 degrees C), the lifetime decreases with further increase in temperature. A recent hydrodynamic/thermodynamic theory of vibrational relaxation in supercritical fluids reproduces this behavior semiquantitatively. The temperature dependent data for fixed densities somewhat above and below the critical density is in better agreement with the theory. In fluoroform solvent at the critical density, the vibrational lifetime also initially increases with increasing temperature. However, in supercritical CO2 at the critical density, the temperature dependent vibrational lifetime decreases approximately linearly with temperature beginning almost immediately above T-c. The theory does not reproduce this behavior. A comparison between the absolute lifetimes in the three solvents and the temperature trends is made.

Unsteady free convection flow in the stagnation-point region of a rotating sphere

The unsteady free convection boundary-layer flow in the forward stagnation-point region of a sphere, which is rotating with time-dependent angular velocity in an ambient fluid, has been studied. Both constant wall temperature and constant hear flux conditions have been considered. The non-linear coupled parabolic partial differential equations governing the flow have been solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme. The skin friction and the heat transfer are enhanced by the buoyancy force. The effect of the buoyancy force is found to be more pronounced for smaller Prandtl numbers than for larger Prandtl numbers. For a given buoyancy force, the heat transfer increases with an increase in Prandtl number, but the skin friction decreases.

Unsteady free convection flow in the stagnation-point region of a three-dimensional body

The unsteady free convection flow in the stagnation-point region of a heated three-dimensional body placed in an ambient fluid is studied under boundary layer approximations. We have considered the case where there is an initial steady state that is perturbed by a step-change in the wall temperature. The non-linear coupled partial differential equations governing the free convection flow are solved numerically using a finite difference scheme. The presented results show the temporal development of the momentum and thermal boundary layer characteristics.

Field and potential around local scatterers in thin metal films studied by scanning tunneling potentiometry

We report the direct observation of electrochemical potential and local transport field variations near scatterers like grain boundaries, triple points, and voids in thin platinum films studied by scanning tunneling potentiometry. The field is highest at a void, followed by a triple point and a grain boundary. The local transport field near a void can even be four orders of magnitude higher than the macroscopic field, indicating that the void is the most likely place for an electromigration induced failure. The field build up for a particular type of scatterer depends on the grain connectivity. We estimate an average grain boundary reflection coefficient for the film from the temperature dependence of its resistivity.

Flow and heat transfer in a stagnation-point flow over a stretching sheet with a magnetic field

The flow and heat transfer problem in the boundary layer induced by a continuous moving surface is important in many manufacturing processes in industry such as the boundary layer along material handling conveyers, the aerodynamic extrusion of plastic sheet, the cooling of an infinite metalic plate in a cooling bath (which may also be electrolyte). Glass blowing, continuous casting and spinning of fibres also involve the flow due to a stretching surface. Sakiadis [1] was the first to study the flow induced by a semi-infinite moving wall in an ambient fluid. On the other hand, Crane [2] first studied the flow over a linearly stretching sheet in an ambient fluid. Subsequently, Crane [3] also investigated the corresponding heat transfer problem. Since then several authors [4-8] have studied various aspects of this problem such as the effects of mass transfer, variable wall temperature, constant heat flux, magnetic field etc. Recently, Andersson [9] has obtained an exact solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for the MHD flow over a linearly stretching sheet in an ambient fluid. Also Chiam [10] has studied the heat transfer with variable thermal conductivity on a stretching sheet when the velocities of the sheet and the free stream are equal.

Defect production due to quenching through a multicritical point

We study the generation of defects when a quantum spin system is quenched through a multicritical point by changing a parameter of the Hamiltonian as t/tau, where tau is the characteristic timescale of quenching. We argue that when a quantum system is quenched across a multicritical point, the density of defects (n) in the final state is not necessarily given by the Kibble-Zurek scaling form n similar to 1/tau(d nu)/((z nu+1)), where d is the spatial dimension, and. and z are respectively the correlation length and dynamical exponent associated with the quantum critical point. We propose a generalized scaling form of the defect density given by n similar to 1/(tau d/(2z2)), where the exponent z(2) determines the behavior of the off-diagonal term of the 2 x 2 Landau-Zener matrix at the multicritical point. This scaling is valid not only at a multicritical point but also at an ordinary critical point.

Micro-scale anaerobic digestion of point source components of organic fraction of municipal solid waste

The fermentation characteristics of six specific types of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) were examined, with an emphasis on properties that are needed when designing plug-flow type anaerobic bioreactors. More specifically, the decomposition patterns of a vegetable (cabbage), fruits (banana and citrus peels), fresh leaf litter of bamboo and teak leaves, and paper (newsprint) waste streams as feedstocks were studied. Individual OFMSW components were placed into nylon mesh bags and subjected to various fermentation periods (solids retention time, SRT) within the inlet of a functioning plug-flow biogas fermentor. These were removed at periodic intervals, and their composition was analyzed to monitor decomposition rates and changes in chemical composition. Components like cabbage waste, banana peels, and orange peels fermented rapidly both in a plug-flow biogas reactor (PFBR) as well as under a biological methane potential (BMP) assay, while other OFMSW components (leaf litter from bamboo and teak leaves and newsprint) fermented slowly with poor process stability and moderate biodegradation. For fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW), a rapid and efficient removal of pectins is the main cause of rapid disintegration of these feedstocks, which left behind very little compost forming residues (2–5%). Teak and bamboo leaves and newsprint decomposed only to 25–50% in 30 d. These results confirm the potential for volatile fatty acids accumulation in a PFBR’s inlet and suggest a modification of the inlet zone or operation of a PFBR with the above feedstocks.

Probing the Neutral Edge Modes in Transport across a Point Contact via Thermal Effects in the Read-Rezayi Non-Abelian Quantum Hall States

Non-Abelian quantum Hall states are characterized by the simultaneous appearance of charge and neutral gapless edge modes, with the structure of the latter being intricately related to the existence of bulk quasiparticle excitations obeying non-Abelian statistics. Here we propose a scenario for detecting the neutral modes by having two point contacts in series separated by a distance set by the thermal equilibration length of the charge mode. We show that by using the first point contact as a heating device, the excess charge noise measured at the second point contact carries a nontrivial signature of the presence of the neutral mode. We also obtain explicit expressions for the thermal conductance and corresponding Lorentz number for transport across a quantum point contact between two edges held at different temperatures and chemical potentials.