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At least 145 records · Page 8

Experiments on plants grown in space. Status and prospects

Space flight provides a unique capability to gravitational research by providing an environment in which gravity can be manipulated below the Earth norm of 1 to a state comparable to weightlessness. Although space experiments with seeds and plants have been conducted for almost 25 years, we are only now entering an era that promises the capability of routinely conducting controlled plant experiments in space. Results from experiments with higher plants and seeds flown thus far in both manned and unmanned spacecraft from both the USA and USSR are briefly summarized. An overview of the current status of space biology experimentation as it relates to plants is presented and present and future opportunities to conduct plant experiments under space flight conditions are discussed.

Flight Experiment↗

Flying U.S. science on the U.S.S.R. Cosmos biosatellites

The USSR Cosmos Biosatellites are unmanned missions with durations of approximately 14 days. They are capable of carrying a wide variety of biological specimens such as cells, tissues, plants, and animals, including rodents and rhesus monkeys. The absence of a crew is an advantage with respect to the use of radioisotopes or other toxic materials and contaminants, but a disadvantage with respect to the performance of inflight procedures or repair of hardware failures. Thus, experiments hardware and procedures must be either completely automated or remotely controlled from the ground. A serious limiting factor for experiments is the amount of electrical powers available, so when possible experiments should be self-contained with their own batteries and data recording devices. Late loading is restricted to approximately 48 hours before launch and access time upon recovery is not precise since there is a ballistic reentry and the capsule must first be located and recovery vehicles dispatched to the site. Launches are quite reliable and there is a proven track record of nine previous Biosatellite flights. This paper will present data and experience from the seven previous Cosmos flights in which the US has participated as well as the key areas of consideration in planning a flight investigation aboard this Biosatellite platform.

Flight Experiment↗

Problems of Developing Solid Mineral Deposits on the Sea and Ocean Floor

Brief characteristics of the mineral raw material potential of the deep-sea deposits of ferromanganese nodules in the area of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone leased by Russia in the Pacific Ocean are presented. The creation at the Moscow Mining Institute (MGI) of the USSR’s first Scientific and Technical Problems Laboratory and the results of its work on extraction of minerals from the sea and ocean floor are reviewed. The research works carried out by MGI on underwater mining of ilmenite-rutile-zirconium sands on the Baltic Sea shelf and Iturup Island and tin under conditions of northern seas and the development of the technogenic placer of the East Siberian Sea are analyzed. The concept of using the kinetic energy of coaxially swirled fluid jets in hydrotransport-hoisting devices of vortex slurry preparation, which was tested in the Black Sea and an air-lift mud intake by mechanical and hydraulic loosening for extracting diamond-containing gravel-pebble rocks on the Namibia shelf is given.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Structural-dimensional effects and their application in the 'core—nanoshell' systems synthesized by the molecular layering

In connection with the development of nanotechnology in the last 15—20 years, the method of molecular layering (ML), created in the middle of the last century in the USSR, has attracted increasing attention. The features of structural-dimensional effects in the products obtained by new chemical nanotechnology and promising directions of their practical application in 'core—nanoshell' compositions are considered in the review. In accordance with the synthetic capabilities of the ML method, the functional properties of the 'core—nanoshell' type materials are affected by the 'monolayer effect' and the substrate shielding effect, as well as the multicomponent nature of the system, and mutual structural coordination effect of the substrate and the build-up nanolayer. The review presents theoretical and experimental data on the application of the observed effects in the creation of shell pigments and fillers, modified sorbents, catalytic membrane reactors, nanodoped ceramic materials, polymers, quartz fibers with adjustable optical characteristics, electrets, etc.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Russian Physics Journal (Former Soviet Physics Journal) and its Contribution to the Development of High-Current Pulse Electronics and Electrophysics

This article assesses the impact that the journal has had on the research and development in high-current pulse electronics and electrophysics, gas electronics, physics of gas lasers, relativistic microwave electronics, plasma electronics, etc. All these fields of research involve achievements in three areas of science and technology, namely, the creation of high-power nanosecond pulse generators; fundamental studies of nanosecond high-current discharges in gases, which have led to the discovery of the phenomenon of multielectron initiation of discharges, and studies of pulsed vacuum discharges, which have resulted in the discovery of explosive electron emission. The author began his research activities in these areas in 1958 at Tomsk Polytechnic Institute and continued them at the Institute of High Current Electronics of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which was opened in 1977. A number of articles published in the journal were devoted to priority issues such as the studies of nanosecond discharges in gases, in vacuum, and in water; the description of the properties of explosive electron emission; the invention of metal-dielectric cathodes with ferroelectrics, and the proposal of gas compression in devices based on electrically exploded cylindrical conductors.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Black Carbon Deposited in Hariqin Glacier of the Central Tibetan Plateau Record Changes in the Emission from Eurasia

Black carbon (BC), by the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass, has profound effects on climate change and glacier retreat in industrial eras. In the present study, we report refractory BC (rBC) in an ice core spanning 1850–2014, retrieved from the Hariqin Glacier of the Tanggula Mountains in the central Tibetan Plateau, measured using a single particle soot photometer (SP2). The rBC concentration shows a three-fold increase since the 1950s. The mean rBC concentration was 0.71±0.52 ng mL-1 during 1850s–1940s and 2.11±1.60 ng mL-1 during 1950s–2010s. The substantial increase in rBC since the 1950s is consistent with rBC ice core records from the Tibetan Plateau and Eastern Europe. According to the predominant atmospheric circulation patterns over the glacier and timing of changes in regional emissions, the post-1950 amplification of rBC concentration in the central Tibetan Plateau most likely reflects increases in emissions in Eastern Europe, former USSR, the Middle East, and South Asia. Despite the low-level background rBC concentrations in the ice cores from the Tibetan Plateau, the present study highlights a remarkable increase in anthropogenic BC emissions in recent decades and the consequent influence on glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau.

Black carbon, Ice core, Tibetan Plateau, Industria↗

Processes of aggression described by kinetic method

In the last decades many investigations have been devoted to theoretical models in new areas concerning description of different biological, sociological and historical processes. In the present paper we suggest a model of the Nazi Germany invasion of Poland, France and USSR based on the kinetic theory. We model this process with the Cauchy boundary problem for the two-element kinetic equations with spatial initial conditions. The solution of the problem is given in the form of traveling wave. The propagation velocity of a frontline depends on the quotient between initial forces concentrations. Moreover it is obtained that the general solution of the model can be expressed in terms of quadratures and elementary functions. Finally it is shown that the frontline velocities are complied with the historical data.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Drift-ideal magnetohydrodynamic simulations of m = 0 modes in Z-pinch plasmas

In this paper, the effects of m = 0 modes on equilibrium Z-pinch plasmas are studied using a drift-ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model. The model equations are an extension of ideal MHD to include finite-ion-inertial-length/cyclotron-frequency (Ω i ) effects in Ohm's law and in the electron and ion heat transport equations. The linear modes contained in this model include the ideal interchange (sausage) mode and in the magnetized limit, Ω i τ i »1 with τ i the ion collision time, nonideal entropy modes. It is well known that these two modes are decoupled in the kρ s « 1 limit, where k is the axial mode number and ρ s = c s /Ω i is the gyro-Bohm scale with c s the sound speed [B. Kadomtsev, Sov. Phys. JETP-USSR 10, 780 (1960)]. For Bennett equilibrium profiles, it is shown that the regions of stability for both modes are completely governed by the adiabatic coefficient γ in these limits. Equilibria with Bennett profiles are stable to entropy modes for γ < 2 but unstable to ideal modes and vice versa for γ > 2. However, these modes are no longer decoupled when kρ s ≳1. The simulation results of the fully nonlinear set of equations in the magnetized limit show that seeded modes with kρ s ≳1 and γ = 5/3 display the characteristics of both ideal and entropy modes. The general heat flux for both ions and electrons as a function of the species magnetization is retained in the model. Both the linear and nonlinear behaviors of seeded modes for kρ s ≳1 display a strong dependence on the magnetization of the ions. Lastly, the growth rate increases linearly with k at large kρ s when the ions are magnetized but decreases with increasing k when Ω i τ i ≲1.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

To the memory of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Borisevich

Invaluable is the contribution of academician Borisevich to the development of optics, spectroscopy and their applications. He is the author of scientific discoveries and more than 600 scientific papers. For outstanding scientific achievements Nikolai Aleksandrovich was awarded the Lenin Prize, State Prize of the USSR and the Republic of Belarus. His scientific school gave a start in life to more than 30 candidates of science, 12 doctors, including 4 members of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. (obituary)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

PHOBOS AS A D-TYPE CAPTURED ASTEROID, SPECTRAL MODELING FROM 0.25 TO 4.0 μm

This paper describes the spectral modeling of the surface of Phobos in the wavelength range between 0.25 and 4.0 μm. We use complementary data to cover this spectral range: the OSIRIS (Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System on board the ESA Rosetta spacecraft) reflectance spectrum that Pajola et al. merged with the VSK-KRFM-ISM (Videospectrometric Camera (VSK)-Combined Radiometer and Photometer for Mars (KRFM)-Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (ISM) on board the USSR Phobos 2 spacecraft) spectra by Murchie and Erard and the IRTF (NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, Hawaii, USA) spectra published by Rivkin et al. The OSIRIS data allow the characterization of an area of Phobos covering from 86.°8 N to 90° S in latitude and from 126° W to 286° W in longitude. This corresponds chiefly to the trailing hemisphere, but with a small sampling of the leading hemisphere as well. We compared the OSIRIS results with the Trojan D-type asteroid 624 Hektor and show that the overall slope and curvature of the two bodies over the common wavelength range are very similar. This favors Phobos being a captured D-type asteroid as previously suggested. We modeled the OSIRIS data using two models, the first one with a composition that includes organic carbonaceous material, serpentine, olivine, and basalt glass, and the second one consisting of Tagish Lake meteorite and magnesium-rich pyroxene glass. The results of these models were extended to longer wavelengths to compare the VSK-KRFM-ISM and IRTF data. The overall shape of the second model spectrum between 0.25 and 4.0 μm shows curvature and an albedo level that match both the OSIRIS and Murchie and Erard data and the Rivkin et al. data much better than the first model. The large interval fit is encouraging and adds weight to this model, making it our most promising fit for Phobos. Since Tagish Lake is commonly used as a spectral analog for D-type asteroids, this provides additional support for compositional similarities between Phobos and D-type asteroids.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Approximating the r-Process on Earth with Thermonuclear Explosions. Lessons Learned and Unanswered Questions

During the astrophysical r-process, multiple neutron captures occur so rapidly on target nuclei that their daughter nuclei generally do not have time to undergo radioactive decay before another neutron is captured. The r-process can be approximately simulated on Earth in certain types of thermonuclear explosions through an analogous process of rapid neutron captures known as the "prompt capture" process. Between 1952 and 1969, 23 nuclear tests were fielded by the US which were involved (at least partially) with the "prompt capture" process. Of these tests, 15 were at least partially successful. Some of these tests were conducted under the Plowshare Peaceful Nuclear Explosion Program as scientific research experiments. It is now known that the USSR conducted similar nuclear tests during 1966 to 1979. The elements einsteinium and fermium were first discovered by this process. The most successful tests achieved 19 successive neutron captures on the initial target nuclei. A review of the US program, target nuclei used, heavy element yields, scientific achievements of the program, and how some of the results have been used by the astrophysical community is given. Finally, some unanswered questions concerning very neutron-rich nuclei that could potentially have been answered with additional nuclear experiments is presented.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Technical Cooperation on Verification and its Role in Trust Building

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it will demonstrate how technical cooperation on verification contributed to the softening of tensions and the improvement of trust between the United States and the Soviet Union. Because the scope of this endeavor is too broad to be adequately considered in the length of this work, the primary focus will be on the private and public partnerships on seismic and hydroacoustic test ban treaty verification that were forged between Soviet and American scientists from 1986-1988. In order to orient the analysis within the political-scientific landscape of the time, the discussion begins with a brief description of the arms control landscape in the early 1980s, including both the stances of the Reagan and Gorbachev administrations vis a vis nuclear test ban verification. The section concludes with an analysis of the two primary US-USSR collaborative projects in this key sphere – the test ban verification project conducted by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Soviet Academy of Sciences (SAS) and the Joint Verification Experiment (JVE) between the US and Soviet National Laboratories.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Blue Room timeline update

The following files are an update to the unclassified timeline in the Blue Room (the classified Weapons museum on the sixth floor of the NSSB). The current timeline ends at 2011; these files will bring the timeline up to the present. The previous timeline also failed to show that the USSR became Russia in 1991, so these files update that major world event. The timeline will be viewed by VIP visitors to the Laboratory

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗