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Remote sensing, high resolution FTS instruments often contain three primary optical subsystems: Fore-Optics, Interferometer Optics, and Post, or Detector Optics. We discuss the alignment of a double-pass FTS containing a cat's-eye retro-reflector. Also, the alignment of fore-optics containing confocal paraboloids with a reflecting field stop which relays a field image onto a camera is discussed.
Two beam interferometers have been proposed for space applications such as sensing the shape of a large antenna. Since alignment and adjustment of interferometers have long been considered difficult laboratory tasks, the question of making their operation sufficiently automatic for space applications is a serious one. As a first step in addressing this question certain manual procedures, which may not be well known, have been collected from widely scattered sources. These techniques are illustrated by two examples: (1) the alignment of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and the adjustment of fringe location. (2) The adjustment of a Michelson interferometer for zero path difference (white light fringes).
Room temperature alignment and evaluation techniques for the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) telescope, which has a primary mirror figured to correct for surface distortions and the 2 K operating temperature are discussed. Interferometric cryogenic testing of the 0.6 m, f/1.5 lightweighted beryllium primary mirror at its intended operating temperature reveals surface distortions that can be modeled with Zernike polynomials. With this model, it becomes possible to derive the 'inverse' of the cryowavefront error (ideal cryo mirror) and to figure the cryo correction into the primary mirror using Perkin-Elmer's Computer Controlled Polisher. It is recognized that during room temperature assembly of the system, misalignment of the secondary mirror can introduce additional unwanted aberrations that may cancel or distort the wavefront errors purposely introduced by the cryo figuring. To avoid this possible degradation and to ensure optimum telescope performance, the system Zernike polynomial coefficients and wavefront maps generated from the in-process alignment interferograms are monitored and compared to Zernike coefficients and wavefront maps for the cryo corrected primary mirror.
In order to maximize the efficiency of the microwave power transmission system (MPTS), the surface of the array antenna must be extremely flat, which is difficult to achieve using passive techniques over the 1 km dimensions of the array. In order to achieve and maintain this required flatness, a rotating laser beam used for leveling applications on Earth was utilized as a reference system. A photoconductive sensor with a reflective collecting surface was used to determine the displacement and polarity of any misalignment and automatically engage a stepping motor to drive a variable-length mechanism to make the necessary corrections. Once aligned, little power is dissipated since a nulling bridge circuit that centers on the beam is used, an important alignment feature since even laser beams broaden considerably at 1 km distances.
Chocked flow rate and pressure profile data were taken and studied for configurations consisting of four axially aligned, sequential orifice inlets of 0.5 length diameter ratio with separation distances of 0.66 and 32 diameters. A flow coefficient - reduced temperature plot represents the flow rate data for the two cases. At a separation distance of 32 diameters the pressure profiles dropped sharply at the entrance and partially recovered within each orifice - the exception being at low temperatures, where fluid jetting through the last orifice occurred. At a separation distance of 0.66 diameter fluid jetting was prevalent at the lower inlet temperatures. These results are in qualitative agreement with data for four axially aligned, sequential Borda inlets and for tubes with single sharp edge orifice or Borda inlets to L/D's of 105 and with a water flow visualization study.
The elevated-temperature mechanical behavior of two aligned eutectics (Ni-8.1 wt % Al-26.4 wt % Mo and Ni-6.3 wt % Al-31.2 wt % Mo) has been investigated utilizing monotonic and cyclic testing in vacuum. Tensile yield strength and fatigue resistance increased from 25 to 725 C, but then were reduced at 825 C. The fatigue lives of specimens tested at 725 C decreased sharply with decreasing frequency. A shift from surface to internal crack initiation was observed upon increasing the test temperature from 725 to 825 C. Stage II crack propagation was observed at both temperatures, in contrast to stage I cracking at 25 C. The test results are compared to those for other nickel and cobalt-base aligned eutectics to show that the frequency effect on fatigue life is not limited to the Ni-Al-Mo system.
Dichroic infrared emission spectra have been obtained from an operating elastohydrodynamic contact under conditions showing unequivocally that the molecules of the fluid are aligned under shear flow in the bulk of the fluid and that the extent of the alignment is increased by the presence of an additive in a small concentration. This work applied particularly to polyphenyl ether and to 1,1,2-trichloroethane as the additive, but similar results have been obtained with polycyclohexyls and the same additive. The observation of two separate glass transitions for the polycyclohexyl solution is an indication of the occurrence of a phase separation in the Hertzian inlet zone. A model has been developed to explain the effect of these phenomena and their relation to traction.
A method for aligning the transmitter and receiver telescopes of a lidar is proposed which involves the use of a small high-quality corner tube reflector placed immediately in front of the transmitter in such a way that a small fraction of the transmitted radiation is reflected to the receiver. The reflected radiation is brought to a focus in a focal plane where it appears as a small red dot and is superimposed on the image of the distant scene. The dot and the target appear in the same plane and may be brought to coincidence by moving the transmitter-receiver pair together until the image of the target falls on the red dot. The alignment is concluded by imaging the red dot onto an IR detector.
Under some circumstances, incompressible magnetohydrodynamic turbulence will evolve toward a state in which the velocity fields and magnetic fields are aligned or anti-aligned. We propose a mechanism for this effect and illustrate with numerical computations. Under some other circumstances, the energy appears to decay selectively toward a minimum energy state in which the kinetic energy has disappeared. It has not been possible so far to identify a boundary in the phase space which divides the two regimes.
The significant changes that have been made in the Optical Alignment Facility at the Goddard Space Flight Center since it was last described (Appler and Howell, 1968) are discussed. The changes are reflected in both the hardware and the software involved in making alignment measurements. The data analysis procedures can now be done on a desktop computer with turn-around times of approximately 4 h. Arbitrary coordinate transformations and corrections for facility errors are also feasible while retaining absolute accuracies of less than 6 sec of arc.
In a three dimensional simulation higher order derivative correlations, including skewness and flatness factors, are calculated for velocity and passive scalar fields and are compared with structures in the flow. The equations are forced to maintain steady state turbulence and collect statistics. It is found that the scalar derivative flatness increases much faster with Reynolds number than the velocity derivative flatness, and the velocity and mixed derivative skewness do not increase with Reynolds number. Separate exponents are found for the various fourth order velocity derivative correlations, with the vorticity flatness exponent the largest. Three dimensional graphics show strong alignment between the vorticity, rate of strain, and scalar-gradient fields. The vorticity is concentrated in tubes with the scalar gradient and the largest principal rate of strain aligned perpendicular to the tubes. Velocity spectra, in Kolmogorov variables, collapse to a single curve and a short minus 5/3 spectral regime is observed.
Results are presented showing that the contemporary picture of a relatively small heliocentric radial gradient is generally correct. They emphasize that such a gradient should really be thought of in terms of field-aligned structures since the cosmic ray populations tend to 'corotate' locally with the interplanetary field structure. Nonuniform latitudinal gradients of approximately 2 to 5 percent/deg in structures lasting 10 to 30 days are identified unambiguously. Additional evidence is seen for somewhat smaller latitudinal gradients often north to south and probably mixed with small field-aligned gradients of less than 1 percent/AU that persist for several solar rotations. It is suggested that these smallest ephemeral latitudinal gradients manifest themselves by affecting the degree of irregularity in diurnal variations of high latitude neutron monitors.
This paper examines several mechanisms for generation of field-aligned currents in the magnetospheres of earth and Jupiter. Implications for planetary radio emission in relation to field-aligned current systems are discussed.
From the magnetic and electric field observations on the DE-2 satellite it is deduced that the perturbation magnetic field and the electric field in the field-aligned current regions are, as a rule, orthogonal to each other and are highly correlated. This deduction is equivalent to the statement that the Poynting vector calculated from these magnetic and electric field components is equal to the ionospheric energy dissipation and that the height-integrated Hall current is divergence free. The state described is interpreted as a frequently prevailing mode of the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling involving field-aligned currents.
The theory of magnetic spinning alignment is outlined. It is shown that a classical enhanced thermal Davis and Greenstein mechanism may be considered as a limiting case of Purcell's suprathermal spinning alignment theory when the number of active sites on a given grain becomes very important and/or for very short lived suprathermal sites. The results are applied to the interstellar medium and some problems in which it may be important are discussed.
The Dynamics Explorer satellites have returned a large body of data containing high resolution magnetometer measurements and distributions of charged particles of all but thermal electrons. From these data the relations of the field aligned currents to particle precipitation structures were investigated and the charge carriers were identified. Results include the following: (1) during very quiet periods, field aligned currents exist primarily as fine structure; (2) during onset of substorms, region 1 and region 2 become clearly evident but contain significant structure; (3) as magnetic activity subsides, current regions become less distinct, and structure becomes more dominant; (4) the distribution of the upward currents derived from magnetometer data and calculated from suprathermal electron data agree remarkably well in shape but not necessarily in magnitude; (5) at all local times, 5 eV electrons seldom carry most of the upward current; (6) except for the accelerated inverted-V electrons, the dominant upward current carriers which are measured are below 500 eV and are distributed in energy; (7) dusk upward currents (region 1) are associated with the boundary plasma sheet; and (8) suprathermal electron bursts are important current carrying structures.
A number of interesting cases of combination mode ducted echoes for mid- and low-latitude regions are presented that show nearly uniformly spaced multiple combination mode traces on the ionograms in the frequency range above 1 MHz. These traces suggest that a parallel system of field-aligned ducts is present. Ray tracing studies are made to determine the structure that would explain the observations using the electron density profile derivable from the vertical trace and assuming field-aligned ducts. Spacing perpendicular to the ducts is found to be as much as 70 km. Some of these parallel duct structures are found to extend to the conjugate hemisphere, possibly to the F peak.
The energy conversion processes occurring in three-dimensional driven reconnection is analyzed. In particular, the energy conversion processes during localized reconnection in a taillike magnetic configuration are studied. It is found that three-dimensional driven reconnection is a powerful energy converter which transforms magnetic energy into plasma bulk flow and thermal energy. Three-dimensional driven reconnection is an even more powerful energy converter than two-dimensional reconnection, because in the three-dimensional case, plasmas were drawn into the reconnection region from the sides as well as from the top and bottom. Field-aligned currents are generated by three-dimensional driven reconnection. The physical mechanism responsible for these currents which flow from the tail toward the ionosphere on the dawnside of the reconnection region and from the ionosphere toward the tail on the duskside is identified. The field-aligned currents form as the neutral sheet current is diverted through the slow shocks which form on the outer edge of the reconnected field lines (outer edge of the plasma sheet).