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At least 901 records · Page 50

Drift current in a thin surface layer of the ocean

A theoretical model is proposed for the drift current in the surface layer of the sea that considers molecular transfer exchange in the thermal conductivity coefficient for the thin layers of water and air near the ocean/atmosphere boundary as well as a layer of depth in the sea in which the coefficient rises from the molecular to turbulent values.

Shumilov, A. V.↗

Lithium drifted germanium system

General characteristics of the lithium-drifted germanium photodiode-Dewar-preamplifier system and particular operating instructions for the device are given. Information is included on solving operational problems.

Fjarlie, E. J.↗

Drift in interference filters. I

Studies of narrow-band interference filters have shown that two mechanisms exist that cause drift to shorter wavelengths. One is dependent on the thermal history of the filter, and the other depends on the radiation history. The present paper presents experimental results on thermal effects; and it is shown that by a proper bake cycle, ZnS-cryolite filters are stable for years if stored at less than 38 C.

Title, A. M.↗

Design, fabrication and systems integration of a satellite tracked, free-drifting ocean data buoy

Engineering details are presented of a small free-drifting buoy configuration designed for use in the study of continental shelf water circulation patterns in the Chesapeake Bight of the Western North Atlantic Ocean. The buoy incoporated French instrumentation and was interrogated by the French EOLE satellite to provide position and four channels of temperature data. The buoy design included a variable depth drogue and a power supply sufficient for six weeks of continuous operations. Proof tests of the configuration indicated an adequate design and subsequent field experiments verified the proper functioning of the system.

Wallace, J. W.↗

Experimental design for drifting buoy Lagrangian test

A test of instrumentation fabricated to measure the performance of a free drifting buoy as a (Lagrangian) current meter is described. Specifically it is proposed to distinguish between the trajectory of a drogued buoy and the trajectory of the water at the level of the drogue by measuring the flow relative to the drogue.

Saunders, P. M.↗

Aether drift and the isotropy of the universe

An experiment is proposed which will detect and map the large-angular-scale anisotropies in the 3 deg K primordial black-body radiation with a sensitivity of .0002 deg K and an angular resolution of about 10 deg . It will detect the motion of the earth with respect to the distant matter of the Universe ("Aether Drift"), and will probe the homogeneity and isotropy of the Universe (the "Cosmological Principle"). The experiment will use two Dicke radiometers, one at 33 GHz to detect the cosmic anisotropy, and one at 54 GHz to detect anisotropies in the residual oxygen above the detectors. An upper hatch for the NASA-AMES Earth Survey Aircraft (U-2) is being modified to accept the dual-radiometer system. A few hours of observation should be sufficient to detect an anisotropy.

Muller, R. A.↗

High resolution spectral analyses of the Jovian decametric radiation. I - Burst morphology and drift rates

Morphological analyses of high-resolution spectral recordings of Jovian decametric radiation show a regime of phenomena not seen at lower resolutions. Observed emissions range from narrow-band (50 kHz) simple quasi-periodic bursts to wide-band emissions (extending over a 500-kHz passband) exhibiting complex structural detail. Assuming gyroemission from electrons in a dipole field for which the magnetic moment is 10 Gauss Jupiter-radius-cubed, drift-rate measurements of the bursts indicate that the source size is of the order of 600 km and its location is near 1.3 Jupiter radii at a colatitude of 27.3 deg. The measurements suggest that the emitting electrons belong to a population having a very specific equatorial pitch angle near 3.5 deg. This study concludes that it may be possible to verify gyroemission as the mechanism responsible for the decametric radiation.

Krausche, D. S.↗

Effects of finite plasma beta on the lower-hybrid-drift instability

The local dispersion relation for the lower-hybrid-drift (LHD) instability is derived and analyzed, taking into account the finite-beta effects associated with transverse electromagnetic perturbations as well as with resonant and nonresonant electron-orbit modifications due to magnetic-field gradients. The influence of finite-beta effects on the LHD instability is calculated in a fully self-consistent manner for arbitrary values of electron-ion temperature ratio, local beta, cross-field ExB velocity/ion thermal speed ratio, and other plasma parameters. Stability properties are investigated analytically for the case of cold electrons, and the local dispersion relation is solved numerically in the parameter regime of most interest for high-density plasma pinches. The results show that for all parameter regimes studied, the net effect of finite plasma beta is to reduce the maximum growth rate of the LHD instability, although the details can vary, depending on the plasma parameters. Except in the limit where the electron/ion temperature ratio tends to zero, it is found that there is a critical value of plasma beta above which the LHD instability is completely stabilized.

Davidson, R. C.↗

Model of climate evolution based on continental drift and polar wandering

The thermodynamic meteorologic model of Adem is used to trace the evolution of climate from Triassic to present time by applying it to changing geography as described by continental drift and polar wandering. Results show that the gross changes of climate in the Northern Hemisphere can be fully explained by the strong cooling in high latitudes as continents moved poleward. High-latitude mean temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere dropped below the freezing point 10 to 15 m.y. ago, thereby accounting for the late Cenozoic glacial age. Computed meridional temperature gradients for the Northern Hemisphere steepened from 20 to 40 C over the 200-m.y. period, an effect caused primarily by the high-latitude temperature decrease. The primary result of the work is that the cooling that has occurred since the warm Mesozoic period and has culminated in glaciation is explainable wholly by terrestrial processes.

Donn, W. L.↗

Evidence of drift waves at the plasmapause

As the Hawkeye 1 spacecraft crosses the plasmapause at high altitudes, (R greater than 3 R/E/), a band of electric field noise is often detected in the frequency channels from 1.7 to 178 Hz. No corresponding magnetic field noise is detected, indicating that the noise is electrostatic (or at least quasi-electrostatic), and the electric field is polarized perpendicular to the plasma density gradient. The noise is only detected when the scale length of the plasmapause is 0.1 R(E) or less, indicating that a large density gradient is required to produce the noise. These characteristics are all consistent with the interpretation that this noise consists of electrostatic waves excited by the drift mode instability. By using reasonable assumptions concerning the wavelengths of these waves the observed frequency spectrum can be explained as being due to Doppler shifts caused by spacecraft motion through the plasma.

Kintner, P. M.↗

Orbital changes of the gaseous ring around Be stars. II - Apsidal motion and slow drift of the orbital elements

It is shown that the observed data about the apsidal motion of gaseous rings around some Be stars, like Beta(1) Mon and Pi Aqr, cannot be explained solely by the influence of the equatorial bulge. This fact has prompted the development of a theory of apsidal motion and slow drift of orbital elements that is based on the mixing of slowly escaping gases from the central star with gases in the emission ring around it. Thus, the basic physical idea in this paper follows closely what has been advanced in the first paper of this series but the mathematical treatment has been broadened in order to deal with the actual orbits, instead of osculating orbits, of particles in the ring. In accordance with this theory, it is believed that in cases where no mixing of gases takes place, the apsidal motion is controlled solely by the equatorial bulge. But in cases where mixing takes place, the apsidal motion depends upon the manner of gas mixing as well.

Huang, S.-S.↗

On the role of steepened structures and drift waves in equatorial spread F

A description is presented of a unified model of equatorial spread F which organizes much of the observational data and theoretical results in a self-consistent way. It is suggested that an initial bottomside instability nonlinearly evolves to the point that very steep gradients develop and that these steepened structures are responsible for the power spectra observed by probe experiments. This primary process is very likely the Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Observations indicate that some of the bottomside structures rise into the topside. It is shown that the observed gradients on the edges of these rising bubbles should be unstable to drift waves with a linear growth rate of about 1 per second and a perpendicular wavelength, for maximum growth, near the ion gyroradius.

Costa, E.↗

Aether drift and the isotropy of the universe: a measurement of anisotropies in the primordial black-body radiation

This experiment detected and mapped large-angular-scale anisotropies in the 3 K primordial black-body radiation with a sensitivity of 2x.0001k and an angular resolution of about 10 degs. It measured the motion of the Earth with respect to the distant matter of the Universe (Aether Drift), and probed the homogeneity and isotropy of the Universe (the Cosmological Principle). The experiment used two Dicke radiometers, one at 33 GHz to detect the cosmic anisotropy, and one at 54 GHz to detect anisotropies in the residual oxygen above the detectors. The system was installed in the NASA-Ames Earth Survey Aircraft (U-2), and operated successfully in a series of flights.

Muller, R. A.↗

Possible inverse cascade behavior for drift-wave turbulence

The turbulent spectral properties of the dynamical equation of Hasegawa and Mima (1978) governing the evolution of the electrostatic potential in drift-wave turbulence is investigated for two formulations of the problem: (1) as a nondissipative initial value problem, with the potential represented by a truncated Fourier series with large number of terms, and (2) as a dissipative problem with a small viscous dissipation at very short spatial scales, and a long wavelength forcing term at longer wavelengths. It is found that Hasegawa and Mima's prediction for the nondissipative, truncated initial value modal problem is accurate, but substantial differences exist for the forced dissipative case between computer results and analytical predictions based on a wave kinetic equation of Kadomtsev. Much better agreement is found with a simple dual-cascade model based on Kraichnan's generalization of Kolmogorov's cascade arguments.

Fyfe, D.↗

The application of a drift multiwire proportional counter to the imaging of low energy X-rays

A 75 mm x 75 mm multiwire proportional counter (MWPC) with a 1 micron polypropylene window has been built to map low energy X-rays. The MWPC is constructed with a large drift region which allows us to use the center-of-gravity technique to improve the counter's efficiency and position resolution. Using 330 torr of propane as the gas fill and an anode plane composed of 20 micron diameter Au-plated tungsten wire spaced 1 mm apart, a position resolution of better than 240 microns (FWHM) in two orthogonal directions at an X-ray energy of 0.94 keV has been achieved.

Ku, W. H.-M.↗

A drift multiwire proportional counter for cosmic soft X-ray imaging

Multiwire proportional counters with 1 micrometer polypropylene windows, of dimensions 75 mm x 75 mm and 100 mm x 100 mm, have been built to map soft cosmic X-rays. The counters are constructed with a large drift region which makes it possible to use the center-of-gravity technique to improve the counter's efficiency and position resolution. Using 330 torr of propane as the gas fill and an anode plane composed of 20 micrometer diameter, gold-plated tungsten wire spaced 1mm apart, a position resolution of better than 280 micrometers (FWHM) in two orthogonal directions at an X-ray energy of 0.94 keV was achieved.

Reid, P. B.↗