Engineering PapersSearch

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “RUBY”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5

Research investigation directed toward extending the useful range of the electromagnetic spectrum

The lifetimes and fine structure of He(-) were studied using time-of-flight techniques and quenching by a static axial magnetic field. Using level-crossing spectroscopy the hyperfine constants A and B and the lifetime of the 3 2P3/2 state of Li-7 were measured. Polarization of the Ru 7S level was created as a first step in determining the hyperfine structure of the alkali excited S state. The parametric interaction between light and microwaves in optically pumped Rb-87 vapor were investigated. Measurements and analyses of transitions in formaldehyde and its isotopic species and in the lowest two excited vibrational states of H2CO were also made, as well as of transitions in furan, pyrrole, formic acid, and cyanoacetylene. The Hanle effect was studied in the NO molecule, and RF oscillators were developed with flat, wideband output to observe excited state hyperfine transitions at zero field. Data was generated on the time-dependent behavior of photon echoes in ruby. Stimulated Raman scattering was studied in atomic Tl vapor. A Q switched, temperature-tuned ruby laser was developed which operates between 6934 and 6938 A. The frequency shift due to resonant interaction between identical radiating atoms was calculated.

Hartmann, S. R.

High-power broadly tunable difference-frequency generation in proustite.

High-power wavelength-tunable coherent radiation has been produced by generating the difference frequency between the output from a tunable narrow-linewidth ruby-pumped infrared dye laser and a Q-switched ruby laser in a proustite crystal. Peak infrared powers in the kilowatt range and wavelength tunability from 3.20 to 5.65 microns have been achieved. The experimentally determined infrared power tuning curves are compared to those predicted by theory for interacting Gaussian light beams.

Decker, C. D.

Precision laser range finder system design for Advanced Technology Laboratory applications

Preliminary system design of a pulsed precision ruby laser rangefinder system is presented which has a potential range resolution of 0.4 cm when atmospheric effects are negligible. The system being proposed for flight testing on the advanced technology laboratory (ATL) consists of a modelocked ruby laser transmitter, course and vernier rangefinder receivers, optical beacon retroreflector tracking system, and a network of ATL tracking retroreflectors. Performance calculations indicate that spacecraft to ground ranging accuracies of 1 to 2 cm are possible.

Golden, K. E.

Simple waveguide reflection maser with broad tunability

The design and performance of a simple two-stage reflection maser for use between 9 and 10 GHz are described. The maser is used to improve the sensitivity of a transmission electron spin resonance spectrometer. A ruby-filled waveguide structure permits broad tunability and straightforward construction. All microwave components except the ruby section are at room temperature.

Flesner, L. D.

Surface morphology and chemistry of rusty particle 60002,108

Scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray, and microprobe analyses of the surface of rusty colored particle 60002,108 from deep core 60002 reveal the particle to be basically metallic Ni-Fe that probably grew in contact with silicate minerals, principally plagioclase and pyroxene, and was later partially oxidized and hydrated. A yellowish wrinkled and 'shatter cone' like granular material that is either iron oxide or oxyhydrate may have formed while the particle was in the lunar environment. Ruby-red mounds of lawrencite formed, and the reaction of lawrencite, metallic Ni-Fe, and water vapor resulted in aprons of iron oxyhydrate that surrounds these mounds and flows out over the preexisting yellowish granular substrate. The observations do not allow one to distinguish unequivocally between the initiation of hydration of the ruby-red lawrencite mounds in the lunar environment followed by reaction in the terrestrial and/or spacecraft environment or only reaction in the terrestrial and/or spacecraft environment. The relationship of the lawrencite-rich mounds to the yellowish granular substrate favors the first possibility.

Carter, J. L.

Holographic flow visualization at NASA Langley

Holographic flow visualization systems at two NASA Langley facilities, a hypersonic blow-down tunnel using CF4 gas and an expansion tube with very short test time, are described. A pulsed ruby laser is used at a CF4 tunnel for single pulse holography, double pulse with several minutes between exposures, and dual plate holographic interferometry. Shadowgraph, schlieren, and interferograms are reconstructed from the holograms in a separate reconstruction lab. At the expansion tube the short run time of 200 microseconds requires precise triggering of its double pulsed ruby laser. With double pulse capability of 20 to 1200 microseconds pulse separation, one pulse can occur before and one later after flow is established to obtain fringe free background interferograms (perfect infinite fringe) or both pulses can occur during flow in order to study flow instabilities. Holograms are reconstructed at the expansion tube with an in-place setup which makes use of a high power CW Argon laser and common optics for both recording and reconstructing the holograms. The holographic systems at the CF4 tunnel and expansion tube are operated routinely for flow visualization by tunnel technicians. Typical flow visualization photographs from both facilities are presented.

Burner, A. W.

Ground-based and airborne measurements of the Mount St. Helens stratospheric effluents

Shortly after the 18 May eruption, a series of airborne lidar flights were made over the Eastern United States. During the same period, ground-based systems were activated throughout the world. The available worldwide lidar data is put together in a consistent set. These data show the dispersion of material at different altitudes during the early global circuits. The material in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere was very patchy in horizontal extent with backscattering ratio values over the east coast of the United States greater than 100 at the ruby wavelength of 0.6943. Two wavelength ratios and depolarization values for the material in the lower stratosphere (12 to 18 km) appear to have returned to the pre-18 May values within a month after the eruption and this indicated a rapid conversion to spherical shapes and normal indices of refraction. The material above 20 km moved slowly westward while most of the ejecta moved eastward at various speeds and directions which varied considerably with altitude. The westward material was detected first by the Japanese lidar system and then subsequently by the European and American ground-based systems. It circuited the globe in about 60 days. An airborne lidar flight in early September across the continental United States showed the layers to have homogenized considerably one broad layer between about 14 and 21 km peaking at 18 to 19 km and another more intermittent thin layer between 21 and 22 km. The ruby peak backscattering ratio of the broad layer was between 1.3 and 1.5.

Mccormick, M. P.

UV lidar measurements of the stratospheric aerosol layer and comparison with other optical data

After the violent volcanic eruptions of El Chichon in Mexico (17.33 deg. N, 93.20 deg. W) in late March and early April 1982, enhanced stratospheric aerosols have been monitored by ruby (lasing wavelength lambda=694.3 nm) or Nd:YAG lidars (lambda=1064 or 532 nm). By these lidars, visible or near-infrared optical informations of stratospheric aerosols and their space-time variations can be obtained. It is usually difficult to measure the background level of stratospheric aerosols by an ultraviolet (UV) lidar, since Rayleigh scattering prevails over Mie scattering in the stratosphere. However, after the large volcanic eruptions, UV lidar measurements of stratospheric aerosols are possible. In order to obtain UV optical properties of stratospheric aerosols, measurements have been made at Fukuoka (33.65 deg. N, 130.35 deg. E) by a p-terphenyl dye laser at a wavelength of 340.5 nm. Observational results during October 1982, through May 1983, are shown and are compared with the results obtained by a ruby lidar at Tsukuba (36.05 deg. N, 140.13 deg. E).

Uchino, O.

Nonradiative relaxation in tunable solid state laser crystals

The characteristics of nonradiative transitions between the 4T2 and 2E excited states of trivalent-chromium-ion-activated ruby (containing 0.04 percent Cr2O3 by weight) and alexandrite (containing 0.4 at. percent chromium ion) laser crystals were studied using the technique described by Gayen et al. (1985). In this technique, a 527-nm pulse excites the 4T2 band of the Cr(3+), and the subsequent population kinetics among excited states is monitored by an IR picosecond probe pulse as a function of pump-probe delay. In ruby, a resolution-limited sharp rise in the excited state population was followed by a long-lifetime decay, leading to an upper limit of 7 ps for the 4T2-state nonradiative lifetime. In alexandrite, a longer rise time was followed by a multicomponent decay. A theoretical model is proposed for explaining the induced absorption and the transition dynamics observed in these crystals.

Gayen, S. K.

Elimination of pressure-induced fluorescence in diamond anvils

At pressures above one megabar (100 GPa) in high-pressure diamond anvil cell experiments, the ruby fluorescence signal needed for pressure calibration is increasingly difficult to measure. A primary cause of this difficulty is the presence of an intense pressure-induced diamond fluorescence. A tentative identification of this pressure-induced fluorescence is given, a technique for the elimination of this fluorescence is reported. It is demonstrated that weak ruby signals, completely hidden by diamond fluorescence, are now easily measured with this technique.

Eggert, Jon H.

Enhancement of lettuce yield by manipulation of light and nitrogen nutrition

Several levels of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) were tested for effects on growth of 4 cultivars of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) under controlled-environment conditions. Growth of 'Salad Bowl', 'Bibb', and 'Ruby' was greater at 932 micromoles s-1 m-2 than at < or = 644 micromoles s-1 m-2 under a 16-hour photoperiod. Thirty mM NO3- or 5 mM NH4+ + 25 mM NO3- increased leaf dry weight while reducing leaf chlorosis in 'Salad Bowl' and 'Grand Rapids' relative to that with 15 mM NO3-, and reduced leaf purpling in 'Bibb' and 'Ruby' with little or no effect on yield. Continuous illumination with 455 or 918 micromoles s-1 m-2 stimulated yield of 'Salad Bowl' and 'Bibb' when 30 mM N as NH4+ + NO3- was used relative to that with 15 mM NO3-.

Nitrogen/metabolism

Holographic Flow Visualization at NASA Langley

Holographic flow visualization systems at two NASA Langley facilities, a hypersonic blow-down tunnel using CF4 gas and an expansion tube with very short test time, are described. A pulsed ruby laser is used at a CF4 tunnel for single pulse holography, double pulse with several minutes between exposures, and dual plate holographic interferometry. Shadow-graph, schlieren, and interferograms are reconstructed from the holograms in a separate reconstruction lab. At the expansion tube the short run time of 200 microseconds requires precise triggering of its double pulsed ruby laser. With pulse separation, one pulse can occur before and one after flow is established to obtain fringe free background interferograms (perfect infinite fringe) or both pulses can occur during flow in order to study flow instabilities. Holograms are reconstructed at the expansion tube with an in-place setup which makes use of a high power CW Argon laser and common optics for both recording and reconstructing the holograms. The holographic systems at the CF4 tunnel and expansion tube are operated routinely for flow visualization by tunnel technicians. Typical flow visualization photographs from both facilities are presented.

Burner, A. W.

Ultra-stable superconducting cavity maser oscillator

An ultra-stable superconducting triple cavity ruby maser oscillator (10) is obtained by providing the oscillator with a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) (50), which measures the magnetic field at the ruby (14) and compensates for changes by adjusting the RF pump signal amplitude (42), thereby attaining stabilities of about four orders of magnitude greater than presently attainable.

Strayer, Donald M.

LCS Content Document Application

My project at KSC during my spring 2011 internship was to develop a Ruby on Rails application to manage Content Documents..A Content Document is a collection of documents and information that describes what software is installed on a Launch Control System Computer. It's important for us to make sure the tools we use everyday are secure, up-to-date, and properly licensed. Previously, keeping track of the information was done by Excel and Word files between different personnel. The goal of the new application is to be able to manage and access the Content Documents through a single database backed web application. Our LCS team will benefit greatly with this app. Admin's will be able to login securely to keep track and update the software installed on each computer in a timely manner. We also included exportability such as attaching additional documents that can be downloaded from the web application. The finished application will ease the process of managing Content Documents while streamlining the procedure. Ruby on Rails is a very powerful programming language and I am grateful to have the opportunity to build this application.

Hochstadt, Jake

Project Assessment Skills Web Application

The purpose of this project is to utilize Ruby on Rails to create a web application that will replace a spreadsheet keeping track of training courses and tasks. The goal is to create a fast and easy to use web application that will allow users to track progress on training courses. This application will allow users to update and keep track of all of the training required of them. The training courses will be organized by group and by user, making readability easier. This will also allow group leads and administrators to get a sense of how everyone is progressing in training. Currently, updating and finding information from this spreadsheet is a long and tedious task. By upgrading to a web application, finding and updating information will be easier than ever as well as adding new training courses and tasks. Accessing this data will be much easier in that users just have to go to a website and log in with NDC credentials rather than request the relevant spreadsheet from the holder. In addition to Ruby on Rails, I will be using JavaScript, CSS, and jQuery to help add functionality and ease of use to my web application. This web application will include a number of features that will help update and track progress on training. For example, one feature will be to track progress of a whole group of users to be able to see how the group as a whole is progressing. Another feature will be to assign tasks to either a user or a group of users. All of these together will create a user friendly and functional web application.

Goff, Samuel J.

Spaceport Command and Control System Support Software Development

The Spaceport Command and Control System (SCCS) is a project developed and used by NASA at Kennedy Space Center in order to control and monitor the Space Launch System (SLS) at the time of its launch. One integral subteam under SCCS is the one assigned to the development of a data set building application to be used both on the launch pad and in the Launch Control Center (LCC) at the time of launch. This web application was developed in Ruby on Rails, a web framework using the Ruby object-oriented programming language, by a 15 - employee team (approx.). Because this application is such a huge undertaking with many facets and iterations, there were a few areas in which work could be more easily organized and expedited. As an intern working with this team, I was charged with the task of writing web applications that fulfilled this need, creating a virtual and highly customizable whiteboard in order to allow engineers to keep track of build iterations and their status. Additionally, I developed a knowledge capture web application wherein any engineer or contractor within SCCS could ask a question, answer an existing question, or leave a comment on any question or answer, similar to Stack Overflow.

Knowledge Transfer