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At least 343 records · Page 19

Direct comparison between satellite electric field measurements and the visual aurora

Electric field data from two passes of the Injun 5 satellite, one corresponding to magnetically quiet conditions and one corresponding to substorm conditions, are compared with simultaneous all-sky camera data from College, Alaska. In each case, a significant deviation of the electric field from the expected V x B field (where V is the satellite velocity) was evident, and a distinct electric field reversal could be identified. In the region of substantial electric field equatorward of the electric field reversal, a diffuse auroral arc was observed during the magnetically quiet pass, and auroral patches were observed during the substorm pass. In the substorm case, the electric field reversal occurred very near a discrete auroral arc at the poleward side of the diffuse arcs and patches. Comparison of the quiet time and substorm cases suggests that the convection electric field penetrates deeper into the magnetosphere during a substorm.

Swift, D. W.↗

Effects of inclination and eccentricity on optimal trajectories between earth and Venus

The true optimal transfers, including the effects of the inclination and eccentricity of the planets' orbits, between earth and Venus are presented as functions of the corresponding idealized Hohmann transfers. The method of determining the optimal transfers using the calculus of variations is presented. For every possible Hohmann window, specified as a continuous function of the longitude of perihelion of the Hohmann trajectory, the corresponding numerically exact optimal two-impulse transfers are given in graphical form. The cases for which the optimal two-impulse transfer is the absolute optimal, and those for which a three-impulse transfer provides the absolute optimal transfer are indicated. This information furnishes everything necessary for quick and accurate orbit calculations for preliminary Venus mission analysis. This makes it possible to use the actual optimal transfers for advanced planning in place of the standard Hohmann transfers.

Gravier, J.-P.↗

Zirconium and hafnium abundances in some lunar materials and implications of their ratios

A new rapid and precise analytical procedure for Zr and Hf has been applied to the study of lunar materials. The results indicate that the Zr/Hf ratios in lunar materials vary in a narrow range from 36.6 to 51.3 while their respective contents vary by a factor of 40. There is a strong Zr, Hf, and major element correlation. This correlation and the Zr and Hf systematics suggest that lunar materials fall into two groups. One group characterized by high Zr and Hf contents and higher Zr/Hf ratios corresponds to materials with a high KREEP content; the other characterized by low Zr and Hf contents and lower Zr/Hf ratios corresponds to materials with high Ti, Fe, Mn, and Mg contents. We believe that the modest Zr and Hf fractionation we observe is related to the extent of stabilization of the metals in the early titanium minerals and a charge disparity under extremely reduced conditions in which Zr exists as 3+, while Hf remains as 4+.

Chyi, L. L.↗

Neutral atmospheres of comets - A distributed source model

It is argued that the typical nuclear region of a comet, under a variety of circumstances, consists of a central icy nucleus surrounded by an extended icy halo of grains forming a supplementary source for the observed atmospheric constituents. A complete hydrodynamic description of a neutral atmosphere corresponding to such a distributed source model when the predominant 'parent-molecule' is H2O is given, and numerical results corresponding to two different velocity distributions of the icy halo consistent with smaller and larger grains are computed. The applicability and relevance of these models are discussed.

Ip, W.-H.↗

Families of shift-register sequences with impulsive correlation properties

A study of the linear feedback shift registers corresponding to a subset of nonprimitive irreducible polynomials over GF(2) has uncovered a class of sequences with interesting structures and cyclic correlation properties. These families of sequences are made up of interleaved identical sequences which are from primitive irreducible polynomials. Furthermore, they have correlation functions which are two or three valued, being constant at zero or a small value throughout most of their length with the exception of a small number of impulses. Each interval between such impulses on the correlograms uniquely corresponds to (and thus uniquely identifies) the member sequence or sequences producing it. It is shown that these families of sequences have direct application as error-correcting codes.

Lee, J.-J.↗

A correlative study of ssc's, interplanetary shocks, and solar activity

Ninety-three ssc's during the 4-year period from 1968 to 1971 at and near the peak of the solar activity cycle were examined. Of the 93 ssc's, 81 could be associated with solar activity such as solar flares and type 2 and type 4 radio bursts. Disturbances associated with 48 of the ssc's have been studied in detail by using the corresponding interplanetary (IP) magnetic field and plasma data when they were available. It was found that 41 of the 48 disturbances corresponded to IP shock waves, and the remaining 7 events were tangential discontinuities. Thirty per cent of the IP shocks had thick structure (i.e., the magnetic field jump across the shock occurred over a distance much greater than 50 proton Larmor radii). By considering the orientations of 22 well-determined shock normals in relation to the positions of the parent flares on the solar disk, it is suggested that a typical shock front propagating out from the sun at 1 AU has a radius of curvature of the order of 1 AU.

Chao, J. K.↗

On the nature of plasma arcs in solar active regions

A mechanism is proposed explaining the structures consisting of plasma arcs, as observed in X-ray photographs of solar active regions. It is suggested that the width of the arcs corresponds to the cut-off wavelength of a Rayleigh-Taylor instability which develops due to a difference in density between the plasma in the arcs and the plasma in the surrounding region. The transverse component of the magnetic field necessary to stabilize the instability at a wavelength corresponding to the width of the arcs is estimated to be of the order of 0.1 gauss.

Gajewski, R.↗

Single-stage experimental evaluation of tandem-airfoil rotor and stator blading for compressors, part 8

An experimental investigation was conducted with an 0.8 hub/tip ratio, single-stage, axial flow compressor to determine the potential of tandem-airfoil blading for improving the efficiency and stable operating range of compressor stages. The investigation included testing of a baseline stage with single-airfoil blading and two tandem-blade stages. The overall performance of the baseline stage and the tandem-blade stage with a 20-80% loading split was considerably below the design prediction. The other tandem-blade stage, which had a rotor with a 50-50% loading split, came within 4.5% of the design pressure rise (delta P(bar)/P(bar) sub 1) and matched the design stage efficiency. The baseline stage with single-airfoil blading, which was designed to account for the actual rotor inlet velocity profile and the effects of axial velocity ratio and secondary flow, achieved the design predicted performance. The corresponding tandem-blade stage (50-50% loading split in both blade rows) slightly exceeded the design pressure rise but was 1.5 percentage points low in efficiency. The tandem rotors tested during both phases demonstrated higher pressure rise and efficiency than the corresponding single-airfoil rotor, with identical inlet and exit airfoil angles.

Brent, J. A.↗

Strain gauge ambiguity sensor for segmented mirror active optical system

A system is described to measure alignment between interfacing edges of mirror segments positioned to form a segmented mirror surface. It serves as a gauge having a bending beam with four piezoresistive elements coupled across the interfaces of the edges of adjacent mirror segments. The bending beam has a first position corresponding to alignment of the edges of adjacent mirror segments, and it is bendable from the first position in a direction and to a degree dependent upon the relative misalignment between the edges of adjacent mirror segments to correspondingly vary the resistance of the strain guage. A source of power and an amplifier are connected in circuit with the strain gauge whereby the output of the amplifier varies according to the misalignment of the edges of adjacent mirror segments.

Wyman, C. L.↗

Particle flow within a transonic compressor rotor passage with application to laser-Doppler velocimetry

A theoretical analysis was conducted of the dynamic behavior of micron size particles moving in the three-dimensional flow field of a rotating transonic axial-flow air compressor rotor. The particle velocity lag and angular deviation relative to the gas were determined as functions of particle diameter, mass density and radial position. Particle size and density were varied over ranges selected to correspond to typical laser-Doppler velocimeter (LDV) flow field mapping applications. It was found that the particles move essentially on gas stream surfaces and that particle tracking is relatively insensitive to the rotor radial coordinate. Velocity lag and angular deviation increased whenever particle size or mass density increased, and particle tracking was more sensitive to a change in particle diameter than to a corresponding change in mass density. Results indicated that velocity and angular deviations generally less than 1 percent and 1 degree could be achieved with 1 gm/cc tracer particles with diameters of 1 micron or less.

Maxwell, B. R.↗

Direct recovery of mean gravity anomalies from satellite to satellite tracking

The direct recovery was investigated of mean gravity anomalies from summed range rate observations, the signal path being ground station to a geosynchronous relay satellite to a close satellite significantly perturbed by the short wave features of the earth's gravitational field. To ensure realistic observations, these were simulated with the nominal orbital elements for the relay satellite corresponding to ATS-6, and for two different close satellites (one at about 250 km height, and the other at about 900 km height) corresponding to the nominal values for GEOS-C. The earth's gravitational field was represented by a reference set of potential coefficients up to degree and order 12, considered as known values, and by residual gravity anomalies obtained by subtracting the anomalies, implied by the potential coefficients, from their terrestrial estimates. It was found that gravity anomalies could be recovered from strong signal without using any a-priori terrestrial information, i.e. considering their initial values as zero and also assigning them a zero weight matrix. While recovering them from weak signal, it was necessary to use the a-priori estimate of the standard deviation of the anomalies to form their a-priori diagonal weight matrix.

Hajela, D. P.↗

Evaluation of ERTS-1 image sensor spatial resolution in photographic form

The author has identified the following significant results. The digital Optical Transfer Function (OTF) measurements showed the following: (1) there are no significant differences in optical performance, in terms of OTF, among all four bands of the multispectral scanner, (2) no substantial changes in the OTF's of bands 4, 5, and 6 during the period November 1972 to May 1973, and (3) comparison between the photographic and digital (CCT) two-dimensional OTF's indicated a strong asymmetry in the photographic product OTF between the MSS scan direction and across scan direction. The coherent light Fourier analysis program showed the following: (1) for agricultural areas, bands 5 and 7 of the MSS are superior in terms of image definition, and therefore mapping and acreage estimation, (2) amplitude modulation in imagery from MSS bands 4 and 5 is between 65 to 90 percent of that in corresponding bands of Apollo 9 imagery (SO65), and (3) MSS band 5 imagery has a ground resolution between 55 to 75 percent of that exhibited in the corresponding band of Apollo 9 imagery (SO65).

Slater, P. N.↗

Characterization of measurements in quantum communication

A characterization of quantum measurements by operator valued measures is presented. The generalized measurements include simultaneous approximate measurement of noncommuting observables. This characterization is suitable for solving problems in quantum communication. Two realizations of such measurements are discussed. The first is by adjoining an apparatus to the system under observation and performing a measurement corresponding to a self-adjoint operator in the tensor-product Hilbert space of the system and apparatus spaces. The second realization is by performing, on the system alone, sequential measurements that correspond to self-adjoint operators, basing the choice of each measurement on the outcomes of previous measurements. Simultaneous generalized measurements are found to be equivalent to a single finer grain generalized measurement, and hence it is sufficient to consider the set of single measurements. An alternative characterization of generalized measurement is proposed. It is shown to be equivalent to the characterization by operator-values measures, but it is potentially more suitable for the treatment of estimation problems. Finally, a study of the interaction between the information-carrying system and a measurement apparatus provides clues for the physical realizations of abstractly characterized quantum measurements.

Chan, V. W. S.↗

Low-cycle fatigue analysis of a cooled copper combustion chamber

A three-dimensional finite element elastoplastic strain analysis was performed for the throat section of regeneratively cooled rocket engine combustion chamber. The analysis included thermal and pressure loads, and the effects of temperature dependent material properties, to determine the strain range corresponding to the engine operating cycle. The strain range was used in conjunction with OFHC copper isothermal fatigue test data to predict engine low-cycle fatigue life. The analysis was performed for chamber configuration and operating conditions corresponding to a hydrogen-oxygen chamber which was fatigue tested to failure at the NASA Lewis Research Center.

Miller, R. W.↗

Use of ERTS-1 imagery in forest inventory

The utility of ERTS-1 imagery when combined with field observations and with aircraft imagery and field observations is evaluated. Satellite imagery consisted of 9-1/2 inch black and white negatives of four multispectral scanner bands taken over Polk County, Tennessee. Aircraft imagery was obtained by a C-130 flying at 23,000 ft over the same area and provided the basis for locating ground plots for field observations. Correspondence between aircraft and satellite imagery was somewhat inaccurate due to seasonal differences in observations and lack of good photogrammetry with the data processing system used. Better correspondence was found between satellite imagery and ground observations. Ways to obtain more accurate data are discussed, and comparisons between aircraft and satellite observations are tabulated.

Rennie, J. C.↗

Radial gradient of solar wind velocity from 1 to 5 AU

Solar wind velocity measurements made by Pioneers 10 and 11 are compared to investigate radial variations in the velocity at heliocentric distances of 1 to 5 AU. Two hundred days of corresponding Pioneer 10 and 11 data are plotted, the velocity profiles for 25-day segments are compared, and the same general pattern of peaks and troughs is found in the corresponding profiles. A comparison of the relative smoothness of the profiles clearly shows that velocity amplitudes in the solar wind stream structure decrease dramatically with increasing radial distance from the sun, although the rate of decrease is not as clear. It is hypothesized that stream-stream interactions play a dominant part in inhibiting the classical radial expansion process in the solar wind and produce scattering centers which prevent the observation of a significant galactic cosmic ray gradient in this region of space.

Collard, H. R.↗

Interplanetary streams and their interaction with the earth

Plasma and magnetic field observations of interplanetary streams near 1 AU are summarized. Two types of streams have been identified - corotating streams and flare-associated, and other flow patterns are present due to interactions among streams. The theory of corotating streams, which attributes them to a high temperature region near the sun, satisfactorily explains many of the effects observed at 1 AU. A correspondingly complete theory of flare-associated streams does not exist. Streams are a key link in the chain that connects solar and geomagnetic activity. The factors that most influence geomagnetic activity are probably related to streams and determined by the dynamics of streams. The evolution of streams on scales of 27 days and 11 years probably determines the corresponding variations of geomagnetic activity.

Burlaga, L. F.↗

Regolith history from cosmic-ray-produced nuclides

A model is given for regolith development by which the meteoroid impact parameters (time of last major impact, soil escape rate, and soil turnover depths) are determined from the Gd isotope data for the Apollo 15 and 16 drill stems. The time of the last major impact, cosmic-ray-produced-nuclide-clock reset time, at the Apollo 15 site is 0.6-1.3 aeon. The reset time at the Apollo 16 site is between 1.54 plus or minus 0.14 and 3.3-4.0 aeon. The average soil escape rate from the moon corresponding to the 1.54 plus or minus 0.14 aeon reset time is between 70 and 110 cm/aeon and corresponding to the 3.3 and 4.0 aeon reset time is between 36 and 56 cm/aeon. The soil turnover depth for the 1.54 plus or minus 0.14 aeon reset time is 250 cm and for the 3.3-4.0 aeon reset time is 750 cm. The Gd data restrict the change with time of the meteoroid flux during the past 1.4 aeon.

Fireman, E. L.↗