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NASA NTRS1974

Intensity and energy spectrum of electrons accelerated in the earth's bow shock

Shock waves accelerate charged particles in the solar atmosphere, in interplanetary space and around the earth's magnetosphere. Acceleration of both electrons and protons occurs in the earth's bow-shock. The acceleration of protons up to 100 keV appears to be a steady state process and may even occur upstream from the bow shock due to waves generated by reflected solar wind protons. The electrons, on the other hand, are known to be accelerated in or near the shock. The intensity of these electrons ranges from about 100 to 2,000 per sr-sq cm-sec-keV at 14 keV. The energy spectrum is not a simple power low and is highly variable. If segments of the spectra are fitted to a power low, slopes ranging from -2 to -4.5 result over the energy range 0.5 to 100 keV.

Anderson, K. A.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Electron mobility and free-carrier absorption in GaAs - Determination of the compensation ratio

Theoretical calculations of electron mobility and free-carrier absorption in n-type GaAs at room temperature were carried out taking into consideration all major scattering processes. It was found that satisfactory agreement between theoretical and experimental results on free-carrier absorption is obtained only when the effect of compensation is quantitatively taken into account. In conjunction with experimental studies it is shown that the electron mobility (for n greater than 10 to the 15th per cu cm) and free-carrier absorption (for n greater than 10 to the 16th per cu cm) are sufficiently sensitive to the ionized impurity concentration to provide a reliable means for determining the compensation ratio. Convenient procedures are presented for the determination of the compensation ratio from the free-carrier absorption coefficient and from the computed values of room-temperature electron mobility. Values of the compensation ratio obtained by these two procedures are in good agreement provided the carrier-concentration variations in the material are not appreciably greater than 10%.

Walukiewicz, W.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Mixing of cryogenic fluids and predicted detonation properties for multiphase liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen

The mixing and explosion of LOX and LH sub 2 is a concern for Space Transportation System operations. To understand this problem, cryogenic mixing is experimentally studied by pouring 1,2,2 trichloro 2,1,1 trifluoroethane (Freon 113) into LN sub 2, LN sub 2 into LH sub 2, and LH sub 2 into into LN sub 2 in a 1 m by 15 cm cylindrical glass vessel. Data from these experiments is compared with previous studies and a hypothesis is advanced that LOX/LH sub 2 mixing will result in a complex, heterogenous, multiphase aggregation including LOX, SOX, LH sub 2, and VH sub 2 using the multiphase hypothesis. Visual and x ray observations of the process and mass measurements are reported.

Bishop, C. V.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Evidence for and implications of an Early Archean terrestrial impact record

Early Archean, 3.5 to 3.2 Ga, greenstone sequences in South Africa and Western Australia contain a well-preserved record of early terrestrial meteorite impacts. The main impact-produced deposits are layers, 10 cm to over 1 m thick, composed largely of sand-sized spherules, 0.1 to 4 mm in diameter. The beds studied to date show an assemblage of features indicating formation by the fall of debris from impact-generated ejecta clouds. Some presented data effectively rule out normal magmatic or sedimentary processes in the origin of these units and provide substantial support for an origin by large impacts on the early earth. The presence of at least four, remarkably thick, nearly pure spherule layers suggests that smaller-scale impact deposits may be even more abundant in these sequences. The existence of a well-preserved Archean terrestrial impact record suggests that a direct source of evidence is available regarding a number of important aspects of early earth history.

Lowe, Donald R.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Measuring precise sea level from a buoy using the Global Positioning System

The feasibility of using the Global Positioning System (GPS) for accurate sea surface positioning was examined. An experiment was conducted on the Scripps pier at La Jolla, California from December 13-15, 1989. A GPS-equipped buoy was deployed about 100 m off the pier. Two fixed reference GPS receivers, located on the pier and about 80 km away on Monument Peak, were used to estimate the relative position of the floater. Kinematic GPS processing software, developed at the National Geodetic Survey, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's GPS Infrared Processing System software were used to determine the floater position relative to land-fixing receivers. Calculations were made of sea level and ocean wave spectra from GPS measurements. It is found that the GPS sea level for the short 100 m baseline agrees with the PPT sea level at the 1 cm level and has an rms variation of 5 mm over a period of 4 hours.

Rocken, Christian↗

NASA NTRS1991

Limits to the lunar atmosphere

Apollo UV spectrometer experiment set limits on the density of oxygen of less than 500/cu cm, and the Apollo Lunar Atmospheric Composition Experiment data imply a value less than 50/cu cm above the subsolar point. These limits are surprisingly small relative to the measured value for sodium. A simple consideration of sources and sinks predicts significantly greater densities of oxygen. It is possible but doubtful that the Apollo measurements occurred during an epoch in which source rates were small. A preferential loss process for oxygen on the darkside of the moon is considered in which ionization by electron capture in surface collisions leads to escape through acceleration in the local electric field. Cold trapping in permanently shadowed regions as a net sink is considered and discounted, but the episodic nature of cometary insertion may allow formation of ice layers which act as a stabilized source of OH. On the basis of an assumed meteoroid impact source, a possible emission brightness of 50 R in the OH(A - X)(0,0) band above the lunar bright limb is predicted.

Morgan, T. H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

The relative importance of prebiotic synthesis on the Earth and input from comets and meteorites

The prebiotic synthesis of hydrogen cyanide and formaldehyde was studied by the action of electric discharges on various model primitive atmospheres containing CH4, CO, and CO2. Photochemical production rates would also have been important and were calculated for HCN and H2CO. A reasonable rate of synthesis of amino acids from these sources is about 10 n moles/(sq cm yr) or 0.10 moles/sq cm in 10(exp 7) yrs. This would give a concentration of 3 x 10(exp -4) M in an ocean of the present size (300 liters/sq cm). The amino acids cannot accumulate over a longer period because the entire ocean passes through the 350 C submarine vents in 10(exp 7) yrs, which decomposes all the organic compounds. A number of workers have calculated the influx of comets and meteorites on the primitive earth, both as a destructive process for organic compounds and for any life that was present, as well as a source of organic compounds. Some of the amino acids from the meteorite proposed to have hit the earth 65 x 10(exp 6) yrs ago were detected at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary sediments. The problem with proposing a large scale input of organic compounds from meteorites and comets is that they must survive passage through the atmosphere and impact. There are some processes that would allow survival such as showers of centimeter to meter sized meteorites and various aerodynamic braking processes for larger objects. Even if a significant amount of the organic material survived impact, the destructive processes in the hydrothermal vents would remove these compounds on the average in 10(exp 7) yrs or less. If it is assumed that the input rate was sufficient to overcome these destructive processes, then too much carbon and water, especially from comets, would have been added to the surface of the earth. It was concluded that while some organic material was added to the earth from comets and meteorites, the amount available from these sources at a given time was only a few percent of that from earth based syntheses.

Miller, S. L.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Size Segregation and Number Density Enhancement of Particles in Accretion Disk Eddies

We investigate the conditions for trapping solid dust particles in eddies and discuss the behavior of particles in a non-laminar protoplanetary accretion disk. We considered particle sizes from small dust grains to larger objects, 10(exp -4) cm less than a(sub p) less than 10(exp 2) cm. Independent of the source of turbulence, one can expect eddies to exist in the gas flow of a accretion disk, in the form of randomly occurring turbulent features or as convective cells. Due to the centrifugal force, solid particles are driven out of an eddy. It will be shown that this process is inhibited by the gravitational force induced by the protostar. Because of the mass dependence of the friction time, a given eddy becomes a trap for particles of a characteristic size and causes a local change in the dust density. Thus, the size distribution of the grains is no longer spatially homogeneous on small scales. Our general estimates do not depend on special turbulence or convection models. We calculate the maximal inhomogeneity due to this process. The strongest effect was observed for mm-sized particles, which can be concentrated by a factor of 100 within only 100 years.

Klahr, H. H.↗

NASA NTRS2004

The Mineralogy and Grain Properties of the Disk Surfaces in Three Herbig Ae/Be Stars

The ubiquity of accretion disks around pre-main sequence and young main sequence stars having the potential to form planetary systems is now well established. However, unknown is an accurate estimate of the fraction of single stars with disks that have produced planetary systems. Theoretical models of particle aggregation show that if particles can grow from submicron to mm to cm in size, then the formation of planetesimals is possible in the time before the disk dissipates. The problem remains to understand how grains condense from nebular gases, and how relic interstellar grains survive and are modified by their transport in the disk. If grains are lofted above the disk photosphere by processes such as winds, turbulent convection, or changes in vertical structure, the evolution of dust can be investigated by observing the properties of the small (less than or = 1 micron) grains in the optically thin disk surface layer or atmosphere.

Harker, D. E.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Characterization of cathode keeper wear by surface layer activation

In this study, the erosion rates of the discharge cathode keeper in a 30 cm NSTAR configuration ion thruster were measured using a technique known as Surface Layer Activation (SLA). This diagnostic technique involves producing a radioactive tracer in a given surface by bombardment with high energy ions. The decrease in activity of the tracer material may be monitored as the surface is subjected to wear processes and correlated to a depth calibration curve, yielding the eroded depth. Analysis of the activities was achieved through a gamma spectroscopy system. The primary objectives of this investigation were to reproduce erosion data observed in previous wear studies in order to validate the technique, and to determine the effect of different engine operating parameters on erosion rate. The erosion profile at the TH 15 (23 kw) setting observed during the 8200 hour Life Demonstration Test (LDT) was reproduced. The maximum keeper erosion rate at this setting was determined to be 0.085 pm/hr. Testing at the TH 8 (1.4 kw) setting demonstrated lower erosion rates than TH 15, along with a different wear profile. Varying the keeper voltage was shown to have a significant effect on the erosion, with a positive bias with respect to cathode potential decreasing the erosion rate significantly. Accurate measurements were achieved after operating times of only 40 to 70 hours, a significant improvement over other erosion diagnostic methods.

surface layer activation↗

NASA NTRS2005

Synthesizing Diamond from Liquid Feedstock

A relatively economical method of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has been developed for synthesizing diamond crystals and films. Unlike prior CVD methods for synthesizing diamond, this method does not require precisely proportioned flows of compressed gas feedstocks or the use of electrical discharges to decompose the feedstocks to obtain free radicals needed for deposition chemical reactions. Instead, the feedstocks used in this method are mixtures of common organic liquids that can be prepared in advance, and decomposition of feedstock vapors is effected simply by heating. The feedstock used in this method is a solution comprising between 90 and 99 weight percent of methanol and the balance of one or more other oxyhydrocarbons that could include ethanol, isopropanol, and/or acetone. This mixture of compounds is chosen so that dissociation of molecules results in the desired proportions of carbon-containing radicals (principally, CH3) and of OH, H, and O radicals. Undesirably, the CVD temperature and pressure conditions thermodynamically favor the growth of graphite over the growth of diamond. The H radicals are desirable because they help to stabilize the growing surface of diamond by shifting the thermodynamic balance toward favoring the growth of diamond. The OH and O radicals are desirable because they preferentially etch graphite and other non-diamond carbon, thereby helping to ensure the net deposition of pure diamond. The non-methanol compounds are included in the solution because (1) methanol contains equal numbers of C and O atoms; (2) an excess of C over O is needed to obtain net deposition of diamond; and (3) the non-methanol molecules contain multiple carbon atoms for each oxygen atom and thus supply the needed excess carbon A typical apparatus used in this method includes a reservoir containing the feedstock liquid and a partially evacuated stainless-steel reaction chamber. The reservoir is connected to the chamber via tubing and a needle valve or other suitable flow controller. When the liquid enters the low-pressure environment inside the chamber, it evaporates to form a vapor mixture of the same chemical composition. In addition to the inlet for the feedstock liquid, the chamber is fitted with an outlet connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) through a throttle valve (also not shown) that is automatically controlled to keep the pressure at or near the required value throughout the deposition process. Inside the chamber, a spiral filament made of tungsten, tantalum, graphite, or other high-melting-temperature material is electrically heated to a temperature >2,000 C high enough to cause dissociation of vapor molecules into the aforementioned radicals. A deposition substrate typically, a diamond-polished silicon wafer about 2.5 cm square is positioned about 2 cm away from the filament. The exact location of the substrate is chosen so that the substrate becomes heated by the filament to a deposition temperature in the approximate range of 800 to 1,000 C.

Tzeng, Yonhua↗

NASA NTRS2008

Triple F - A Comet Nucleus Sample Return Mission

The Triple F (Fresh From the Fridge) mission, a Comet Nucleus Sample Return, has been proposed to ESA's Cosmic Vision program. A sample return from a comet enables us to reach the ultimate goal of cometary research. Since comets are the least processed bodies in the solar system, the proposal goes far beyond cometary science topics (like the explanation of cometary activity) and delivers invaluable information about the formation of the solar system and the interstellar molecular cloud from which it formed. The proposed mission would extract three sample cores of the upper 50 cm from three locations on a cometary nucleus and return them cooled to Earth for analysis in the laboratory. The simple mission concept with a touch-andgo sampling by a single spacecraft was proposed as an M-class mission in collaboration with the Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS.

Kueppers, Michael↗

DOE OSTI2026

Through‐Plane Conductive Hydrophobic Electrodes for CO 2 Electrolysis to Ethylene

Copper catalyst gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) have demonstrated unique electrochemical selectivity converting CO 2 to C 2 -hydrocarbons such as ethylene and ethanol but have been challenged by their hydrophobic chemical stability and internal electrical resistance leading to low energy efficiency. Carbon-supported GDEs have low electrical resistance but lack sufficient stability at industrially relevant current densities. While polymer-supported GDEs have improved hydrophobicity, they also display high in-plane electrical resistance, particularly at industrial scales. Here, in this work, we demonstrate a composite gas diffusion layer that combines hydrophobic porous polymers with an electrically conductive backbone addressing these core gas diffusion electrode (GDE) scaling challenges. We investigate the material properties of standalone porous perfluoropolyether (PFPE) polymers, including porosity and surface morphology, under varying processing conditions and then incorporate these polymers into a porous copper foam. This composite enhances the mechanical rigidity necessary for cell assembly and provides a through-plane electrical conduction path to reduce electrical resistive losses. This enhanced PFPE composite GDE displays efficient CO 2 reduction, achieving 15% ethylene energy efficiency at 100 cm 2 . These findings contribute to the development of advanced catalyst materials and electrode architectures and promote scalable strategies for electrochemical conversion of CO 2 into high-value carbon products.

Chemistry↗

DOE OSTI2021

Investigating Thaw and Plant Productivity Constraints on Old Soil Carbon Respiration From Permafrost

Isotopic radiocarbon (Δ 14 C) signatures of ecosystem respiration (Reco) can identify old soil carbon (C) loss and serve as an early indicator of permafrost destabilization in a warming climate. Warming also stimulates plant productivity causing plant respiration to dominate Reco Δ 14 C signatures and potentially obscuring old soil C loss. Here, we investigate how a wide spatio-temporal gradient of permafrost thaw and plant productivity affects Reco Δ 14 C patterns and isotopic partitioning. Spatial gradients came from a warming experiment with doubling thaw depth and variable biomass, and a vegetation removal manipulation to eliminate plant contributions. We sampled in August and September to capture transitions from high to low plant productivity, decreased surface soil temperature, and relatively small seasonal thaw extensions. We found that surface processes dominate spatial variation in old soil C loss and a process-based partitioning approach was crucial for constraining old soil C loss. Resampling the same plots in different times of the year revealed that old soil C losses tripled with cooling surface temperature, and the largest old soil C losses were detected when the organic-to-mineral soil horizons thawed (~50–60 cm). We suggest that the measured increase in old soil respiration over the season and when the organic-to-mineral horizon thawed, may be explained by mobilization of nitrogen that stimulates microbial decomposition at depth. Our results suggest that soil C in the organic to mineral horizon may be an important source of soil C loss as the entire Arctic region warms and could lead to nonlinearities in projected permafrost climate feedbacks.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2021

A molecular design approach towards elastic and multifunctional polymer electronics

Next-generation wearable electronics require enhanced mechanical robustness and device complexity. Besides previously reported softness and stretchability, desired merits for practical use include elasticity, solvent resistance, facile patternability and high charge carrier mobility. Here, we show a molecular design concept that simultaneously achieves all these targeted properties in both polymeric semiconductors and dielectrics, without compromising electrical performance. This is enabled by covalently-embedded in-situ rubber matrix (iRUM) formation through good mixing of iRUM precursors with polymer electronic materials, and finely-controlled composite film morphology built on azide crosslinking chemistry which leverages different reactivities with C–H and C=C bonds. The high covalent crosslinking density results in both superior elasticity and solvent resistance. When applied in stretchable transistors, the iRUM-semiconductor film retained its mobility after stretching to 100% strain, and exhibited record-high mobility retention of 1 cm 2 V -1 s -1 after 1000 stretching-releasing cycles at 50% strain. The cycling life was stably extended to 5000 cycles, five times longer than all reported semiconductors. Furthermore, we fabricated elastic transistors via consecutively photo-patterning of the dielectric and semiconducting layers, demonstrating the potential of solution-processed multilayer device manufacturing. The iRUM represents a molecule-level design approach towards robust skin-inspired electronics.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2024

The atomic gas sequence and mass–metallicity relation from dwarfs to massive galaxies

Galaxy scaling relations provide insights into the processes that drive galaxy evolution. The extension of these scaling relations into the dwarf galaxy regime is of particular interest. This is because dwarf galaxies represent a crucial stage in galaxy evolution, and understanding them could also shed light on their role in reionizing the early Universe. There is currently no consensus on the processes that dominate the evolution of dwarfs. In this work, we constrain the atomic gas sequence (stellar mass versus atomic gas fraction) and mass–metallicity relation (stellar mass versus gas-phase metallicity) from dwarf (⁠10 6.5 M ⊙ ⁠) to massive (⁠10 11.5 M ⊙ ) galaxies in the local Universe. The combined optical and 21-cm spectroscopic observations of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument and Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA surveys allow us to constrain both scaling relations simultaneously. We find a slope change of the atomic gas sequence at a stellar mass of ~10 9 M ⊙ ⁠. We also find that the shape and scatter of the atomic gas sequence and mass–metallicity relation are strongly linked for both dwarfs and more massive galaxies. Consequently, the low-mass slope change of the atomic gas sequence is imprinted onto the mass–metallicity relation of dwarf galaxies. The mass scale of the measured slope change is consistent with a predicted escape velocity threshold below which low-mass galaxies experience significant supernova-driven gas loss, as well as with a reduction in cold gas accretion onto more massive galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Determination of Kinetic Properties of Ni(II) Ions in Molten LiF-NaF-KF via Voltammetry

Kinetic properties of Ni(II) in eutectic LiF-NaF-KF (FLiNaK) molten salt were determined at T = 748–823 K using cyclic voltammetry (CV), square wave voltammetry (SWV), and chronoamperometry (CA) measurements using a glassy C working electrode, Ni(II)/Ni reference electrode, and Ni counter electrode. Reduction of Ni(II) to Ni(s) was determined to be a single step, two-electron transfer process. Diffusivity values were calculated using the Berzins and Delahay equation and semi-integral electroanalysis from the CV measurements as well as using the Cottrell equation from the CA measurements. Diffusivity of Ni(II) in molten FLiNaK at T = 748–823 K was determined to be 3.27 × 10 –7 –3.04 × 10 –6 cm 2 s –1 with an activation energy of 62–104 kJ mol –1 . The estimated kinetic properties varied appreciably among methodologies possibly due to inherent assumptions in theory regarding reversibility and unit activity during Ni metal deposition on the working electrode.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2020

Soil microbial function and fungal community data along an ectomycorrhizal basal area gradient, Vermont, May 2019

Mycorrhizal fungi can affect soil organic matter cycling through several mechanisms including priming, nutrient competition, and direct enzyme production. Differences in nutrient foraging strategies between ectomycorrhizal (EcM) and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi produce divergent belowground dynamics: where EcM can take up organic nitrogen and directly break down SOM by producing enzymes, AM fungi are limited to scavenging mineral N. EcM-associated tree species also have leaf litter with relatively higher ratios of carbon to nitrogen (C:N), and belowground saprotrophic communities more dominated by fungi. Consequently, free-living microbes in EcM-dominated soils should experience nitrogen limitation, with subsequent increases in enzyme production and decreased carbon use efficiency (CUE). However, the relative importance of the effects of substrate quality and fungal community composition on enzyme production and CUE are unclear. To assess this distinction, we sampled the organic horizon and 10 cm of the mineral horizon in northern temperate forest soils along a gradient of EcM dominance (see SCxTS_DBH.csv for full tree species information). We characterized fungal community composition by measuring EcM relative abundances from extracted fungal DNA (To run raw ASV data through R code, use SCxTS_ASV_taxonomy.csv, and R code ITS_processing.Rmd; to see processed data with EcM relative abundance, use file SCxTS_sum_afitch_Feb18.20.csv) and the fungal to bacterial ratios (see data file SCxTS_plfa.csv) from phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Soil microbial functions were measured as potential activities of five hydrolytic and two oxidative enzymes ( To run raw data through R code us SCxTS_metadata.csv, hydrolytic_oxidative_raw.csv, MUBraw.csv, Enzyme_soilweight.csv, and incubationtime.csv, and R code SCxTS_enzymes.Rmd; to use Enzyme data ready to run through statistics code, use file Enzyme.data.csv) and microbial carbon use efficiency (see file SCxTS_CUE.csv and for full calculations file 18O_CUEcalcs_SCxTS_2019.xlsx). We assessed soil substrate quality as the soil carbon:nitrogen ratio (See file Organic_CN.csv). Statistical analysis can be run using R code from file SCxTS_analysis.Rmd.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗