A simple closed aquatic ecosystem (CAES) for space

A closed aquatic ecosystem (CAES) was developed to stud), the effects of microgravity on the function of closed ecosystems aboard the Chinese retrieved satellite and on the spacecraft SHENZHOU-II. These systems housed a small freshwater snail (Bulinus australianus) and an autotrophic green algae (Chlorella pyrenoidosa). The results of the test on the satellite were that the concentration of algae changed little, but that the snails died during the experiments. We then sought to optimize the function of the control system, the cultural conditions and the data acquisition system and carried out an experiment on the spacecraft SHENZHOU-II. Using various sensors to monitor the CAES, real-time data regarding the operation of the CAES in microgravity was acquired. In addition, all on-board Ig centrifuge was included to identify gravity-related factors. It was found that microgravity is the major factor affecting the operation of the CAES in space. The change in biomass of the primary producer during each day in microgravity was larger than that of the control groups. The mean biomass concentration per day in the microgravity group decreased, but that of the control groups increased for several days and then leveled off. Space effects on the biomass of a primary producer may be a result of microgravity effects leading to increasing metabolic rates of the consumer combined with decreases in photosynthesis. (c) 2007 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real-time studies on microalgae under microgravity

Using remote sensing technique, we investigated real-time Nostoc sphaeroides Kiltz (Cyanobacterium) in Closed System under microgravity by SHENZHOU-2 spacecraft in January 2001. The experiments had 1g centrifuges in space for control and ground control group experiments were also carried out in the same equipments and under the same controlled condition. The data about the population growth of Nostoc sp. of experiments and temperature changes of system were got from spacecraft every minute. From the data, we can find that population growth of Nostoc sp. in microgravity group was higher than that of other groups in space or on ground, even though both the control I g group in space and I g group on ground indicated same increasing characteristics in experiments. The growth rate of 1.4g group (centrifuged group on ground) was also promoted during experiment. The temperature changes of systems are also affected by gravity and light. Some aspects about those differences were discussed. From the discussion of these results during experiment, it can be found that gravity is the major factor to lead to these changes. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Space grown semi-insulating gallium arsenide single crystal and its application

Low noise field effect transistors and analogue switch integrated circuits (ICs) have been fabricated in semi-insulating gallium arsenide (SI-GaAs) wafers grown in space by direct ion-implantation. The electrical behaviors of the devices and the ICs have surpassed those fabricated in the terrestrially grown SI-GaAs wafers. The highest gain and the lowest noise of the transistors made from space-grown SI-GaAs wafers are 22.8 dB and 0.78 dB, respectively. The threshold back-gating voltage of the ICs made from space-grown SI-GaAs wafers is better than 8.5 V The con-elation between the characterizations of materials and devices is studied systematically. (C) 2002 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Determination of the interdiffusion coefficients of liquid Zn and Sn using Ta/Zn-Sn/Si trilayers

In this paper we present a new method for measuring diffusion coefficients in liquid metals under convection-less conditions with solid/liquid-liquid/solid trilayer. The advantage of this kind of trilayer is that effects from gravity-induced convection and Marangoni-convection can be omitted, so that the diffusion coefficient is determined more accurately. The Ta/Zn-Sn/Si trilayer were prepared with a multi-target ion-beam sputtering deposition technique and annealed in an electric furnace under an argon atmosphere. The interdiffusion of liquid zinc and tin at 500 degrees degree C was investigated. The diffusion concentration profiles were determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy. The interdiffusion coefficients range from 1.0x10(-6)cm(2)/s to 2.8x10(-6)cm(2)/s, which is less than previous values measured by capillary reservoir technique under 1g-environment where various convection exist. The precise interdiffusion coefficients of liquid zinc and tin result from the removing of disturbances of various kinds of convection.

Comparison of field effect transistor characteristics between space-grown and earth-grown gallium arsenide single crystal substrates

Semi-insulating gallium arsenide single crystal grown in space has been used in fabricating low noise field effect transistors and analog switch integrated circuits by the direct ion-implantation technique. All key electrical properties of these transistors and integrated circuits have surpassed those made from conventional earth-grown gallium arsenide. This result shows that device-grade space-grown semiconducting single crystal has surpassed the best terrestrial counterparts. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Experimental and numerical investigations on dissolution and recrystallization processes of GaSb/InSb/GaSb under microgravity and terrestrial conditions

The effects of gravity and crystal orientation on the dissolution of GaSb into InSb melt and the recrystallization of InGaSb were investigated under microgravity condition using a Chinese recoverable satellite and under normal gravity condition on earth. To investigate the effect of gravity on the solid/liquid interface and compositional profiles. a numerical simulation was carried out. The InSb crystal melted at 525 degrees C and then a part of GaSb dissolved into the InSb melt during heating to 706 degrees C and this process led to the formation of InGaSb solution. InGaSb solidified during the cooling process. The experimental and calculation results clearly show that the shape of the solid/liquid interface and compositional profiles in the solution were significantly affected by gravity. Under microgravity, as the Ga compositional profiles were uniform in the radial direction. the interfaces were almost parallel. On the contrary, for normal gravity condition, as large amounts of Ga moved up in the upper region due to buoyancy, the dissolved zone broadened towards gravitational direction. Also. during the cooling process, needle crystals of InGaSb started appearing and the value of x of InxGa1-xSb crystals increased with the decrease of temperature. The GaSb with the (111)B plane dissolved into the InSb melt much more than that of the (111)A plane. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Geomagnetic paleointensity dating of South China Sea sediments for the last 130 kyr

Relative paleointensity records from the northern South China Sea, northwest Pacific Ocean were studied in two gravity piston cores. Continuous mineral magnetic and paleomagnetic measurements were made using discrete sediment samples. Detailed rock magnetic parameters, such as thermomagnetic and high-field hysteresis data, indicate that pseudo-single domain magnetite in a narrow range of grain-size and concentration is the main contributor to the remanent magnetization. The uniform magnetic mineralogy meets the commonly accepted criteria for establishing relative paleointensity records. The relative paleointensity (RPI) curves were constructed by normalizing the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) with isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM), both in the 20-60 mT demagnetization state. Dating constraints have been provided by radiocarbon ages in the upper 400 cm of both cores. Furthermore, we have correlated our paleointensity records with NAPIS-75, S.Atlantic-1089, Sint-200 and NOPAPIS-250 to determine the chronological RPI framework for the South China Sea (SCS-PIS). Although some temporal offsets of paleointensity features between the different records have been recognized, their similar shape suggests that relative paleointensity on the 10(3)-10(4) year scale is globally coherent and can provide an age framework for sediments independent of delta O-18 ages.

黄土高原水土流失治理进展及其对策

黄土高原地区水土流失类型复杂,既有自然因素和人为因素,也有水力、风力、重力产生的变化。同时气候干旱、水资源缺乏成为植物生长和生态环境改善的最大障碍。在国家实施西部大开发的进程中,良好的生态环境成为生存与发展和建设小康社会的标志。无论从西部大开发的战略角度考虑,还是从退耕还林(草)政策实施8年以后,如何解决黄土高原地区人民群众衣食住行、经济发展问题及黄河减沙的角度来看,采取有效措施,加快该区的生态建设已势在必行。根据第十一个五年规划的建议,以生态恢复学和土壤侵蚀学的基本原理为指导,分析了黄土高原地区的重要性,探讨了黄土高原生态建设与经济发展的基本现状,因地制宜地提出了发展对策。

Space-grown SI-GaAs and its application

A semi-insulating GaAs single crystal ingot was grown in a recoverable satellite, within a specially designed pyrolytic boron nitride crucible, in a power-travelling furnace under microgravity. The crystal was characterized systematically and was used in fabricating low noise field effect transistors and analogue switch integrated circuits by the direct ion-implantation technique. All key electrical properties of these transistors and integrated circuits have surpassed those made from conventional earth-grown gallium arsenide. This result shows that device-grade space-grown semiconducting single. crystal has surpassed the best. terrestrial counterparts. Studies on the correlation between SI-GaAs wafers and the electronic devices and integrated circuits indicate that the characteristics of a compound semiconductor single crystal depends fundamentally on its stoichiometry.

Space grown semi-insulating gallium arsenide single crystal and its application

Low noise field effect transistors and analogue switch integrated circuits (ICs) have been fabricated in semi-insulating gallium arsenide (SI-GaAs) wafers grown in space by direct ion-implantation. The electrical behaviors of the devices and the ICs have surpassed those fabricated in the terrestrially grown SI-GaAs wafers. The highest gain and the lowest noise of the transistors made from space-grown SI-GaAs wafers are 22.8 dB and 0.78 dB, respectively. The threshold back-gating voltage of the ICs made from space-grown SI-GaAs wafers is better than 8.5 V The con-elation between the characterizations of materials and devices is studied systematically. (C) 2002 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Determination of the interdiffusion coefficients of liquid Zn and Sn using Ta/Zn-Sn/Si trilayers

In this paper we present a new method for measuring diffusion coefficients in liquid metals under convection-less conditions with solid/liquid-liquid/solid trilayer. The advantage of this kind of trilayer is that effects from gravity-induced convection and Marangoni-convection can be omitted, so that the diffusion coefficient is determined more accurately. The Ta/Zn-Sn/Si trilayer were prepared with a multi-target ion-beam sputtering deposition technique and annealed in an electric furnace under an argon atmosphere. The interdiffusion of liquid zinc and tin at 500 degrees degree C was investigated. The diffusion concentration profiles were determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy. The interdiffusion coefficients range from 1.0x10(-6)cm(2)/s to 2.8x10(-6)cm(2)/s, which is less than previous values measured by capillary reservoir technique under 1g-environment where various convection exist. The precise interdiffusion coefficients of liquid zinc and tin result from the removing of disturbances of various kinds of convection.

Application of the characteristic CIP method to a shallow water model on the sphere

Semi-implicit algorithms are popularly used to deal with the gravitational term in numerical models. In this paper, we adopt the method of characteristics to compute the solutions for gravity waves on a sphere directly using a semi-Lagrangian advection scheme instead of the semi-implicit method in a shallow water model, to avoid expensive matrix inversions. Adoption of the semi-Lagrangian scheme renders the numerical model always stable for any Courant number, and which saves CPU time. To illustrate the efficiency of the characteristic constrained interpolation profile (CIP) method, some numerical results are shown for idealized test cases on a sphere in the Yin-Yang grid system.

Effects of oriented substrates on cell morphology, the cell cycle, and the cytoskeleton in Ros 17/2.8 cells

Absence of gravity or microgravity influences the cellular functions of bone forming osteoblasts. The underlying mechanism, however, of cellular sensing and responding to the gravity vector is poorly understood. This work quantified the impact of vector-directional gravity on the biological responses of Ros 17/2.8 cells grown on upward-, downward- or edge-on-oriented substrates. Cell morphology and nuclear translocation, cell proliferation and the cell cycle, and cytoskeletal reorganization were found to vary significantly in the three orientations. All of the responses were duration-dependent. These results provide a new insight into understanding how osteoblasts respond to static vector-directional gravity.

Instabilities and transient behaviors of a liquid film flowing down a porous inclined plane

The nonmodal linear stability of a falling film over a porous inclined plane has been investigated. The base flow is driven by gravity. We use Darcy's law to describe the flow in the porous medium. A simplified one-sided model is used to describe the fluid flow. In this model, the influence of the porous layer on the flow in the film can be identified by a parameter beta. The instabilities of a falling film have traditionally been investigated by linearizing the governing equations and testing for unstable eigenvalues of the linearized problem. However, the results of eigenvalue analysis agree poorly in many cases with experiments, especially for shear flows. In the present paper, we have studied the linear stability of three-dimensional disturbances using the nonmodal stability theory. Particular attentions are paid to the transient behavior rather than the long time behavior of eigenmodes predicted by traditional normal mode analysis. The transient behaviors of the response to external excitations and the response to initial conditions are studied by examining the pseudospectral structures and the energy growth function G(t) Before we study the nonmodal stability of the system, we extend the results of long-wave analysis in previous works by examining the linear stabilities for streamwise and spanwise disturbances. Results show that the critical conditions of both the surface mode and the shear mode instabilities are dependent on beta for streamwise disturbances. However, the spanwise disturbances have no unstable eigenvalue. 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3455503]

Thermocapillary Migration of Deformable Bubbles at Moderate to Large Marangoni Number in Microgravity

Using the level-set method and the continuum interface model, the axisymmetric thermocapillary migration of gas bubbles in an immiscible bulk liquid with a temperature gradient at moderate to large Marangoni number is simulated numerically. Constant material properties of the two phases are assumed. Steady state of the motion can always be reached. The terminal migration velocity decreases monotonously with the increase of the Marangoni number due to the wrapping of isotherms around the front surface of the bubble. Good agreements with space experimental data and previous theoretical and numerical studies in the literature are evident. Slight deformation of bubble is observed, but no distinct influence on the motion occurs. It is also found that the influence of the convective transport of heat inside bubbles cannot be neglected at finite Marangoni number, while the influence of the convective transport of momentum inside bubbles may be actually negligible.