Art foliage, for sculpture and decoration; with an analysis of geometric form,

Mode of access: Internet.

Optimizing Photovoltaic Response by Tuning Light-Harvesting Nanocrystal Shape Synthesized Using a Quick Liquid-Gas Phase Reaction

The electron recombination lifetime in a sensitized semiconductor assembly is greatly influenced by the crystal structure and geometric form of the light-harvesting semiconductor nanocrystal. When such light harvesters with varying structural characteristics are configured in a photoanode, its interface with the electrolyte becomes equally important and directly influences the photovoltaic efficiency. We have systematically probed here the influence of nanocrystal crystallographic structure and shape on the electron recombination lifetime and its eventual influence on the light to electricity conversion efficiency of a liquid junction semiconductor sensitized solar cell. The light-harvesting cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocrystals of distinctly different and controlled shapes are obtained using a novel and simple liquid gas phase synthesis method performed at different temperatures involving very short reaction times. High resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic studies respectively exhibit different crystallographic phase content and optical properties. When assembled on a mesoscopic TiO2 film by a linker molecule, they exhibit remarkable variation in electron recombination lifetime by 1 order of magnitude, as determined by ac-impedance spectroscopy. This also drastically affects the photovoltaic efficiency of the differently shaped nanocrystal sensitized solar cells.

Optimizing Photovoltaic Response by Tuning Light-Harvesting Nanocrystal Shape Synthesized Using a Quick Liquid-Gas Phase Reaction

The electron recombination lifetime in a sensitized semiconductor assembly is greatly influenced by the crystal structure and geometric form of the light-harvesting semiconductor nanocrystal. When such light harvesters with varying structural characteristics are configured in a photoanode, its interface with the electrolyte becomes equally important and directly influences the photovoltaic efficiency. We have systematically probed here the influence of nanocrystal crystallographic structure and shape on the electron recombination lifetime and its eventual influence on the light to electricity conversion efficiency of a liquid junction semiconductor sensitized solar cell. The light-harvesting cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocrystals of distinctly different and controlled shapes are obtained using a novel and simple liquid gas phase synthesis method performed at different temperatures involving very short reaction times. High resolution synchrotron X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic studies respectively exhibit different crystallographic phase content and optical properties. When assembled on a mesoscopic TiO2 film by a linker molecule, they exhibit remarkable variation in electron recombination lifetime by 1 order of magnitude, as determined by ac-impedance spectroscopy. This also drastically affects the photovoltaic efficiency of the differently shaped nanocrystal sensitized solar cells.

East African Fisheries Research Organization Annual Report 1951

The examination of a considerable amount of data has led to the conclusion that Lake Victoria should be considered as many lakes within a lake. This is not a vague and seemingly obvious remark based on the superficial observation that it is a very large lake containing numerous islands and with a highly indented coastline, and therefore providing variable local conditions. Such local conditions would exist in any lake whose basin departed from a simple geometric form. But evidence has now been collected to show that really significant differences occur between different regions within the lake. These differences are apparent from a variety of data, including the nature of the bottom deposits, the chemical and hydrological condition of the water, the amount and kind of plankton and the distribution and abundance of the fauna. Our findings are as yet somewhat sketchy, and it will be a long time before it will be possible to draw an adequate picture of the various regions of the lake; it is however, of great value to have reached a position enabling us to form this general concept. The most striking and definite evidence is derived, as might be expected, from hydrological data. Details of this work are contained in the hydrological section of this report. Any data recorded below should be considered as applying only to the particular areas mentioned. In other words it would, to draw an obvious example be wrong to suppose that because fish grow at a particular rate in one part of the lake they will grow at the same rate or to the same size in other regions of the lake.

Improving methods in gap ecology: Revisiting size and shape distributions using a model selection approach

Questions: We assess gap size and shape distributions, two important descriptors of the forest disturbance regime, by asking: which statistical model best describes gap size distribution; can simple geometric forms adequately describe gap shape; does gap size or shape vary with forest type, gap age or the method used for gap delimitation; and how similar are the studied forests and other tropical and temperate forests? Location: Southeastern Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Methods: Analysing over 150 gaps in two distinct forest types (seasonal and rain forests), a model selection framework was used to select appropriate probability distributions and functions to describe gap size and gap shape. The first was described using univariate probability distributions, whereas the latter was assessed based on the gap area-perimeter relationship. Comparisons of gap size and shape between sites, as well as size and age classes were then made based on the likelihood of models having different assumptions for the values of their parameters. Results: The log-normal distribution was the best descriptor of gap size distribution, independently of the forest type or gap delimitation method. Because gaps became more irregular as they increased in size, all geometric forms (triangle, rectangle and ellipse) were poor descriptors of gap shape. Only when small and large gaps (> 100 or 400m2 depending on the delimitation method) were treated separately did the rectangle and isosceles triangle become accurate predictors of gap shape. Ellipsoidal shapes were poor descriptors. At both sites, gaps were at least 50% longer than they were wide, a finding with important implications for gap microclimate (e.g. light entrance regime) and, consequently, for gap regeneration. Conclusions: In addition to more appropriate descriptions of gap size and shape, the model selection framework used here efficiently provided a means by which to compare the patterns of two different types of forest. With this framework we were able to recommend the log-normal parameters μ and σ for future comparisons of gap size distribution, and to propose possible mechanisms related to random rates of gap expansion and closure. We also showed that gap shape varied highly and that no single geometric form was able to predict the shape of all gaps, the ellipse in particular should no longer be used as a standard gap shape. © 2012 International Association for Vegetation Science.

Vozes das formas na poesia concreta do Grupo Noigandres

Pós-graduação em Artes - IA

Modelamento e correção de descentralização das imagens de tempo de trânsito

As imagens da parede do poço obtidas através da ferramenta UBI (Ultrasonic Borehole Imager) são amplamente utilizadas por geólogos e engenheiros de petróleo para identificar eventos geológicos nas paredes de poços abertos e na inspeção dos tubos de revestimento, uma vez que este perfil praticamente fornece uma fotografia da parede do poço. As ferramentas de imageamento acústico produzem imagens do tempo de trânsito e da amplitude do pulso acústico gerado pela ferramenta e refletido na parede do poço. Entretanto, estas imagens podem ter uma interpretação não realista, uma vez que elas podem ter seu aspecto alterado em razão do movimento da ferramenta no interior do poço. Este trabalho apresenta o modelamento das imagens de tempo de trânsito a partir da aplicação do critério de Coulomb para a ruptura da parede do poço submetida a um estado plano de tensões, a qual fornecerá a seção do poço, que é a forma geométrica que será traçada pela ferramenta de imageamento acústico do poço. O deslocamento ascensional da ferramenta e as imperfeições da parede do poço, normalmente, são os responsáveis pelo deslocamento da posição do transdutor em relação ao eixo do poço. Este efeito pode ter grande responsabilidade nas imperfeições das imagens de tempo de trânsito. Assim, a correção dessas imagens, chamada de correção da descentralização, busca o reposicionamento do transdutor para a posição do eixo do poço. Apresenta-se, também, um método de correção do efeito da descentralização da ferramenta baseado neste modelamento. O método é proposto com base na geometria analítica plana e no método do raio para a definição do tempo de trânsito do pulso acústico, com o objetivo de reconstruir as imagens de tempo de trânsito obtidas com a ferramenta descentralizada, ou seja, corrigir estas imagens tornando-as como se fossem obtidas com a ferramenta centralizada em relação ao eixo do poço.

Surface fitting in geomorphology - examples for regular-shaped volcanic landforms

In nature, several types of landforms have simple shapes: as they evolve they tend to take on an ideal, simple geometric form such as a cone, an ellipsoid or a paraboloid. Volcanic landforms are possibly the best examples of this ?ideal? geometry, since they develop as regular surface features due to the point-like (circular) or fissure-like (linear) manifestation of volcanic activity. In this paper, we present a geomorphometric method of fitting the ?ideal? surface onto the real surface of regular-shaped volcanoes through a number of case studies (Mt. Mayon, Mt. Somma, Mt. Semeru, and Mt. Cameroon). Volcanoes with circular, as well as elliptical, symmetry are addressed. For the best surface fit, we use the minimization library MINUIT which is made freely available by the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). This library enables us to handle all the available surface data (every point of the digital elevation model) in a one-step, half-automated way regardless of the size of the dataset, and to consider simultaneously all the relevant parameters of the selected problem, such as the position of the center of the edifice, apex height, and cone slope, thanks to the highly performing adopted procedure. Fitting the geometric surface, along with calculating the related error, demonstrates the twofold advantage of the method. Firstly, we can determine quantitatively to what extent a given volcanic landform is regular, i.e. how much it follows an expected regular shape. Deviations from the ideal shape due to degradation (e.g. sector collapse and normal erosion) can be used in erosion rate calculations. Secondly, if we have a degraded volcanic landform, whose geometry is not clear, this method of surface fitting reconstructs the original shape with the maximum precision. Obviously, in addition to volcanic landforms, this method is also capable of constraining the shapes of other regular surface features such as aeolian, glacial or periglacial landforms.

Controlling soliton refraction in optical lattices

We show in the framework of the 1D nonlinear Schrödinger equation that the value of the refraction angle of a fundamental soliton beam passing through an optical lattice can be controlled by adjusting either the shape of an individual waveguide or the relative positions of the waveguides. In the case of the shallow refractive index modulation, we develop a general approach for the calculation of the refraction angle change. The shape of a single waveguide crucially affects the refraction direction due to the appearance of a structural form factor in the expression for the density of emitted waves. For a lattice of scatterers, wave-soliton interference inside the lattice leads to the appearance of an additional geometric form factor. As a result, the soliton refraction is more pronounced for the disordered lattices than for the periodic ones.

Patterns in the lottery game

The present study is based on the analysis and results of a close to 5 years’ study in the frame which we used a “Lottery Game” in the "Decision Making Skills" subject taught at Corvinus Business School, Corvinus University of Budapest. In the frame of the "game", the students (Hungarians (n=231) and foreigners (n=267) alike) have to mark 6 numbers on a 7x7 lottery ticket. The winner is the student whose numbers differ the most from those of all the other students’. Upon analyzing the results (irrespectively of nationality) the authors have noted something notable: the winning combinations - rather than being located randomly on the ticket, characteristically resemble a geometric form. In our study we wanted to detect the relevance of geometry in this kind of choices. It is hypothesized that in such games (lottery type, related to numeric combination choice), where the players decide upon their strategy (choice of numbers) by also taking into consideration others’ expected choices, the winning strategy is characteristically some consciously chosen scheme or pattern as opposed to a random one. The study presents the results of the available samples (Hungarian students: n=231, foreign students: n=267), the winning combinations, the most often designated numbers, as well as the least “popular” numbers and their presentation on a "heat map". In the case of the majority of the winning tickets we found the use of conscious strategic choice to be more useful. These conscious strategic decisions were reflected in identifiable geometric forms. Based on the results, we hypothesize that in the "hidden lottery" game – in contrast with random choice – the most effective strategy of choice is the conscious ordered one in which the player marks the numbers on the lottery ticket in some modified geometric pattern. The goal of the paper is to propose further research on the field.

The making of geometry

Geometry has been a source of inspiration in the design of the manmade world for millennia; it also provides representational means enabling development of a concept into a built object. In the past three decades computing methodologies have provided the designer with unprecedented tools to explore highly complex forms, create digital models and fabricate them. This paper describes a computational methodology for the transition of forms from abstract geometric configurations to physical objects: a parametric design process assists from the initial ideation to the final prototyping with 3D printing technologies. The five regular polyhedra are used as a case study; this paper explores how parametric based procedures develop these geometric shapes into digital models of structures to be fabricated in different sizes and materials.

The parametric making of geometry: the platonic solids

Geometry is a source of inspiration in the design and making of the manmade world. Computing techniques provide tools to explore complex forms: the research question is how computational tool can be systemised to assist with the translation of geometric concepts into physical objects. The purpose is to describe computational/manufacturing methods for creating digital models and physical objects from regular geometric configurations. The methods are based on parametric design, assisting from ideation to the generation of digital models with material specifications – using the five regular convex polyhedra as a case study. The results are comprised of digital models used for prototyping with 3D printing technologies and hybrid fabrication processes: the products are built geometric shapes ranging from body ornaments to sculptures. These procedures can be extended to generate designs based on irregular geometric shapes. Parametric-based methods are recommended in the digital modeling and fabrication of any geometric form.

A geometric algorithm for an artificial life form based on anachronistic methods

Modern methods of spawning new technological motifs are not appropriate when it is desired to realize artificial life as an actual real world entity unto itself (Pattee 1995; Brooks 2006; Chalmers 1995). Many fundamental aspects of such a machine are absent in common methods, which generally lack methodologies of construction. In this paper we mix classical and modern studies in order to attempt to realize an artificial life form from first principles. A model of an algorithm is introduced, its methodology of construction is presented, and the fundamental source from which it sprang is discussed.

Geometric characteristics of conics in Bézier form

Derive coordinate-free expressions for geometric characteristics of conics written in Bézier form in terms of their control points and weights.

Geometric characteristics of conics in Bézier form

Synthetic derivation of closed formulae of the geometric characteristic of a conic given in Bézier form in terms of its control polygon, (P; Q; R) and weights, (1; w; 1g)