WorldWideScience

Sample records for ray flashes tgfs

  1. Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs) Observed with the Fermi-Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor: The First Hundred TGFs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fishman, G J.; Briggs, M. S.; Connaughton, V.; Bhat, P. N.

    2010-01-01

    The Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Observatory (Fermi) is now detecting 2.1 TGFs per week. At this rate, nearly a hundred TGFs will have been detected by the time of this Meeting. This rate has increased by a factor of 8 since new flight software was uploaded to the spacecraft in November 2009 in order to increase the sensitivity of GBM to TGFs. The high time resolution (2 microseconds) allows temporal features to be resolved so that some insight may be gained on the origin and transport of the gamma-ray photons through the atmosphere. The absolute time of the TGFs, known to several microseconds, also allows accurate correlations of TGFs with lightning networks and other lightning-related phenomena. The thick bismuth germanate (BGO) scintillation detectors of the GBM system have observed photon energies from TGFs at energies above 40 MeV. New results on the some temporal aspects of TGFs will be presented.

  2. Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) Observed with the Fermi-Gamma-ray Burst Monitor: Temporal and Spectral Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fishman, G. J.; Briggs, M. S.; Connaughton, W.; Wilson-Hodge, C.; Bhat, P. N.

    2010-01-01

    The Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Observatory (Fermi) was detecting 2.1 TGFs per week. This rate has increased by a factor of 8 since new flight software was uploaded to the spacecraft in November 2009 in order to increase the sensitivity of GBM to TGFs. Further upgrades to Fermi-GBM to allow observations of weaker TGFs are in progress. The high time resolution (2 s) allows temporal features to be resolved so that some insight may be gained on the origin and transport of the gamma-ray photons through the atmosphere. The absolute time of the TGFs, known to several microseconds, also allows accurate correlations of TGFs with lightning networks and other lightning-related phenomena. The thick bismuth germanate (BGO) scintillation detectors of the GBM system have observed photon energies from TGFs at energies above 40 MeV. New results on the some temporal aspects of TGFs will be presented along with spectral characteristics and properties of several electron-positron TGF events that have been identified.

  3. Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marisaldi, Martino; Fuschino, Fabio; Labanti, Claudio; Tavani, Marco; Argan, Andrea; Del Monte, Ettore; Longo, Francesco; Barbiellini, Guido; Giuliani, Andrea; Trois, Alessio; Bulgarelli, Andrea; Gianotti, Fulvio; Trifoglio, Massimo

    2013-08-01

    Lightning and thunderstorm systems in general have been recently recognized as powerful particle accelerators, capable of producing electrons, positrons, gamma-rays and neutrons with energies as high as several tens of MeV. In fact, these natural systems turn out to be the highest energy and most efficient natural particle accelerators on Earth. Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) are millisecond long, very intense bursts of gamma-rays and are one of the most intriguing manifestation of these natural accelerators. Only three currently operative missions are capable of detecting TGFs from space: the RHESSI, Fermi and AGILE satellites. In this paper we review the characteristics of TGFs, including energy spectrum, timing structure, beam geometry and correlation with lightning, and the basic principles of the associated production models. Then we focus on the recent AGILE discoveries concerning the high energy extension of the TGF spectrum up to 100 MeV, which is difficult to reconcile with current theoretical models.

  4. Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marisaldi, Martino; Fuschino, Fabio; Labanti, Claudio; Tavani, Marco; Argan, Andrea; Del Monte, Ettore; Longo, Francesco; Barbiellini, Guido; Giuliani, Andrea; Trois, Alessio; Bulgarelli, Andrea; Gianotti, Fulvio; Trifoglio, Massimo

    2013-01-01

    Lightning and thunderstorm systems in general have been recently recognized as powerful particle accelerators, capable of producing electrons, positrons, gamma-rays and neutrons with energies as high as several tens of MeV. In fact, these natural systems turn out to be the highest energy and most efficient natural particle accelerators on Earth. Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) are millisecond long, very intense bursts of gamma-rays and are one of the most intriguing manifestation of these natural accelerators. Only three currently operative missions are capable of detecting TGFs from space: the RHESSI, Fermi and AGILE satellites. In this paper we review the characteristics of TGFs, including energy spectrum, timing structure, beam geometry and correlation with lightning, and the basic principles of the associated production models. Then we focus on the recent AGILE discoveries concerning the high energy extension of the TGF spectrum up to 100 MeV, which is difficult to reconcile with current theoretical models

  5. Lightning leader models of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwyer, J. R.; Liu, N.; Ihaddadene, K. M. A.

    2017-12-01

    Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are bright sub-millisecond bursts of gamma rays that originate from thunderstorms. Because lightning leaders near the ground have been observed to emit x-rays, presumably due to runaway electron production in the high-field regions near the leader tips, models of TGFs have been developed by several groups that assume a similar production mechanism of runaway electrons from lightning leaders propagating through thunderclouds. However, it remains unclear exactly how and where these runaway electrons are produced, since lightning propagation at thunderstorm altitudes remains poorly understood. In addition, it is not obvious how to connect the observed behavior of the x-ray production from lightning near the ground with the properties of TGFs. For example, it is not clear how to relate the time structure of the x-ray emission near the ground to that of TGFs, since x-rays from stepped leaders near the ground are usually produced in a series of sub-microsecond bursts, but TGFs are usually observed as much longer pulses without clear substructures, at sub-microsecond timescales or otherwise. In this presentation, spacecraft observations of TGFs, ground-based observations of x-rays from lightning and laboratory sparks, and Monte Carlo and PIC simulations of runaway electron and gamma ray production and propagation will be used to constrain the lightning leader models of TGFs.

  6. Fermi GBM Observations of Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.; Briggs, M. S.; Connaughton, V.; Fishman, G. J.; Bhat, P. N.; Paciesas, W. S.; Preece, R.; Kippen, R. M.; vonKienlin, A.; Dwyer, J. R.; hide

    2010-01-01

    This slide presentation explores the relationship between Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGF) and lightning. Using data from the World-Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), and the gamma ray observations from Fermi's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), the study reviews any causal relationship between TGFs and lightning. The conclusion of the study is that the TGF and lightning are simultaneous with out a causal relationship.

  7. Modeling of Pulses in Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Wei; Celestin, Sebastien; Pasko, Victor

    2015-04-01

    Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) are high-energy photon bursts originating from the Earth's atmosphere that are associated with lightning activities. After their discovery in 1994 by the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) detector aboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory [Fishman et al., Science, 264, 1313, 1994], this phenomenon has been further observed by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) [Smith et al., Science, 307, 1085, 2005], the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope [Briggs et al., JGR, 115, A07323, 2010] and the Astrorivelatore Gamma a Immagini Leggero (AGILE) satellite [Marisaldi et al., JGR, 115, A00E13, 2010]. Photon spectra corresponding to the mechanism of relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREAs) usually provide a very good agreement with satellite observations [Dwyer and Smith, GRL, 32, L22804, 2005]. On the other hand, Celestin and Pasko [JGR, 116, A03315, 2011] have shown theoretically that the large flux of thermal runaway electrons generated by streamers during the negative corona flash stage of stepping lightning leaders in intracloud lightning flashes could be responsible for TGFs. Recently, based on analysis of the temporal profiles of 278 TGF events observed by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor, Foley et al. [JGR, 119, 5931, 2014] have suggested that 67% of TGF pulses detected are asymmetric and these asymmetric pulses are consistent with the production mechanism of TGFs by relativistic feedback discharges. In the present work, we employ a Monte Carlo model to study the temporal distribution of photons at low-orbit satellite altitudes during TGF events. Using the pulse fitting method described in [Foley et al., 2014], we further investigate the characteristics of TGF pulses. We mainly focus on the effects of Compton scattering on the symmetry properties and the rise and fall times of TGF pulses.

  8. Ground-Based Observations of Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes Associated with Downward-Directed Lightning Leaders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belz, J.; Abbasi, R.; Krehbiel, P. R.; LeVon, R.; Remington, J.; Rison, W.; Thomas, R. J.

    2017-12-01

    Terrestrial Gamma Flashes (TGFs) have been observed in satellite-borne gamma ray detectors for several decades, starting with the BATSE instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray observatory in 1994. TGFs consist of bursts of upwards of 1018 primary gamma rays, with a duration of up to a few milliseconds, originating in the Earth's atmosphere. More recent observations have shown that satellite-observed TGFs are generated in upward-propagating negative leaders of intracloud lightning, suggesting that they may be sensitive to the processes responsible for the initial lightning breakdown. Here, we present the first evidence that TGFs are also produced at the beginning of negative cloud-to-ground flashes, and that they may provide a new window through which ground-based observatories may contribute to understanding the breakdown process. The Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD) is a 700 square kilometer cosmic ray observatory, an array of 507 3m2 scintillators on a 1.2 km grid. The array is triggered and read out when at least three adjacent detectors observe activity within an 8 μs window. Following the observation of bursts of anomalous TASD triggers, lasting a few hundred microseconds and correlated with local lightning activity, a Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) and slow electric field antenna were installed at the TASD site in order to study the effect. From data obtained between 2014 and 2016, correlated observations were obtained for ten -CG flashes. In 9 out of 10 cases, bursts of up to five anomalous triggers were detected during the first ms of the flash, as negative breakdown was descending into lower positive storm charge. The triggers occurred when the LMA-detected VHF radiation sources were at altitudes between 1.5 to 4.5 km AGL. The tenth flash was initiated by an unusually energetic leader that reached the ground in 2.5 ms and produced increasingly powerful triggers down to about 500 m AGL. While the TASD is not optimized for individual gamma ray detection

  9. Terrestrial gamma ray flash production by lightning current pulses

    OpenAIRE

    İnan, Umran Savaş; Carlson, B. E.; Lehtinen, N. G.

    2017-01-01

    Terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) are brief bursts of gamma rays observed by satellites, typically in coincidence with detectable lightning. We incorporate TGF observations and the key physics behind current TGF production theories with lightning physics to produce constraints on TGF production mechanisms. The combined constraints naturally suggest a mechanism for TGF production by current pulses in lightning leader channels. The mechanism involves local field enhancements due to charge re...

  10. Constraining the source properties of individual Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mailyan, B.; Cramer, E.; Fitzpatrick, G.; Bhat, P.; Briggs, M.; Stanbro, M.; Roberts, O.; McBreen, S.; Connaughton, V.; Dwyer, J.

    2017-01-01

    We report on the spectral analysis of two individual Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFS) observed with the Fermi Gamma- ray Burst Monitor (GBM). The large GBM sample provides some events suitable for individual spectral analysis: sufficiently bright, localized by ground-based radio, and with the gamma rays reaching a detector unobstructed. We account for the low counts in individual TGFS by using Poisson likelihood, and we also consider instrumental effects. The data are fit with models obtained from Monte Carlo simulations of the large scale Relativistic Runaway Electron Avalanche (RREA) model, including propagation through the atmosphere. Two beaming geometries were considered: In one, the photons retain the intrinsic distribution from scattering (narrow), and in the other, the photons are smeared into a wider beam (wide). Large-scale RREA models can accommodate both narrow and wide beams, with narrow beams suggest large-scale RREA in organized electric fields while wide beams may imply converging or diverging electric fields. Wide beams are also consistent with acceleration in the electric fields of lightning leaders, but the TGFS that favor narrow beam models appear inconsistent with some lightning leader models. (author)

  11. Combining lightning leader and relativistic feedback discharge models of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwyer, J. R.

    2016-12-01

    Lightning leader models of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are based on the observations that leaders emit bursts of hard x-rays. These x-rays are thought to be generated by runaway electrons created in the high-field regions associated with the leader tips and/or streamers heads. Inside a thunderstorm, it has been proposed that these runaway electrons may experience additional relativistic runaway electron avalanche (RREA) multiplication, increasing the number and the average energy of the electrons, and possibly resulting in a TGF. When modeling TGFs it is important to include the discharge currents resulting from the ionization produced by the runaway electrons, since these currents may alter the electric fields and affect the TGF. In addition, relativistic feedback effects, caused by backward propagating positrons and backscattered x-rays, need to be included, since relativistic feedback limits the size of the electric field and the amount of a RREA multiplication that may occur. In this presentation, a lightning leader model of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes that includes the effects of the discharge currents and relativistic feedback will be described and compared with observations.

  12. Plastic Scintillator Based Detector for Observations of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barghi, M. R., Sr.; Delaney, N.; Forouzani, A.; Wells, E.; Parab, A.; Smith, D.; Martinez, F.; Bowers, G. S.; Sample, J.

    2017-12-01

    We present an overview of the concept and design of the Light and Fast TGF Recorder (LAFTR), a balloon borne gamma-ray detector designed to observe Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs). Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs) are extremely bright, sub-millisecond bursts of gamma-rays observed to originate inside thunderclouds coincident with lightning. LAFTR is joint institutional project built by undergraduates at the University of California Santa Cruz and Montana State University. It consists of a detector system fed into analog front-end electronics and digital processing. The presentation focuses specifically on the UCSC components, which consists of the detector system and analog front-end electronics. Because of the extremely high count rates observed during TGFs, speed is essential for both the detector and electronics of the instrument. The detector employs a fast plastic scintillator (BC-408) read out by a SensL Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM). BC-408 is chosen for its speed ( 4 ns decay time) and low cost and availability. Furthermore, GEANT3 simulations confirm the scintillator is sensitive to 500 counts at 7 km horizontal distance from the TGF source (for a 13 km source altitude and 26 km balloon altitude) and to 5 counts out to 20 km. The signal from the SiPM has a long exponential decay tail and is sent to a custom shaping circuit board that amplifies and shapes the signal into a semi-Gaussian pulse with a 40 ns FWHM. The signal is then input to a 6-channel discriminator board that clamps the signal and outputs a Low Voltage Differential Signal (LVDS) for processing by the digital electronics.

  13. Characterizing the source properties of terrestrial gamma ray flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwyer, Joseph R.; Liu, Ningyu; Eric Grove, J.; Rassoul, Hamid; Smith, David M.

    2017-08-01

    Monte Carlo simulations are used to determine source properties of terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) as a function of atmospheric column depth and beaming geometry. The total mass per unit area traversed by all the runaway electrons (i.e., the total grammage) during a TGF, Ξ, is introduced, defined to be the total distance traveled by all the runaway electrons along the electric field lines multiplied by the local air mass density along their paths. It is shown that key properties of TGFs may be directly calculated from Ξ and its time derivative, including the gamma ray emission rate, the current moment, and the optical power of the TGF. For the calculations presented in this paper, a standard TGF gamma ray fluence, F0 = 0.1 cm-2 above 100 keV for a spacecraft altitude of 500 km, and a standard total grammage, Ξ0 = 1018 g/cm2, are introduced, and results are presented in terms of these values. In particular, the current moments caused by the runaway electrons and their accompanying ionization are found for a standard TGF fluence, as a function of source altitude and beaming geometry, allowing a direct comparison between the gamma rays measured in low-Earth orbit and the VLF-LF radio frequency emissions recorded on the ground. Such comparisons should help test and constrain TGF models and help identify the roles of lightning leaders and streamers in the production of TGFs.

  14. Electron Acceleration by Stochastic Electric Fields in Thunderstorms: Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alnussirat, S.; Miller, J. A.; Christian, H. J., Jr.; Fishman, G. J.

    2016-12-01

    Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are energetic pulses of photons, which are intense and short, originating in the atmosphere during thunderstorm activity. Despite the number of observations, the production mechanism(s) of TGFs and other energetic particles is not well understood. However, two mechanisms have been suggested as a source of TGFs: (1) the relativistic runaway electron avalanche mechanism (RREA), and (2) the lightning leader mechanism. The RREA can account for the TGF observations, but requires restrictive or unrealistic assumptions. The lightning leader channel is also expected to produce runaway electrons, but through inhomogeneous, small scale, strong electric fields. In this work we use the Boltzmann equation to model the electron acceleration by the lightning leader mechanism, and we derive the gamma-ray spectrum from the electron distribution function. The electric fields at the tip of the leaders are assumed to be stochastic in space and time. Since the physics involved in the lightening leader is not known, we test different cases of the stochastic acceleration agent. From this modeling we hope to investigate the possibility and efficiency of stochastic acceleration in thunderstorm.

  15. GBM Observations of Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briggs, M. S.; Fishman, G. J.; Connaughton, V.; Bhat, P. N.; Paciesas, W. S.; Preece, R. D.; Wilson-Hodge, C.; Chaplin, V. L.; Kippen, R. M.; vonKienlin, A.; hide

    2010-01-01

    The TGF detection rate of Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) has been increased twice since launch. The most recent improvement is from a new operating mode in which data for individual photons are down-linked for selected portions of the orbit, enabling a more sensitive ground-based search for TGFs. The new search has increased the TGF detection rate and is finding TGFs more than five times fainter than the TGFs of the previous GBM sample. We summarize the properties of the original GBM TGF sample and compare to the less intense TGFs now being detected. In addition to gamma-ray TGFs, GBM is observing distant TGFs from the propagation of charged particles along geomagnetic field lines. Strong 511 keV annihilation lines have been observed, demonstrating that both electrons and positrons are present in the particle beams. Spectral fits to these electron/positron TGFs will be shown.

  16. Terrestrial gamma ray flash production by active lightning leader channels

    OpenAIRE

    İnan, Umran Savaş; Carlson, B. E.; Lehtinen, N. G.

    2017-01-01

    The production of terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) requires a seed energetic electron source and a strong electric field. Lightning leaders naturally provide seed electrons by cold runaway and strong electric fields by charge accumulation on the channel. We model possible TGF production in such fields by simulating the charges and currents on the channel. The resulting electric fields then drive simulations of runaway relativistic electron avalanche and photon emission. Photon spectra and...

  17. Planetary Produced Axionlike Particles and Gamma-Ray Flashes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liolios, Anastasios

    2008-01-01

    Axion-like particles could be created in nuclear disintegrations and deexitations of natural radionuclides present in the interior of the planets. For the Earth and the other planets with a surrounding magnetosphere, axion production could result to gamma and X-ray emission, originating from axion to photon conversion in the planetary magnetic fields. The estimated planetary axion fluxes as well as the related gamma ray fluxes from Earth and the giant planets of our solar system are given along with the axion coupling to ordinary matter. A possible connection with the enigmatic Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) discovered in 1994 by CGRO/BATSE and also detected with the RHESSI satellite, is also discussed.

  18. Terrestrial gamma-ray flash production by lightning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, Brant E.

    Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are brief flashes of gamma-rays originating in the Earth's atmosphere and observed by satellites. First observed in 1994 by the Burst And Transient Source Experiment on board the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, TGFs consist of one or more ˜1 ms pulses of gamma-rays with a total fluence of ˜1/cm2, typically observed when the satellite is near active thunderstorms. TGFs have subsequently been observed by other satellites to have a very hard spectrum (harder than dN/d E ∝ 1/ E ) that extends from below 25 keV to above 20 MeV. When good lightning data exists, TGFs are closely associated with measurable lightning discharge. Such discharges are typically observed to occur within 300 km of the sub-satellite point and within several milliseconds of the TGF observation. The production of these intense energetic bursts of photons is the puzzle addressed herein. The presence of high-energy photons implies a source of bremsstrahlung, while bremsstrahlung implies a source of energetic electrons. As TGFs are associated with lightning, fields produced by lightning are naturally suggested to accelerate these electrons. Initial ideas about TGF production involved electric fields high above thunderstorms as suggested by upper atmospheric lightning research and the extreme energies required for lower-altitude sources. These fields, produced either quasi-statically by charges in the cloud and ionosphere or dynamically by radiation from lightning strokes, can indeed drive TGF production, but the requirements on the source lightning are too extreme and therefore not common enough to account for all existing observations. In this work, studies of satellite data, the physics of energetic electron and photon production, and consideration of lightning physics motivate a new mechanism for TGF production by lightning current pulses. This mechanism is then developed and used to make testable predictions. TGF data from satellite observations are compared

  19. Simulating Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes using SWORD (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gwon, C.; Grove, J.; Dwyer, J. R.; Mattson, K.; Polaski, D.; Jackson, L.

    2013-12-01

    We report on simulations of the relativistic feedback discharges involved with the production of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). The simulations were conducted using Geant4 using the SoftWare for the Optimization of Radiation Detectors (SWORD) framework. SWORD provides a graphical interface for setting up simulations in select high-energy radiation transport engines. Using Geant4, we determine avalanche length, the energy spectrum of the electrons and gamma-rays as they leave the field region, and the feedback factor describing the degree to which the production of energetic particles is self-sustaining. We validate our simulations against previous work in order to determine the reliability of our results. This work is funded by the Office of Naval Research.

  20. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flash (TGF) Catalog

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briggs, M. S.; Roberts, O.; Fitzpatrick, G.; Stanbro, M.; Cramer, E.; Mailyan, B. G.; McBreen, S.; Connaughton, V.; Grove, J. E.; Chekhtman, A.; Holzworth, R.

    2017-12-01

    The revised Second Fermi GBM TGF catalog includes data on 4144 TGFs detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor through 2016 July 31. The catalog includes 686 bright TGFs there were detected in orbit and 4135 TGFs that were discovered by ground analysis of GBM data (the two samples overlap). Thirty of the events may have been detected as electrons and positrons rather than gamma-rays: Terrestrial Electron Beams (TEBs). We also provide results from correlating the GBM TGFs with VLF radio detections of the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). TGFs with WWLLN associations have their localization uncertainties improved from 800 to 10 km, making it possible to identify specific thunderstorms responsible for the TGFs and opening up new types of scientific investigations. There are 1544 TGFs with WWLLN associations; maps are provided for these and the other TGFs of the catalog. The data tables of the catalog are available for use by the scientific community at the Fermi Science Support Center, at https://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc/data/access/gbm/tgf/.

  1. The Latest Space-Borne Observations of TGFs from Fermi-GBM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fishman, Gerald J.

    2010-01-01

    The Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) on the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Observatory (Fermi) is detecting about two TGFs per week. This rate has increased by a factor of approx.eight since launch when flight software was uploaded to the spacecraft in November 2009 in order to increase the sensitivity of GBM to TGFs. Weaker, un-triggered TGFs are now also being observed about once per day over selected low-latitude regions Americas. The high efficiency and time resolution (2 s) of GBM allows temporal features to be resolved so that some insight may be gained on the origin and transport of the gamma-ray photons through the atmosphere. TGFs are observed to be shorter than previously thought, with an average duration of approx.100 micro-s. The absolute times of TGFs are known to approx.10 micro-s, allowing accurate correlations of TGFs with lightning networks and other lightning-related phenomena. The events are observed in the thick bismuth germanate (BGO) scintillation detectors of GBM with photon energies above 40 MeV. Other new results on the temporal and spectral characteristics of TGFs will be presented, along with properties of several electron-positron TGF events that have been identified.

  2. Fermi GBM Observations of Terrestrial Gamma Flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.; Briggs, M. S.; Connaughton, V.; Fishman, G. J.; Bhat, P. N.; Paciesas, W. S.; Preece, R. D.; Kippen, R. M.; vonKienlin, A.; Dwyer, J. R.; hide

    2010-01-01

    In its first two years of operation, the Fermi Gamma Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) has observed 79 Terrestrial Gamma Flashes (TGFs). The thick Bismuth Germanate (BGO) detectors are excellent for TGF spectroscopy, having a high probability of recording the full energy of an incident photon, spanning a broad energy range from 150 keV to 40 MeV, and recording a large number of photons per TGF. Correlations between GBM TGF triggers and lightning sferics detected with the World-Wide Lightning Location Network indicate that TGFs and lightning are simultaneous to within tens of microseconds.

  3. Modeling terrestrial gamma ray flashes produced by relativistic feedback discharges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ningyu; Dwyer, Joseph R.

    2013-05-01

    This paper reports a modeling study of terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) produced by relativistic feedback discharges. Terrestrial gamma ray flashes are intense energetic radiation originating from the Earth's atmosphere that has been observed by spacecraft. They are produced by bremsstrahlung interactions of energetic electrons, known as runaway electrons, with air atoms. An efficient physical mechanism for producing large fluxes of the runaway electrons to make the TGFs is the relativistic feedback discharge, where seed runaway electrons are generated by positrons and X-rays, products of the discharge itself. Once the relativistic feedback discharge becomes self-sustaining, an exponentially increasing number of relativistic electron avalanches propagate through the same high-field region inside the thundercloud until the electric field is partially discharged by the ionization created by the discharge. The modeling results indicate that the durations of the TGF pulses produced by the relativistic feedback discharge vary from tens of microseconds to several milliseconds, encompassing all durations of the TGFs observed so far. In addition, when a sufficiently large potential difference is available in thunderclouds, a self-propagating discharge known as the relativistic feedback streamer can be formed, which propagates like a conventional positive streamer. For the relativistic feedback streamer, the positive feedback mechanism of runaway electron production by the positrons and X-rays plays a similar role as the photoionization for the conventional positive streamer. The simulation results of the relativistic feedback streamer show that a sequence of TGF pulses with varying durations can be produced by the streamer. The relativistic streamer may initially propagate with a pulsed manner and turn into a continuous propagation mode at a later stage. Milliseconds long TGF pulses can be produced by the feedback streamer during its continuous propagation. However

  4. Programming Arduino to Control Bias Voltages to Temperature-Depedndent Gamma-ray Detectors aboard TRYAD Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevons, C. E.; Jenke, P.; Briggs, M. S.

    2016-12-01

    Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) are sub-millisecond gamma-ray flashes that are correlated with lightning have been observed with numerous satellites since their discovery in the early 1990s. Although substantial research has been conducted on TGFs, puzzling questions regarding their origin are still left unanswered. Consequently, the Terrestrial RaYs Analysis and Detection (TRYAD) mission is designed to solve many issues about TGFs by measuring the beam profile and orientation of TGFs in low Earth orbit. This project consists of sending two CubeSats into low-Earth orbit where they will independently sample TGF beams. Both of the TRYAD CubeSats will contain a gamma-ray detector composed of lead doped plastic scintillator coupled to silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) arrays. The gain readings of the SiPMs vary with temperature and the bias voltage must be corrected to compensate. Using an Arduino micro-controller, circuitry and software was developed to control the gain in response to the resistance of a thermistor. I will present the difficulties involved with this project along with our solutions.

  5. Space-time analysis of the Seismic Waves propagation and World Wide Lightning Location Network data association with the Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sorokin, L.

    2017-01-01

    The natural high intensity sub-millisecond electromagnetic pulses associated with seismic waves from earthquakes can trigger +CG, -CG and IC lightning discharges, transient luminous events (TLEs) and non luminous events as TGFS. The lightning discharges with higher peak currents are more probable during the moments when seismic waves from earthquakes pass through a place of lightning. Huge charge transfer of triggered +CG, -CG and IC lightning discharges can radiate powerful electromagnetic emission. Space-time analysis of the seismic wave’s propagation and WWLLN data was done together with the second Fermi GBM Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGF) Catalog. A total number of 1203 events from the WWLLN associations table were associated with the entrance the exact seismic waves from earthquakes in the place of lightning. Only 11 events from 1214 associations were rejected. After that the full list of 1049 TGFs has been checked out. As the result the 1038 TGFS has been associated with earthquakes. Among them 42 events with time difference exceeding ±100 sec were found. As the result 996 events get inside the time interval for the space-time analysis ±100 sec, they correspond to 95% from the total number of 1049 TGFS. The probability density function for the Time difference data was calculated and more preferably can be explained by the probability density functions of Cauchy distribution. The Phases of Seismic Waves and earthquakes magnitude associated with selected 996 TGFS from WWLLN associations table were studied. (author)

  6. Gamma rays made on Earth have unexpectedly high energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, Johanna

    2011-01-01

    Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are the source of the highest-energy nonanthropogenic photons produced on Earth. Associated with thunder-storms - and in fact, with individual lightning discharges - they are presumed to be the bremsstrahlung produced when relativistic electrons, accelerated by the storms' strong electric fields, collide with air molecules some 10-20 km above sea level. The TGFs last up to a few milliseconds and contain photons with energies on the order of MeV.

  7. Flash X-ray

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Eiichi

    2003-01-01

    Generation of quasi-monochromatic X-ray by production of weakly ionized line plasma (flash X-ray), high-speed imaging by the X-ray and high-contrast imaging by the characteristic X-ray absorption are described. The equipment for the X-ray is consisted from the high-voltage power supply and condenser, turbo molecular pump, and plasma X-ray tube. The tube has a long linear anticathode to produce the line plasma and flash X-ray at 20 kA current at maximum. X-ray spectrum is measured by the imaging plate equipped in the computed radiography system after diffracted by a LiF single crystal bender. Cu anticathode generates sharp peaks of K X-ray series. The tissue images are presented for vertebra, rabbit ear and heart, and dog heart by X-ray fluoroscopy with Ce anticathode. Generation of K-orbit characteristic X-ray with extremely low bremsstrahung is to be attempted for medical use. (N.I.)

  8. Flash x-ray

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, Q.; Pellinen, D.

    1976-01-01

    The complementary techniques of flash x-ray radiography (FXR) and flash x-ray diffraction (FXD) provide access to a unique domain in nondestructive materials testing. FXR is useful in studies of macroscopic properties during extremely short time intervals, and FXD, the newer technique, is used in studies of microscopic properties. Although these techniques are similar in many respects, there are some substantial differences. FXD generally requires low-voltage, line-radiation sources and extremely accurate timing; FXR is usually less demanding. Phenomena which can be profitably studied by FXR often can also be studied by FXD to permit a complete materials characterization

  9. Flash x-ray cinematography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stein, W.E.

    1976-01-01

    Experiments intended to provide an overview of the potential capabilities and limitations of flash x-ray cinematography as a diagnostic technique for a Fast Reactor Safety Test Facility are described. The results provide estimates of the x-ray pulse intensity required to obtain adequate radiographs of an array of fuel pins in a typical reactor configuration. An estimate of the upper limit on the pulse duration imposed by the reactor background radiation was also determined. X-ray cinematography has been demonstrated at a repetition rate limited only by the recording equipment on hand at the time of these measurements. These preliminary results indicate that flash x-ray cinematography of the motion of fuel in a Fast Reactor Test Facility is technically feasible

  10. X-RAY AND GAMMA-RAY FLASHES FROM TYPE Ia SUPERNOVAE?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoeflich, Peter; Schaefer, Bradley E.

    2009-01-01

    We investigate two potential mechanisms that will produce X-ray and γ-ray flashes from Type Ia supernovae (SN-Ia). The first mechanism is the breakout of the thermonuclear burning front as it reaches the surface of the white dwarf (WD). The second mechanism is the interaction of the rapidly expanding envelope with material within an accretion disk in the progenitor system. Our study is based on the delayed detonation scenario because this can account for the majority of light curves, spectra, and statistical properties of 'Branch-normal' SN-Ia. Based on detailed radiation-hydro calculations which include nuclear networks, we find that both mechanisms produce brief flashes of high-energy radiation with peak luminosities of 10 48 -10 50 erg s -1 . The breakout from the WD surface produces flashes with a rapid exponential decay by 3-4 orders of magnitude on timescales of a few tenths of a second and with most of the radiation in the X-ray and soft γ-ray range. The shocks produced in gases in and around the binary will produce flashes with a characteristic duration of a few seconds with most of the radiation coming out as X-rays and γ-rays. In both mechanisms, we expect a fast rise and slow decline and, after the peak, an evolution from hard to softer radiation due to adiabatic expansion. In many cases, flashes from both mechanisms will be superposed. The X- and γ-ray visibility of an SN-Ia will depend strongly on self-absorption within the progenitor system, specifically on the properties of the accretion disk and its orientation toward the observer. Such X-ray and γ-ray flashes could be detected as triggered events by gamma-ray burst (GRB) detectors on satellites, with events in current GRB catalogs. We have searched through the GRB catalogs (for the BATSE, HETE, and Swift experiments) for GRBs that occur at the extrapolated time of explosion and in the correct direction for known Type Ia supernovae with radial velocity of less than 3000 km s -1 . For the Burst

  11. An Event Observed as a Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flash (TGF) and a Terrestrial Electron Beam (TEB) by Fermi GBM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanbro, M.; Briggs, M. S.; Cramer, E.; Dwyer, J. R.; Roberts, O.

    2017-12-01

    Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) are sub-ms, intense flashes of gamma-rays. They are due to the acceleration of electrons with relativistic energies in thunderstorms that emit gamma-rays via bremsstrahlung. When these photons reach the upper atmosphere, they can produce secondary electrons and positrons that escape the atmosphere and propagate along the Earth's magnetic field line. Space instruments can detect these charged particles, known as Terrestrial Electron Beams (TEBs), after traveling thousands of kilometers from the thunderstorm. We present an event that was observed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) as both a TGF and a TEB. To our knowledge this is the first such event that has ever been observed. We interpret the first pulse as a TGF with a duration of 0.2 ms. After 0.5 ms a second pulse is seen with a duration of 2 ms that we interpret as a TEB. Confirming this interpretation, a third pulse is seen 90 ms later, which is understood as a TEB magnetic mirror pulse. The World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) and the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) detected a sferic, under the spacecraft footprint and within the southern magnetic footprint that is simultaneous with the first pulse. Along with the sferic, this unique observation allows us for the first time to test TGF and TEB models for the same event. We present Monte Carlo simulations of the first two pulses, including pitch angles for electrons and positrons, to see if the models can consistently describe the TGF/TEB spectra and time profiles originating from the same source.

  12. Spectral characteristics of VLF sferics associated with TGFs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mezentsev, Andrew; Lehtinen, Nikolai; Ostgaard, Nikolai; Perez-Invernon, Javier; Cummer, Steven

    2017-04-01

    between the satellite measurements and radio recordings of TGFs. Distances from the analyzed TGF sources to the Duke VLF receiver range from 2000 to 4000 km. This involves the consideration of the propagation effects in the Earth-ionosphere wave guide (EIWG). The EIWG transfer function was calculated for each event using the full wave propagation method. Thus, the modeled energy spectrum of the TGF source current moment can be transformed into how it would look like for the Duke VLF receiver. Comparative analysis of the energy spectra of modeled TGF radio emission and associated VLF sferics for 20 events with WWLLN confirmed location and 15 events without WWLLN detection shows that 31 of these 35 events exhibit a good fit between the modeled and observed spectra, with only 4 exceptions, that look inconsistent with the proposed model. The second cutoff frequency fB with the number of avalanches Np define the shape of the observed energy spectrum of the sferic emitted by a TGF. Multiplicity of the TGF serves as another important discriminative factor that shows the consistency between the modeled and observed spectra. The results show that the number of avalanches Np should be relatively small, of the order of 30-300, to make the modeled TGF radio emission consistent with the observed VLF sferics. These small values of Np give an argument in favor of the leader model of the TGF production, and also might refer to streamers in the streamer zone of the leader tip, as candidates, producing initial seeding pulses that develop into RREAs, generating a TGF. [1]. Mezentsev, A., Østgaard, N., Gjesteland, T., Albrechtsen, K., Lehtinen, N., Marisaldi, M., Smith, D., and Cummer, S. (2016), Radio emissions from double RHESSI TGFs, J. Geophys. Res., 121, doi:10.1002/2016JD025111 [2]. Dwyer, J. R., and S. A. Cummer (2013), Radio emissions from terrestrial gamma ray flashes, J. Geophys. Res., 118, doi:10.1002/jgra.50188.

  13. Initial Breakdown Pulse Amplitudes in Intracloud and Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, T. C.; Smith, E. M.; Stolzenburg, M.; Karunarathne, S.; Siedlecki, R. D., II

    2017-12-01

    This study analyzes the largest initial breakdown (IB) pulse in flashes from three storms in Florida. The study was motivated in part by the possibility that IB pulses of IC flashes may cause of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). The range-normalized, zero-to-peak amplitude of the largest IB pulse within each flash was determined along with its altitude, duration, and occurrence time in the flash. Appropriate data were available for 40 intracloud (IC) and 32 cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes. Histograms of the magnitude of the largest IB pulse amplitude by flash type were similar, with mean (median) values of 1.49 (1.05) V/m for IC flashes and -1.35 (-0.87) V/m for CG flashes. The mean amplitude of the largest IC IB pulses are substantially smaller (roughly an order of magnitude smaller) than the few known pulse amplitudes of TGF events and TGF candidate events. The largest IB pulse in 30 IC flashes showed a weak inverse relation between pulse amplitude and altitude. Amplitude of the largest IB pulse for 25 CG flashes showed no altitude correlation. Duration of the largest IB pulse in ICs averaged twice as long as in CGs (96 μs versus 46 μs); all of the CG durations were <100 μs. Among the ICs, there is a positive relation between largest IB pulse duration and amplitude; the linear correlation coefficient is 0.385 with outliers excluded. The largest IB pulse in IC flashes typically occurred at a longer time after the first IB pulse (average 4.1 ms) than was the case in CG flashes (average 0.6 ms). In both flash types, the largest IB pulse was the first IB pulse in about 30% of the cases.

  14. Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Detector Optimization for Flash X-Ray Measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roecker, Caleb Daniel [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Schirato, Richard C. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-11-17

    Charge trapping, resulting in a decreased and spatially dependent electric field, has long been a concern for wide bandgap semiconductor detectors. While significant work has been performed to characterize this degradation at varying temperatures and radiation environments, this work concentrates upon examining the event-to-event response in a flash X-ray environment. The following work investigates if charge trapping is a problem for CZT detectors, with particular emphasis on flash X-ray radiation fields at cold temperatures. Results are compared to a non-flash radiation field, using an Am-241 alpha source and similar temperature transitions. Our ability to determine if a response change occurred was hampered by the repeatability of our flash X-ray systems; a small response change was observed with the Am-241 source. Due to contrast of these results, we are in the process of revisiting the Am-241 measurements in the presence of a high radiation environment. If the response change is more pronounced in the high radiation environment, a similar test will be performed in the flash X-ray environment.

  15. The SWARF high energy flash X-ray facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbert, J.F.; Dove, E.W.D.

    1976-06-01

    A description is presented of the SWARF flash radiography facility at AWRE Foulness, which is stated to be the most powerful flash x-ray system available, in the U.K. The machine consists essentially of a Marx generator, a coaxial Blumlein system and an x-ray tube. The voltage output from the Marx generator (about 2.5 MV from an 80 kV input) is applied to a large re-entrant Blumlein pulse-forming line. Near maximum voltage, an adjustable oil switch short-circuits one end of the Blumlein generator and so applies a square voltage pulse of 65 ns duration to the x-ray tube. The x-rays are produced from a tantalum target which forms the anode of a vacuum field emission diode. The facility consists of two field machines positioned so that radiographs can be obtained from different angles. The description is given under the following heads: modus operandi; constructional details; oil installation; electrical details; commissioning, calibration and electrical data; flash radiography in explosives research; operational control of facility, film packs; radiographic results; further developments; overall performance. (U.K.)

  16. Variability in fluence and spectrum of high-energy photon bursts produced by lightning leaders

    OpenAIRE

    Celestin , Sebastien; Xu , Wei; Pasko , Victor P.

    2015-01-01

    International audience; In this paper, we model the production and acceleration of thermal runaway electrons during negative corona flash stages of stepping lightning leaders and the corresponding terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) or negative cloud-to-ground (−CG) lightning-produced X-ray bursts in a unified fashion. We show how the source photon spectrum and fluence depend on the potential drop formed in the lightning leader tip region during corona flash and how the X-ray burst spectrum ...

  17. Developing the TRYAD Science Instrument

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Eck, K. T.; Jenke, P.; Briggs, M. S.; Fuchs, J.; Capps, L.

    2017-12-01

    Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are brief MeV gamma-ray flashes that are associated with thunderstorms, around 12km in altitude, and are viewed by orbiting satellites. These bright flashes of high energy photons were discovered in 1994. The two major models for TGFs that originate in thunderstorms are the Lightning Leader and Relativistic Feedback Discharge (RFD) model. Both depend on energetic electrons radiating via bremsstrahlung emission. The Lightning Leader model theorizes that lightning step leaders can accelerate electrons to relativistic speeds. The RFD model states that an energetic seed particle can be accelerated to relativistic speeds by strong electric fields inside of a thunderstorm. The main difference in the results of the two models is as follows; the Lightning Leader model results in a wider beam of gamma-rays than the RFD model because the electric field of a thunderstorm is more structured than that of lightning. The TRYAD mission will be the first to fly two detectors, inside CubeSats, in formation to detect TGFs from multiple points in the sky. The data from the CubeSats and the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) will likely provide enough insight to constrain or eliminate some of the existing models for TGFs.This summer was spent testing components and constructing the engineering model of the scientific instrument that will be used to detect TGFs. The detector is made up of four lead-doped plastic scintillators which are coupled to arrays of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPM). The signal from the SiPM array is then fed into a discriminator where a lower energy estimate can be determined and photon counts are recorded. I will present the progress made over the summer constructing the engineering model.

  18. TGF afterglows: A new radiation mechanism from thunderstorms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C. Rutjes (Casper); G. Diniz (Gabriel); I.S. Ferreira; U. M. Ebert (Ute)

    2017-01-01

    textabstractThunderstorms are known to create terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) which are microsecond-long bursts created by runaway of thermal electrons from propagating lightning leaders, as well as gamma ray glows that possibly are created by relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREA)

  19. TGF afterglows : a new radiation mechanism from thunderstorms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rutjes, C.; Diniz, G.; Ferreira, I.S.; Ebert, U.

    2017-01-01

    Thunderstorms are known to create terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) which are microsecond-long bursts created by runaway of thermal electrons from propagating lightning leaders, as well as gamma ray glows that possibly are created by relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREA) that can last

  20. New tubes and techniques for flash X-ray diffraction and high contrast radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charbonnier, F.M.; Barbour, J.P.; Brewster, J.L.

    High energy electrons are particularly efficient in producing characteristic X-rays and soft polychromatic. A line of wide spectrum beryllium window flash X-ray tubes, ranging from 150 to 600kV, has been developed to exploit this property. Laue and Debye Scherrer flash X-ray diffraction patterns have been obtained using a single 30 ns pulse exposure. X-ray diffraction tests obtained are shown. Extremely high contrast flash radiography of small, low density objects has been obtained using industrial film without screen. Alternatively, particularly at high voltages and for subjects which include a broad range of materials and thicknesses, special film techniques can be used to produce extremely wide latitudes. Equipment, techniques and results are discussed

  1. Portable flash X-ray systems: applications and techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryant, L.E.

    1976-01-01

    Three portable flash x-ray equipments are described, and applications such as jet and high explosive studies, bullet impact and lead casting experiments are given as well as techniques for triggering and protection of equipment and film

  2. Network based multi-channel digital flash X-ray imaging system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Jingjin; Yuan Jie; Liu Yaqiang; Lin Yong; Song Zheng; Liu Keyin; Zhang Qi; Zheng Futang

    2000-01-01

    A network based multi-channel digital flash X-ray imaging system has been developed. It can be used to acquire and digitize orthogonal flash X-ray images in multi-interval, and to distribute the images on the network. There is no need of films and chemical process, no anxiety of waiting and no trouble of film archiving. This system is useful for testing ballistics, jet, explode, armour-piercing and fast running machines. The system composing and acquired images are presented. The software for object separating, mass calculating, 3D positioning, speed determining and cavity reconstruction are described

  3. Network based multi-channel digital flash X-ray imaging system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Jingjin; Yuan Jie; Liu Yaqiang; Lin Yong; Song Zheng; Liu Keyin

    2003-01-01

    A network based multi-channel digital flash X-ray imaging system has been developed. It can be used to acquire and digitize orthogonal flash X-ray images in multi-interval, and to distribute the images on the network. There is no need of films and chemical process, no anxiety of waiting and no trouble of film archiving. This system is useful for testing ballistics, jet, explode, armour-piercing and fast running machines. The system composing and acquired images of terminal ballistics are presented. The software for object separating, profile calculating and 3D cavity reconstruction are described

  4. The relativistic feedback discharge model of terrestrial gamma ray flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwyer, Joseph R.

    2012-02-01

    As thunderclouds charge, the large-scale fields may approach the relativistic feedback threshold, above which the production of relativistic runaway electron avalanches becomes self-sustaining through the generation of backward propagating runaway positrons and backscattered X-rays. Positive intracloud (IC) lightning may force the large-scale electric fields inside thunderclouds above the relativistic feedback threshold, causing the number of runaway electrons, and the resulting X-ray and gamma ray emission, to grow exponentially, producing very large fluxes of energetic radiation. As the flux of runaway electrons increases, ionization eventually causes the electric field to discharge, bringing the field below the relativistic feedback threshold again and reducing the flux of runaway electrons. These processes are investigated with a new model that includes the production, propagation, diffusion, and avalanche multiplication of runaway electrons; the production and propagation of X-rays and gamma rays; and the production, propagation, and annihilation of runaway positrons. In this model, referred to as the relativistic feedback discharge model, the large-scale electric fields are calculated self-consistently from the charge motion of the drifting low-energy electrons and ions, produced from the ionization of air by the runaway electrons, including two- and three-body attachment and recombination. Simulation results show that when relativistic feedback is considered, bright gamma ray flashes are a natural consequence of upward +IC lightning propagating in large-scale thundercloud fields. Furthermore, these flashes have the same time structures, including both single and multiple pulses, intensities, angular distributions, current moments, and energy spectra as terrestrial gamma ray flashes, and produce large current moments that should be observable in radio waves.

  5. Application of GaAs and CdTe photoconductor detectors to x-ray flash radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mathy, F.; Cuzin, M.; Gagelin, J.J.; Mermet, R.; Piaget, B.; Rustique, J.; Verger, L.

    1991-01-01

    Semi-insulating GaAs and CdTe:Cl photoconductor probes were qualified on high energy X ray single shot flash generators. The estimated minimum detected dose per flash corresponding to a 230 mrad direct beam attenuated by 200 mm lead was 20 μrad. The dynamic range was about 4 decades in amplitude or charges, with a good linearity. Such detectors, by locating the origin of the parasitic scattered beam, could be used to eliminate this parasitic beam in X ray flash radiography in detonics experiments. Imaging possibilities are mentioned, as well as X ray generator monitoring with such detectors or with neutron preirradiated photoconductors

  6. Application of GaAs and CdTe photoconductor detectors to X-ray flash radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mathy, F.; Cuzin, M.; Gagelin, J.J.; Mermet, R.; Piaget, B.; Rustique, J.; Verger, L.; Hauducoeur, A.; Nicolas, P.; Le Dain, L.; Hyvernage, M.

    1992-01-01

    Some insulating GaAs and CdTe:Cl photoconductor probes were qualified on high energy X-ray single-shot flash generators. The estimated minimum detected dose per flash corresponding to a 230 mrad direct beam attenuated by 200 mm lead was 20 μrad. The dynamic range was about 4 decades in amplitude or charge, with a good linearity. Such detectors, by locating the origin of the parasitic scattered beam, could be used to eliminate this parasitic beam in X-ray flash radiography in detonics experiments. Imaging possibilities are mentioned, as well as X-ray generator monitoring with such detectors or with neutron preirradiated photoconductors. (orig.)

  7. Application of GaAs and CdTe photoconductor detectors to X-ray flash radiography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mathy, F.; Cuzin, M.; Gagelin, J.J.; Mermet, R.; Piaget, B.; Rustique, J.; Verger, L. (CEA, Direction des Technologies Avancees, Lab. d' Electronique, de Technologie et d' Instrumentation, DSYS, 38 - Grenoble (France)); Hauducoeur, A.; Nicolas, P.; Le Dain, L.; Hyvernage, M. (CEA, Direction des Applications Militaires, 77 - Courtry (France))

    1992-11-15

    Some insulating GaAs and CdTe:Cl photoconductor probes were qualified on high energy X-ray single-shot flash generators. The estimated minimum detected dose per flash corresponding to a 230 mrad direct beam attenuated by 200 mm lead was 20 [mu]rad. The dynamic range was about 4 decades in amplitude or charge, with a good linearity. Such detectors, by locating the origin of the parasitic scattered beam, could be used to eliminate this parasitic beam in X-ray flash radiography in detonics experiments. Imaging possibilities are mentioned, as well as X-ray generator monitoring with such detectors or with neutron preirradiated photoconductors. (orig.).

  8. Application of GaAs and CdTe photoconductor detectors to x-ray flash radiography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mathy, F.; Cuzin, M.; Gagelin, J.J.; Mermet, R.; Piaget, B.; Rustique, J.; Verger, L. [CEA Centre d`Etudes de Grenoble, 38 (FR). Direction des Technologies Avancees; Hauducoeur, A.; Nicolas, P.; Le Dain, L.; Hyvernage, M. [CEA Centre d`Etudes de Vaujours, 77 - Courtry (FR)

    1991-12-31

    Semi-insulating GaAs and CdTe:Cl photoconductor probes were qualified on high energy X ray single shot flash generators. The estimated minimum detected dose per flash corresponding to a 230 mrad direct beam attenuated by 200 mm lead was 20 {mu}rad. The dynamic range was about 4 decades in amplitude or charges, with a good linearity. Such detectors, by locating the origin of the parasitic scattered beam, could be used to eliminate this parasitic beam in X ray flash radiography in detonics experiments. Imaging possibilities are mentioned, as well as X ray generator monitoring with such detectors or with neutron preirradiated photoconductors.

  9. ASIM - an Instrument Suite for the International Space Station

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neubert, Torsten; Crosby, B.; Huang, T.-Y.

    2009-01-01

    ASIM (Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor) is an instrument suite for studies of severe thunderstorms and their effects on the atmosphere and ionosphere. The instruments are designed to observe transient luminous events (TLEs)—sprites, blue jets and elves—and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs...

  10. Registration of X-rays at 2500 m altitude in association with lightning flashes and thunderstorms

    OpenAIRE

    Montañá Puig, Juan; Fabró Tàpia, Ferran; Van der Velde, Oscar Arnoud; Romero Durán, David; Solà de Las Fuentes, Gloria; Hermoso Costa, Juan Ramón; Soula, Serge; Williams, Earle; Pineda Ruegg, Nicolau

    2014-01-01

    Electric fields and high-energy radiation of natural lightning measured at close range from a mountaintop tower are discussed. In none of the 12 negative cloud-to-ground upward flashes were X-rays observed. Also no energetic radiation was found in one negative upward leader at close range (20¿m). In the first of two consecutive negative cloud-to-ground flashes, X-rays were detected during the last ~1.75¿ms of the leader. During the time of energetic radiation in the flash an intense burst of ...

  11. Experimental Comparison of 2-3MV X-Ray Sources for Flash Radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MENGE, PETER RICHARD; JOHNSON, DAVID LEE; MAENCHEN, JOHN E.; OLSON, CRAIG L.; ROVANG, DEAN C.; DROEMER, D.; HUNT, E.; OLIVER, BRYAN VELTEN; ROSE, DAVID VINCENT; WELCH, DALE ROBERT

    2002-01-01

    High-brightness flash x-ray sources are needed for penetrating dynamic radiography for a variety of applications. Various bremsstrahlung source experiments have been conducted on the TriMeV accelerator (3MV, 60 Ω 20 ns) to determine the best diode and focusing configuration in the 2-3 MV range. Three classes of candidate diodes were examined: gas cell focusing, magnetically immersed, and rod pinch. The best result for the gas cell diode was 6 rad at 1 meter from the source with a 5 mm diameter x-ray spot. Using a 0.5 mm diameter cathode immersed in a 17 T solenoidal magnetic field, the best shot produced 4.1 rad with a 2.9 mm spot. The rod pinch diode demonstrated very reproducible radiographic spots between 0.75 and 0.8 mm in diameter, producing 1.2 rad. This represents a factor of eight improvement in the TriMeV flash radiographic capability above the original gas cell diode to a figure of merit (dose/spot diameter) > 1.8 rad/mm. These results clearly show the rod pinch diode to be the choice x-ray source for flash radiography at 2-3 M V

  12. Investigations concerning the applicability of X-ray flash interference and laser technology to shock-induced solidification of organic liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krehl, Peter; Schaaffs, Werner

    By a dielectric discharge through a thin layer of liquid a hot plasma is created, which expands very fast and builds up around a compression ring of very highly compressed matter. X-ray flash interferences and laser light are applied to investigate the structure of the compression rings. To perform investigation of the fine structure, an X-ray flash machine was developed which permits to obtain with a single flash in less than 1μs Laue patterns of monocrystals, and Debye-Scherrer patterns of polycrystalline substances. The investigation of the compression rings in diverse substances by laser light resulted that the optical transparency and solidification is different in different regions of the compression ring. Therefore important hints for experiments with X-ray flash interferences were obtained

  13. Theoretical studies of flash x-ray diagnostics for fuel motion experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halbleib, J.A. Sr.; Phillips, A.R.

    1975-09-01

    The results of preliminary theoretical studies concerning the possible employment of short-pulse, high-current field emission diodes as sources for the flash x-ray diagnostics of fuel-pin motion are reported. The predicted thick-target photon environments are obtained from state-of-the-art coupled electron/photon transport models. Through qualitative figures of merit these environments are used to study the importance of source current and voltage. For a selected experimental configuration a comparison is made between the absolute flash x-ray imaging signals predicted for these environments and Monte Carlo/analytic calculations of absolute fission-gamma backgrounds. These preliminary data suggest that field emission sources operating at voltages in the 1-to 5-MeV range and at currents of the order of 100-kA or greater may be adequate diagnostic sources for test-pin configurations as complex as a full LMFBR subassembly

  14. The first AGILE low-energy (catalog

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marisaldi, Martino; Fuschino, Fabio; Pittori, Carlotta; Verrecchia, Francesco; Giommi, Paolo; Tavani, Marco; Dietrich, Stefano; Price, Colin; Argan, Andrea; Labanti, Claudio; Galli, Marcello; Longo, Francesco; Del Monte, Ettore; Barbiellini, Guido; Giuliani, Andrea; Bulgarelli, Andrea; Gianotti, Fulvio; Trifoglio, Massimo; Trois, Alessio

    2014-05-01

    We present the first catalog of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) detected by the Minicalorimeter (MCAL) instrument on-board the AGILE satellite. The catalog includes 308 TGFs detected during the period March 2009 - July 2012 in the +/- 2.5° latitude band and selected to have the maximum photon energy up to 30 MeV. The characteristics of the AGILE events are analysed and compared to the observational framework established by the two other currently active missions capable of detecting TGFs from space, RHESSI and Fermi. A detailed model of the MCAL dead time is presented, which is fundamental to properly interpret our observations, particularly concerning duration, intensity and correlation with lightning sferics detected by the World Wide Lightning Location Network. The TGFs cumulative spectrum supports a low production altitude, in agreement with previous measurements. The AGILE TGF catalog below 30 MeV is publicly accessible online at the website of the ASI Science Data Center (ASDC) http://www.asdc.asi.it/mcaltgfcat/ In addition to the TGF sample properties we also present the catalog website functionalities available to users.

  15. Simulating Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes due to cosmic ray shower electrons and positrons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connell, Paul

    2017-04-01

    The University of Valencia has developed a software simulator LEPTRACK to simulate the relativistic runaway electron avalanches, RREA, that are presumed to be the cause of Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes and their powerful accompanying Ionization/Excitation Flashes. We show here results of LEPTRACK simulations of RREA by the interaction of MeV energy electrons/positrons and photons in cosmic ray showers traversing plausible electric field geometries expected in storm clouds. The input beams of MeV shower products were created using the CORSIKA software package from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. We present images, videos and plots showing the different Ionization, Excitation and gamma-ray photon density fields produced, along with their time and spatial profile evolution, which depend critically on where the line of shower particles intercept the electric field geometry. We also show a new effect of incoming positrons in the shower, which make up a significant fraction of shower products, in particular their apparent "orbiting" within a high altitude negative induced shielding charge layer, which has been conjectured to produce a signature microwave emission, as well as a short range 511 keV annihilation line. The interesting question posed is if this conjectured positron emission can be observed and correlated with TGF orbital observations to show if a TGF originates in the macro E-fields of storm clouds or the micro E-fields of lightning leaders where this positron "orbiting" is not likely to occur.

  16. Comparison of Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flash Simulations with Observations by Fermi

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-10-31

    all the runaway elections (i.e., the total grammage) during a TGF, X , is introduced, defined to be the total distance traveled by all the runaway ... runaway electrons and their accompanying ionization are found for a standard TGF fluence, as a function of source altitude and beaming geometry...Such comparisons should help test and constrain TGF models and help identify the roles of lightning leaders and streamers in the production of TGFs. As

  17. Theory of optical flashes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    London, R.A.

    1983-01-01

    The theory of optical flashes created by x- and γ-ray burst heating of stars in binaries is reviewed. Calculations of spectra due to steady-state x-ray reprocessing and estimates of the fundamental time scales for the non-steady case are discussed. The results are applied to the extant optical data from x-ray and γ-ray bursters. Finally, I review predictions of flashes from γ-ray bursters detectable by a state of the art all-sky optical monitor

  18. What SWIFT has taught us about X-ray flashes and long-duration gamma-ray bursts

    CERN Document Server

    De Rújula, Alvaro

    2007-01-01

    Recent data gathered and triggered by the SWIFT satellite have greatly improved our knowledge of long-duration gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and X-ray flashes (XRFs). This is particularly the case for the X-ray data at all times, and for UV and optical data at very early times. I show that the optical and X-ray observations are in excellent agreement with the predictions of the "cannonball" model of GRBs and XRFs. Elementary physics and just two mechanisms underlie these predictions: inverse Compton scattering and synchrotron radiation, generally dominant at early and late times, respectively. I put this result in its proper context and dedicate the paper to those who planed, built and operate SWIFT, a true flying jewel.

  19. The effect of target thickness on x-ray production by FXR [Flash X-Ray Machine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Back, N.L.

    1986-01-01

    The electron-photon transport code SANDYL has been used to calculate the x-ray flux for a simplified Flash X-Ray Machine (FXR) bullnose geometry. Four different thicknesses (24.5, 36.75, 49, and 61.25 mils) were used for the tantalum bremsstrahlung target in order to study the effect of target thickness on the FXR output. The calculations were performed for a parallel 17 MeV electron beam, and the resulting angular distributions were then used to compute the forward flux for the more realistic case of a converging beam. Over the range of thicknesses studied, the x-ray energy content per steradian on axis was essentially independent of target thickness. The main reason for this is that, while the total x-ray flux coming out of the target increases with increasing target thickness, the angular width of that flux also increases. The implications for target wheel design are discussed. 3 refs., 7 figs

  20. Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory for observation of early photons from gamma ray bursts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Park, I. H.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

    2012-01-01

    We describe the space project of Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) which will observe early optical photons from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) with a sub-second optical response, for the first time. The UFFO will probe the early optical rise of GRBs, opening a completely new frontier in GRB and trans...

  1. High-Energy Radiation from Thunderstorms with ADELE: TGFs, Steps, and Glows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, David M.; Kelley, Nicole; Martinez-McKinney, Forest; Zhang, Zi Yan; Hazelton, Bryna; Grefenstette, Brian; Splitt, Michael; Lazarus, Steven; Ulrich, William; Levine, Steven; hide

    2011-01-01

    The biggest challenge in the study of high-energy processes in thunderstorms is getting a detector to the vicinity of the electrically active regions of a storm. The Airborne Detector for Energetic Lightning Emissions (ADELE) has been used to detect gamma rays from aircraft above storms and from a storm-chasing van on the ground. In August 2009, ADELE flew above Florida storms in a Gulfstream V jet, detecting the first terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF) seen from a plane and continuous glows of high-energy emission above thunderclouds. The presence of these glows suggests that a gradual process of relativistic runaway and feedback may help limit the total amount of charging in thunderstorms, in contrast to the traditional view that only lightning discharges compete with the charging process. The upper limits on TGF emission from intracloud and cloud-to-ground lightning from the ADELE flights demonstrated conclusively that a TGF of the sort seen from space is not associated with most lightning and not necessary to trigger it. In August 2010, observations from a van detected stepped-leader x-ray emission from at least four lightning strikes in ten days of operations. This mode of operation is therefore promising for future observations of the stepping process, although a more varied suite of instrumentation, in particular a flash-distance detector, would be useful. We will report on these results and on future possibilities for ADELE campaigns.

  2. Flash X-ray cinematography analysis of dwell and penetration of small caliber projectiles with three types of SiC ceramics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elmar Strassburger

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to improve the performance of ceramic composite armor it is essential to know the mechanisms during each phase of the projectile–target interaction and their influence on the penetration resistance. Since the view on the crater zone and the tip of a projectile penetrating a ceramic is rapidly getting obscured by damaged material, a flash X-ray technique has to be applied in order to visualize projectile penetration. For this purpose, usually several flash X-ray tubes are arranged around the target and the radiographs are recorded on film. At EMI a flash X-ray imaging method has been developed, which provides up to eight flash radiographs in one experiment. A multi-anode 450 kV flash X-ray tube is utilized with this method. The radiation transmitted through the target is then detected on a fluorescent screen. The fluorescent screen converts the radiograph into an image in the visible wavelength range, which is photographed by means of a high-speed camera. This technique has been applied to visualize and analyze the penetration of 7.62 mm AP projectiles into three different types of SiC ceramics. Two commercial SiC grades and MICASIC (Metal Infiltrated Carbon derived SiC, a C-SiSiC ceramic developed by DLR, have been studied. The influences, not only of the ceramic but also the backing material, on dwell time and projectile erosion have been studied. Penetration curves have been determined and their relevance to the ballistic resistance is discussed.

  3. Analysis of the X-ray microbeam test result of the flash memories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan Yihua; Ding Lili; Chen Wei; Guo Hongxia; Guo Xiaoqiang; Lin Dongsheng; Zhang Keying; Zhang Fengqi; Deng Yuliang; Fan Ruyu

    2013-01-01

    Background: The failure phenomenon is difficult to analyze for the flash memories when the whole chip is exposed to irradiation since both the memory array and the peripheral circuits might be degraded. Purpose: In order to detect the radiation susceptibility and corresponding phenomenon of the related circuits that included in the flash memories, the X-ray microbeam is used as the radiation source instead of 60 Co. Methods: The failure phenomenon is studied respectively when the memory array, decoder circuits, the charge pump circuits as well as the I/O circuits are exposed to radiation. The errors are mapped according to the logical address and the failure mechanism is analyzed based on the circuits. Results: Irradiated on the memory .array win lead to regularly distributed 0→1 bit flips, while only 1→0 are found when the row decoder is under exposure. Degradation of the charge pump circuits would lead to the erase/program functional failure. Conclusions: The results suggest that the X-ray microbeam radiation test is a good method for detecting the radiation susceptibility of the integrated circuits that contains lots of circuit modules. (authors)

  4. Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory for the observation of early photons from gamma-ray bursts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Park, I H; Brandt, Søren; Budtz-Jørgensen, Carl

    2013-01-01

    One of the least documented and understood aspects of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is the rise phase of the optical light curve. The Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) is an effort to address this question through extraordinary opportunities presented by a series of space missions including a small s...

  5. Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (uffo) for Observation of Early Photons from Gamma Ray Bursts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Park, I. H.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

    2013-01-01

    One of the least documented and understood aspects of gamma-ray bursts (GRB) is the rise phase of the optical light curve. The Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) is an effort to address this question through extraordinary opportunities presented by a series of space missions including a small sp...

  6. Maximization of bremsstrahlung and K-series production efficiencies in flash x-ray tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krehl, P.

    1986-01-01

    Historically, x-ray output of flash x-ray tubes was maximized empirically by changing the electrode geometry and varying the capacitance of the pulse generator. With the advent of high-voltage, low-impedance transmission lines, short-duration, high-current pulses could be generated with ease. An appropriate line scaling should assure that dose maximization is not reached at the expense of pulse prolongation which would reduce stop motion capability, but rather that dose rate should be maximized. Additionally, anode evaporation in the arc phase should be minimized to enhance tube life

  7. Jet models of X-Ray Flashes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lamb, D.Q.; Donaghy, T.Q.; Graziani, C.

    2005-01-01

    One third of all HETE-2-localized bursts are X-Ray Flashes (XRFs), a class of events first identified by Heise in which the fluence in the 2-30 keV energy band exceeds that in the 30-400 keV energy band We summarize recent HETE-2 and other results on the properties of XRFs. These results show that the properties of XRFs, X-ray-rich gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), and GRBs form a continuum, and thus provide evidence that all three kinds of bursts are closely related phenomena. As the most extreme burst population, XRFs provide severe constraints on burst models and unique insights into the structure of GRB jets, the GRB rate, and the nature of Type Ib/Ic supernovae. We briefly mention a number of the physical models that have been proposed to explain XRFs. We then consider two fundamentally different classes of phenomenological jet models: universal jet models, in which it is posited that all GRBs jets are identical and that differences in the observed properties of the bursts are due entirely to differences in the viewing angle; and variable-opening angle jet models, in which it is posited that GRB jets have a distribution of jet opening angles and that differences in the observed properties of the bursts are due to differences in the emissivity and spectra of jets having different opening angles. We consider three shapes far the emissivity as a function of the viewing angle θ ν from the axis of the jet: power law, top hat (or uniform) , and Gaussian (or Fisher). We then discuss the effect of relativistic beaming on each of these models. We show that observations can distinguish between these various models

  8. Flash photoionization of gamma-ray burst environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Band, David L.; Hartmann, Dieter H.

    1992-01-01

    The H-alpha line emission that a flash-photoionized region emits is calculated. Archival transients, as well as various theoretical predictions, suggest that there may be significant ionizing flux. The limits on the line flux which might be observable indicate that the density must be fairly high for the recombination radiation to be observable. The intense burst radiation is insufficient to melt the dust which will be present in such a dense medium. This dust may attenuate the observable line emission, but does not attenuate the ionizing radiation before it ionizes the neutral medium surrounding the burst source. The dust can also produce a light echo. If there are indeed gamma-ray bursts in dense clouds, then it is possible that the burst was triggered by Bondi-Hoyle accretion from the dense medium, although it is unlikely on statistical grounds that all bursts occur in clouds.

  9. In situ flash x-ray high-speed computed tomography for the quantitative analysis of highly dynamic processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moser, Stefan; Nau, Siegfried; Salk, Manfred; Thoma, Klaus

    2014-02-01

    The in situ investigation of dynamic events, ranging from car crash to ballistics, often is key to the understanding of dynamic material behavior. In many cases the important processes and interactions happen on the scale of milli- to microseconds at speeds of 1000 m s-1 or more. Often, 3D information is necessary to fully capture and analyze all relevant effects. High-speed 3D-visualization techniques are thus required for the in situ analysis. 3D-capable optical high-speed methods often are impaired by luminous effects and dust, while flash x-ray based methods usually deliver only 2D data. In this paper, a novel 3D-capable flash x-ray based method, in situ flash x-ray high-speed computed tomography is presented. The method is capable of producing 3D reconstructions of high-speed processes based on an undersampled dataset consisting of only a few (typically 3 to 6) x-ray projections. The major challenges are identified, discussed and the chosen solution outlined. The application is illustrated with an exemplary application of a 1000 m s-1 high-speed impact event on the scale of microseconds. A quantitative analysis of the in situ measurement of the material fragments with a 3D reconstruction with 1 mm voxel size is presented and the results are discussed. The results show that the HSCT method allows gaining valuable visual and quantitative mechanical information for the understanding and interpretation of high-speed events.

  10. Design of a 7-MV Linear Transformer Driver (LTD) for down-hole flash x-ray radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cordova, Steve Ray; Welch, Dale Robert; Oliver, Bryan Velten; Rose, David Vincent; Johnson, David Lee; Bruner, Nichelle Lee; Leckbee, Joshua J.

    2008-01-01

    Pulsed power driven flash x-ray radiography is a valuable diagnostic for subcritical experiments at the Nevada Test Site. The existing dual-axis Cygnus system produces images using a 2.25 MV electron beam diode to produce intense x-rays from a small source. Future hydrodynamic experiments will likely use objects with higher areal mass, requiring increased x-ray dose and higher voltages while maintaining small source spot size. A linear transformer driver (LTD) is a compact pulsed power technology with applications ranging from pulsed power flash x-ray radiography to high current Z-pinch accelerators. This report describes the design of a 7-MV dual-axis system that occupies the same lab space as the Cygnus accelerators. The work builds on a design proposed in a previous report [1]. This new design provides increased diode voltage from a lower impedance accelerator to improve coupling to low impedance diodes such as the self magnetic pinch (SMP) diode. The design also improves the predicted reliability by operating at a lower charge voltage and removing components that have proven vulnerable to failure. Simulations of the new design and experimental results of the 1-MV prototype are presented

  11. High-efficiency γ-ray flash generation via multiple-laser scattering in ponderomotive potential well.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Z; Hu, R H; Shou, Y R; Qiao, B; Chen, C E; He, X T; Bulanov, S S; Esirkepov, T Zh; Bulanov, S V; Yan, X Q

    2017-01-01

    γ-ray flash generation in near-critical-density target irradiated by four symmetrical colliding laser pulses is numerically investigated. With peak intensities about 10^{23} W/cm^{2}, the laser pulses boost electron energy through direct laser acceleration, while pushing them inward with the ponderomotive force. After backscattering with counterpropagating laser, the accelerated electron is trapped in the electromagnetic standing waves or the ponderomotive potential well created by the coherent overlapping of the laser pulses, and emits γ-ray photons in a multiple-laser-scattering regime, where electrons act as a medium transferring energy from the laser to γ rays in the ponderomotive potential valley.

  12. Low-energy CZT detector array for the ASIM mission

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cenkeramaddi, Linga Reddy; Genov, Georgi; Kohfeldt, Anja

    2012-01-01

    In this article we introduce the low-energy CZT (CdZnTe) 16 384-pixel detector array on-board the Atmosphere Space Interaction Monitor (ASIM), funded by the European Space Agency. This detector is a part of the larger Modular X-and Gamma-ray sensor (MXGS). The CZT detector array is sensitive...... to photons with energies between 15 keV and 400 keV. The principal objective of the MXGS instrument is to detect Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs), which are related to thunderstorm activity. The concept of the detector array is presented, together with brief descriptions of its mechanical structure...

  13. The bright optical flash and afterglow from the gamma-ray burst GRB 130427A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vestrand, W T; Wren, J A; Panaitescu, A; Wozniak, P R; Davis, H; Palmer, D M; Vianello, G; Omodei, N; Xiong, S; Briggs, M S; Elphick, M; Paciesas, W; Rosing, W

    2014-01-03

    The optical light generated simultaneously with x-rays and gamma rays during a gamma-ray burst (GRB) provides clues about the nature of the explosions that occur as massive stars collapse. We report on the bright optical flash and fading afterglow from powerful burst GRB 130427A. The optical and >100-megaelectron volt (MeV) gamma-ray flux show a close correlation during the first 7000 seconds, which is best explained by reverse shock emission cogenerated in the relativistic burst ejecta as it collides with surrounding material. At later times, optical observations show the emergence of emission generated by a forward shock traversing the circumburst environment. The link between optical afterglow and >100-MeV emission suggests that nearby early peaked afterglows will be the best candidates for studying gamma-ray emission at energies ranging from gigaelectron volts to teraelectron volts.

  14. BGO front-end electronics and signal processing in the MXGS instrument for the ASIM mission

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skogseide, Yngve; Cenkeramaddi, Linga Reddy; Genov, Georgi

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents the Bismuth Germanate Oxide (BGO) front-end electronics design and signal processing in Modular X- and Gamma ray sensor (MXGS) instrument onboard the Atmosphere Space Interaction Monitor (ASIM) mission, funded by the European Space Agency. University of Bergen is responsible...... for the design and development of the detector layers and readout electronics for the MXGS instrument. The principal objective of the instrument is to detect Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs), which are related to thunderstorm activity. The digital pulse processing scheme used in the MXGS BGO detector gives...... it a significantly higher rate capability than what has been achieved in other instruments used in the study of terrestrial gamma flashes. The front-end electronics for the BGO detector layer in MXGS system also uses fewer components compared to conventional analog front-ends for BGO detectors, thereby increasing...

  15. Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory: Fast Response Space Missions for Early Time Phase of Gamma Ray Bursts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Park, I.H.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

    2013-01-01

    One of the unexplored domains in the study of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is the early time phase of the optical light curve. We have proposed Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) to address this question through extraordinary opportunities presented by a series of small space missions. The UFFO...

  16. Flash radiographic technique applied to fuel injector sprays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vantine, H.C.

    1977-01-01

    A flash radiographic technique, using 50 ns exposure times, was used to study the pattern and density distribution of a fuel injector spray. The experimental apparatus and method are described. An 85 kVp flash x-ray generator, designed and fabricated at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, is utilized. Radiographic images, recorded on standard x-ray films, are digitized and computer processed

  17. Effects in a lithium tantalate waveguide structure exposed to radiation from a flash X-ray source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    West, R.H.; Dowling, S. [Royal Military Coll. of Science, Shrivenham (United Kingdom)

    1994-12-31

    The effects of radiation from a flash X ray machine on an optical waveguide formed in LiTaO{sub 3} are described. Transient induced losses are accompanied by effects of an electric field generated by the radiation. At low temperatures, radiation-induced photorefraction dominates the response. (author). 11 refs., 6 figs.

  18. Gamma ray flashes add to mystery of upper atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atmospheric electricity research has come a long way since Benjamin Franklin's kite-flying days. But what researchers have been learning lately about above-thunderstorm electricity has wrought a whole new era of mysteries.For a start, last summer a Colorado meteorologist sparked interest in a terrestrial phenomenon that the community first observed more than 100 years ago: optical flashes that occur above thunderstorms—at least 30 km above Earth. Walter Lyons with the Ft. Collins-based Mission Research Corporation, demonstrated that such flashes are not anomalies, as conventional scientific wisdom had held. He filmed hundreds of flashes during a 2-week period.

  19. Development of all-solid-state flash x-ray generator with photoconductive semiconductor switches

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xun, Ma; Jianjun, Deng; Hongwei, Liu; Jianqiang, Yuan; Jinfeng, Liu; Bing, Wei; Yanling, Qing; Wenhui, Han; Lingyun, Wang; Pin, Jiang; Hongtao, Li [Key Laboratory of Pulsed Power, Institute of Fluid Physics, CAEP, P.O. Box 919-108, Mianyang 621900 (China)

    2014-09-15

    A compact, low-jitter, and high repetitive rate all-solid-state flash x-ray generator making use of photo conductive semiconductor switches was developed recently for the diagnostic purpose of some hydrokinetical experiments. The generator consisted of twelve stages of Blumlein pulse forming networks, and an industrial cold cathode diode was used to generate intense x-ray radiations with photon energy up to 220 keV. Test experiments showed that the generator could produce >1 kA electron beam currents and x-ray pulses with ∼40 ns duration under 100 Hz repetitive rates at least (limited by the triggering laser on hand), also found was that the delay time of the cathode explosive emission is crucial to the energy transfer efficiency of the whole system. In addition, factors affecting the diode impedance, how the switching synchronization and diode impedance determining the allowable operation voltage were discussed.

  20. Development of all-solid-state flash x-ray generator with photoconductive semiconductor switches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xun, Ma; Jianjun, Deng; Hongwei, Liu; Jianqiang, Yuan; Jinfeng, Liu; Bing, Wei; Yanling, Qing; Wenhui, Han; Lingyun, Wang; Pin, Jiang; Hongtao, Li

    2014-09-01

    A compact, low-jitter, and high repetitive rate all-solid-state flash x-ray generator making use of photo conductive semiconductor switches was developed recently for the diagnostic purpose of some hydrokinetical experiments. The generator consisted of twelve stages of Blumlein pulse forming networks, and an industrial cold cathode diode was used to generate intense x-ray radiations with photon energy up to 220 keV. Test experiments showed that the generator could produce >1 kA electron beam currents and x-ray pulses with ~40 ns duration under 100 Hz repetitive rates at least (limited by the triggering laser on hand), also found was that the delay time of the cathode explosive emission is crucial to the energy transfer efficiency of the whole system. In addition, factors affecting the diode impedance, how the switching synchronization and diode impedance determining the allowable operation voltage were discussed.

  1. Flash!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schilling, Govert

    2002-04-01

    About three times a day our sky flashes with a powerful pulse of gamma ray bursts (GRB), invisible to human eyes but not to astronomers' instruments. The sources of this intense radiation are likely to be emitting, within the span of seconds or minutes, more energy than the sun will in its entire 10 billion years of life. Where these bursts originate, and how they come to have such incredible energies, is a mystery scientists have been trying to solve for three decades. The phenomenon has resisted study -- the flashes come from random directions in space and vanish without trace -- until very recently. In what could be called a cinematic conflation of Flash Gordon and The Hunt for Red October, Govert Schilling's Flash!: The Hunt for the Biggest Explosions in the Universe describes the exciting and ever-changing field of GRB research. Based on interviews with leading scientists, Flash! provides an insider's account of the scientific challenges involved in unravelling the enigmatic nature of GRBs. A science writer who has followed the drama from the very start, Schilling describes the ambition and jealousy, collegiality and competition, triumph and tragedy, that exists among those who have embarked on this recherche. Govert Schilling is a Dutch science writer and astronomy publicist. He is a contributing editor of Sky and Telescope magazine, and regularly writes for the news sections of Science and New Scientist. Schilling is the astronomy writer for de Volkskrant, one of the largest national daily newspapers in The Netherlands, and frequently talks about the Universe on Dutch radio broadcasts. He is the author of more than twenty popular astronomy books, and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles on astronomy.

  2. Status of flash radiography in the USA today and future possibilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryant, L.E. Jr.

    1978-01-01

    A listing of presently employed flash x-ray generators is given including low-energy, commercially available systems and high-energy very specialized installations in government laboratories. These flash x-ray sources are compared as to radiographic characteristics. Imaging techniques and materials are surveyed and compared as to their advantages and limitations. A variety of applications of flash radiography are cited including explosive, ballistic, diffraction, crash injury, and fuel injection. Probable near term advances in special techniques are mentioned in cine radiography and film image enhancement. Possible future developments are speculated upon such as flash radiographic applications of computerized axial tomography. The recent recognition of flash radiography at professional society conferences is reviewed

  3. Lightning x-rays inside thunderclouds, in-flight measurements on-board an A350

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Deursen, Alexander; Kochkin, Pavlo; de Boer, Alte; Bardet, Michiel; Boissin, Jean-François

    2015-04-01

    Thunderstorms emit bursts of energetic radiation. Moreover, lightning stepped leader produces x-ray pulses. The phenomena, their interrelation and impact on Earth's atmosphere and near space are not fully understood yet. The In-flight Lightning Strike Damage Assessment System ILDAS was developed in an EU FP6 project ( http://ildas.nlr.nl/ ) to provide information on threat that lightning poses to aircraft. It is intended to localize the lightning attachment points in order to reduce maintenance time and to build statics on lightning current. The system consists of 2 E-field sensors and a varying number of H-field sensors. It has recently been enhanced by two LaBr3 scintillation detectors inside the aircraft. The scintillation detectors are sensitive to x- and gamma-rays above 30 keV. The entire system is installed on-board of an A-350 aircraft and digitizes data with 100Msamples/sec rate when triggered by lightning. A continuously monitoring channel counts the number of occurrences that the x-ray signal exceeds a set of trigger levels. In the beginning of 2014 the aircraft flew through thunderstorm cells collecting the data from the sensors. The x-rays generated by the lightning flash are measured in synchronization better than 40 ns with the lightning current information during a period of 1 second around the strike. The continuous channel stores x-ray information with very limited time and amplitude resolution during the whole flight. That channel would allow x-rays from cosmic ray background, TGFs and continuous gamma-ray glow of thundercloud outside the 1 s time window. In the EGU2014 we presented the ILDAS system and showed that the x-ray detection works as intended. Fast x-ray bursts have been detected during stepped/dart stepped leaders and during interception of lightning. Data analysis of continuous channel recordings will be presented as well.

  4. Estimating The Reliability of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Flash X-ray (FXR) Machine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ong, M M; Kihara, R; Zentler, J M; Kreitzer, B R; DeHope, W J

    2007-01-01

    At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), our flash X-ray accelerator (FXR) is used on multi-million dollar hydrodynamic experiments. Because of the importance of the radiographs, FXR must be ultra-reliable. Flash linear accelerators that can generate a 3 kA beam at 18 MeV are very complex. They have thousands, if not millions, of critical components that could prevent the machine from performing correctly. For the last five years, we have quantified and are tracking component failures. From this data, we have determined that the reliability of the high-voltage gas-switches that initiate the pulses, which drive the accelerator cells, dominates the statistics. The failure mode is a single-switch pre-fire that reduces the energy of the beam and degrades the X-ray spot-size. The unfortunate result is a lower resolution radiograph. FXR is a production machine that allows only a modest number of pulses for testing. Therefore, reliability switch testing that requires thousands of shots is performed on our test stand. Study of representative switches has produced pre-fire statistical information and probability distribution curves. This information is applied to FXR to develop test procedures and determine individual switch reliability using a minimal number of accelerator pulses

  5. Spatial resolution of imaging plate with flash X-rays and its utilization for radiography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shaikh, A. M., E-mail: shaikham@barc.gov.in [Physics Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085 (India); Romesh, C.; Kolage, T. S.; Sharma, Archana [Accelerator and Pulsed Power Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai-400085 (India)

    2015-06-24

    A flash X-ray source developed using pulsed electron accelerator with electron energy range of 400keV to 1030keV and a field emission cathode is characterized using X-ray imaging plates. Spatial resolution of the imaging system is measured using edge spread function fitted to data obtained from radiograph of Pb step wedge. A spatial resolution of 150±6 µm is obtained. The X-ray beam size is controlled by the anode-cathode configuration. Optimum source size of ∼13±2 mm diameter covering an area with intensity of ∼27000 PSL/mm{sup 2} is obtained on the imaging plate kept at a distance of ∼200 mm from the tip of the anode. It is used for recording radiographs of objects like satellite cable cutter, aero-engine turbine blade and variety of pyro-devices used in aerospace industry.

  6. Research of coal flash hydropyrolysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, Z.; Zhu, H.; Wu, Y.; Tang, L.; Cheng, L.; Xu, Z. [East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai (China)

    2001-02-01

    Using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses the organic sufur of seven different Chinese coals and their semi-cokes from flash hydropyrolysis were studied. The results showed that the organic sulfur in coal was alkyal sulfur and thiophene with the peak of XPS located in 163.1-163.5 eV and 164.1-164.5 eV. The relative thiophene content in coal increased with the coal rank. The type of organic sulfur in semi-coke in flash hydropyrolysis was generally thiophene species; its XPS peak also located in 164.1-164.5 eV, and was in accord with its corresponding coal. Total alkyl sulfur and some thiophene sulfur were removed during the flash hydropyrolysis process. The alkyl sulfur had very high activity in hydrogenation reaction. Flash hydropyrolysis was an important new clean-coal technique and had notable desulfurization effect. 13 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs.

  7. Installation and commissioning of Scandiflash-450 flash X-ray generator at BARC, Visakhapatnam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banerjee, P.; Verma, R.; Shukla, R.; Sharma, S.K.; Das, B.; Prabaharan, T.; Deb, P.; Das, R.; Adhikary, B.; Meena, M.; Sagar, K.; Shyam, A.

    2014-08-01

    Energetics and Electromagnetics Division, BARC, Visakhapatnam has possessed a Flash X-ray radiography (FXR) system, make: Scandiflash, Sweden. This installation and commissioning of the system has been done by ourselves. Few problems have been detected during installation and commissioning. The troubleshooting of the system has been done. Somewhere we needed to replace the original components by indigenously made one. The complete installation and commissioning has been reportedly as far as detailed possible. Presently the system is working with satisfaction. The installed facility is being used as one of the primary means of diagnostics in many of the ongoing experiments. (author)

  8. Aerogel Cherenkov detector for characterizing the intense flash x-ray source, Cygnus, spectrum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Y., E-mail: yhkim@lanl.gov; Herrmann, H. W.; McEvoy, A. M.; Young, C. S.; Hamilton, C. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); Schwellenbach, D. D.; Malone, R. M.; Kaufman, M. I.; Smith, A. S. [National Security Technologies, LLC, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544 (United States)

    2016-11-15

    An aerogel Cherenkov detector is proposed to measure the X-ray energy spectrum from the Cygnus—intense flash X-ray source operated at the Nevada National Security Site. An array of aerogels set at a variety of thresholds between 1 and 3 MeV will be adequate to map out the bremsstrahlung X-ray production of the Cygnus, where the maximum energy of the spectrum is normally around 2.5 MeV. In addition to the Cherenkov radiation from aerogels, one possible competing light-production mechanism is optical transition radiation (OTR), which may be significant in aerogels due to the large number of transitions from SiO{sub 2} clusters to vacuum voids. To examine whether OTR is a problem, four aerogel samples were tested using a mono-energetic electron beam (varied in the range of 1–3 MeV) at NSTec Los Alamos Operations. It was demonstrated that aerogels can be used as a Cherenkov medium, where the rate of the light production is about two orders magnitude higher when the electron beam energy is above threshold.

  9. LONG-DURATION X-RAY FLASH AND X-RAY-RICH GAMMA-RAY BURSTS FROM LOW-MASS POPULATION III STARS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakauchi, Daisuke; Kashiyama, Kazumi; Nakamura, Takashi; Suwa, Yudai; Sakamoto, Takanori

    2012-01-01

    Recent numerical simulations suggest that Population III (Pop III) stars were born with masses not larger than ∼100 M ☉ and typically ∼40 M ☉ . By self-consistently considering the jet generation and propagation in the envelope of these low-mass Pop III stars, we find that a Pop III blue supergiant star has the possibility of giving rise to a gamma-ray burst (GRB) even though it keeps a massive hydrogen envelope. We evaluate observational characteristics of Pop III GRBs and predict that Pop III GRBs have a duration of ∼10 5 s in the observer frame and a peak luminosity of ∼5 × 10 50 erg s –1 . Assuming that the E p -L p (or E p -E γ,iso ) correlation holds for Pop III GRBs, we find that the spectrum peak energy falls at approximately a few keV (or ∼100 keV) in the observer frame. We discuss the detectability of Pop III GRBs by future satellite missions such as EXIST and Lobster. If the E p -E γ,iso correlation holds, we have the possibility to detect Pop III GRBs at z ∼ 9 as long-duration X-ray-rich GRBs by EXIST. Conversely, if the E p -L p correlation holds, we have the possibility to detect Pop III GRBs up to z ∼ 19 as long-duration X-ray flashes by Lobster.

  10. Physics Flash August 2016

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kippen, Karen Elizabeth [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2016-08-25

    Physics Flash is the newsletter for the Physics Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This newsletter is for August 2016. The following topics are covered: "Accomplishments in the Trident Laser Facility", "David Meyerhofer elected as chair-elect APS Nominating Committee", "HAWC searches for gamma rays from dark matter", "Proton Radiography Facility commissions electromagnetic magnifier", and "Cosmic ray muon computed tomography of spent nuclear fuel in dry storage casks."

  11. Influence of the angular scattering of electrons on the runaway threshold in air

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chanrion, O.; Bonaventura, Z.; Bourdon, A.

    2016-01-01

    The runaway electron mechanism is of great importance for the understanding of the generation of x- and gamma rays in atmospheric discharges. In 1991, terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) were discovered by the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. Those emissions are bremsstrahlung from high energy...... electrons that run away in electric fields associated with thunderstorms. In this paper, we discuss the runaway threshold definition with a particular interest in the influence of the angular scattering for electron energy close to the threshold. In order to understand the mechanism of runaway, we compare...... scattering is not valid below 1 MeV where the runaway threshold usually is defined. These results are important for the thermal runaway and the runaway electron avalanche discharge mechanisms suggested to participate in the TGF generation....

  12. Focusing of megaampere electron beam in gas cell for production of flash X-ray source

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zinchenko, Vl; Chlenov, A M; Shiyan, V D [Research Institute of Scientific Instruments, Turaevo-Lytkarino (Russian Federation)

    1997-12-31

    One of important problems to be solved in the development of an intense source of flash X-rays is the choice of the optimum design of the high-current diode at the exit of the electron accelerator. The results of numerical investigations of megaampere relativistic electron beam (REB) generation and focusing in a compound diode are discussed. The diode consists of a vacuum field-emission annular cathode, a planar anode, and a gas cell inserted between the anode foil and the target. (author). 2 figs., 5 refs.

  13. X-ray topographic investigation of the deformation field around spots irradiated by FLASH single pulses

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Wierzchowski, W.; Wieteska, K.; Balcer, T.; Klinger, D.; Sobierajski, R.; Zymierska, D.; Chalupský, Jaromír; Hájková, Věra; Burian, Tomáš; Gleeson, A.J.; Juha, Libor; Tiedtke, K.; Toleikis, S.; Vyšín, Luděk; Wabnitz, H.; Gaudin, J.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 80, č. 10 (2011), s. 1036-1040 ISSN 0969-806X R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN300100702; GA MŠk LC510; GA ČR(CZ) GAP108/11/1312; GA MŠk(CZ) LC528; GA MŠk LA08024; GA AV ČR IAAX00100903; GA MŠk(CZ) ME10046 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523 Keywords : silicon * FLASH irradiation * x-ray topography * deformation fields Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.227, year: 2011

  14. Simple flash evaporator for making thin films of compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hemanadhan, M.; Bapanayya, Ch.; Agarwal, S. C. [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 208016 (India)

    2010-07-15

    A simple and compact arrangement for flash evaporation is described. It uses a cell phone vibrator for powder dispensing that can be incorporated into a vacuum deposition chamber without any major alterations. The performance of the flash evaporation system is checked by making thin films of the optical memory chalcogenide glass Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} (GST). Energy dispersive x-ray analysis shows that the flash evaporation preserves the stoichiometry in thin films.

  15. Numerical simulation of narrow bipolar electromagnetic pulses generated by thunderstorm discharges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bochkov, E. I.; Babich, L. P.; Kutsyk, I. M.

    2013-07-01

    Using the concept of avalanche relativistic runaway electrons (REs), we perform numerical simulations of compact intracloud discharge (CID) as a generator of powerful natural electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) in the HF-VHF range, called narrow bipolar pulses (NBPs). For several values of the field overvoltage and altitude at which the discharge develops, the numbers of seed electrons initiating the avalanche are evaluated, with which the calculated EMP characteristics are consistent with the measured NBP parameters. We note shortcomings in the hypothesis assuming participation of cosmic ray air showers in avalanche initiation. The discharge capable of generating NBPs produces REs in numbers close to those in the source of terrestrial γ-ray flashes (TGFs), which can be an argument in favor of a unified NBP and TGF source.

  16. Numerical simulation of narrow bipolar electromagnetic pulses generated by thunderstorm discharges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bochkov, E. I.; Babich, L. P.; Kutsyk, I. M.

    2013-01-01

    Using the concept of avalanche relativistic runaway electrons (REs), we perform numerical simulations of compact intracloud discharge (CID) as a generator of powerful natural electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) in the HF-VHF range, called narrow bipolar pulses (NBPs). For several values of the field overvoltage and altitude at which the discharge develops, the numbers of seed electrons initiating the avalanche are evaluated, with which the calculated EMP characteristics are consistent with the measured NBP parameters. We note shortcomings in the hypothesis assuming participation of cosmic ray air showers in avalanche initiation. The discharge capable of generating NBPs produces REs in numbers close to those in the source of terrestrial γ-ray flashes (TGFs), which can be an argument in favor of a unified NBP and TGF source

  17. Comparison of high speed movie and flash x-ray measurement of the translational and rotational motions of projectiles penetrating gelatin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roecker, E.T.

    1979-01-01

    Projectiles penetrating a gelatin block were simultaneously measured by a high speed movie camera, Dynafax, and by a sequential, orthogonal, flash x-ray system. The eight orthogonal views of the x-ray system provided position and orientation of the projectiles vs. time. From onset of tumble in the gelatin, owing to gyroscopic instability, the growth of yaw was the same for each round in a replicated set. This phenomenon provided a legitimate procedure for pooling the x-ray data, giving well determined curves of velocity decay and yaw growth. The movie camera observed the progress of the cavity formed by the projectile. The resulting velocity decay of the cavity tip was compared to that of the projectile as measured by the x-ray technique. (author)

  18. Flash X-Ray (FXR) Accelerator Optimization Electronic Time-Resolved Measurement of X-Ray Source Size

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacob, J; Ong, M; Wargo, P

    2005-01-01

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is currently investigating various approaches to minimize the x-ray source size on the Flash X-Ray (FXR) linear induction accelerator in order to improve x-ray flux and increase resolution for hydrodynamic radiography experiments. In order to effectively gauge improvements to final x-ray source size, a fast, robust, and accurate system for measuring the spot size is required. Timely feedback on x-ray source size allows new and improved accelerator tunes to be deployed and optimized within the limited run-time constraints of a production facility with a busy experimental schedule; in addition, time-resolved measurement capability allows the investigation of not only the time-averaged source size, but also the evolution of the source size, centroid position, and x-ray dose throughout the 70 ns beam pulse. Combined with time-resolved measurements of electron beam parameters such as emittance, energy, and current, key limiting factors can be identified, modeled, and optimized for the best possible spot size. Roll-bar techniques are a widely used method for x-ray source size measurement, and have been the method of choice at FXR for many years. A thick bar of tungsten or other dense metal with a sharp edge is inserted into the path of the x-ray beam so as to heavily attenuate the lower half of the beam, resulting in a half-light, half-dark image as seen downstream of the roll-bar; by measuring the width of the transition from light to dark across the edge of the roll-bar, the source size can be deduced. For many years, film has been the imaging medium of choice for roll-bar measurements thanks to its high resolution, linear response, and excellent contrast ratio. Film measurements, however, are fairly cumbersome and require considerable setup and analysis time; moreover, with the continuing trend towards all-electronic measurement systems, film is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to procure. Here, we shall

  19. Search for the radio occulation flash at Jupiter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, J.M.; Tyler, G.L.; Eshleman, V.R.; Wood, G.E.; Lindall, G.F.

    1981-01-01

    The 'evolute flash' a focusing effect caused by the curvature of a planet's limb, was sought in the radio data taken during the occulation of Voyager 1 by Jupiter, using a modified matched-filter technique. The expected frequency structure of the flash signal is double branched, while the intensity structure is highly localized in time. The search for the signal was carried out over a 6.4 s period. The signal parameters were varied to span the uncertainties introduced by imperfect knowledge of the orbit of the spacecraft and the shape of Jupiter. Several peaks at the 8 standard deviation level were present in the filter output. However, these peaks were separated in time by up to 3.3 s, and none could be identified as the flash. From this negative result a lower bound on the absorption along a ray with periapsis near the 4 bar level in Jupiter's atmosphere can be established at 25 dB. Employing the new Voyager results on the structure of the atmosphere of Jupiter and the mixing ratio of the absorbent ammonia, as well as the improved knowledge of flash characteristics resulting from this study, we estimate that the flash would have been detected if the distance behind the planet where the spacecraft trajectory crossed the evolute were at least 20 Jupiter radii, as compared with a value near 7 in the experiment. For focusing at this greater distance, the atmospheric pressure at the ray periapsis would be between 1.5 and 2 bar

  20. Correlation Of Terrestrial gamma flashes, Electric fields, and Lightning strikes (COTEL) in thunderstorms using networked balloon payloads developed by university and community college students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landry, B. J.; Blair, D.; Causey, J.; Collins, J.; Davis, A.; Fernandez-Kim, V.; Kennedy, J.; Pate, N.; Kearney, C.; Schayer, C.; Turk, E.; Cherry, M. L.; Fava, C.; Granger, D.; Stewart, M.; Guzik, T. G.

    2017-12-01

    High energy gamma ray flashes from terrestrial sources have been observed by satellites for decades, but the actual mechanism, assumed to be thunderstorm lightning, has yet to be fully characterized. The goal of COTEL, funded by NASA through the University Student Instrument Project (USIP) program, is to correlate in time TGF events, lightning strikes, and electric fields inside of thunderstorms. This will be accomplished using a small network of balloon-borne payloads suspended in and around thunderstorm environments. The payloads will detect and timestamp gamma radiation bursts, lightning strikes, and the intensity of localized electric fields. While in flight, data collected by the payloads will be transmitted to a ground station in real-time and will be analyzed post-flight to investigate potential correlations between lightning, TGFs, and electric fields. The COTEL student team is in its second year of effort having spent the first year developing the basic balloon payloads and ground tracking system. Currently the team is focusing on prototype electric field and gamma radiation detectors. Testing and development of these systems will continue into 2018, and flight operations will take place during the spring 2018 Louisiana thunderstorm season. The presentation, led by undergraduate Physics student Brad Landry, will cover the student team effort in developing the COTEL system, an overview of the system architecture, balloon flight tests conducted to date, preliminary results from prototype detectors, lessons learned for student-led science projects, and future plans.

  1. Spurious dispersion effects at FLASH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prat, Eduard

    2009-07-01

    The performance of the Free-Electron Laser (FEL) process imposes stringent demands on the transverse trajectory and size of the electron beam. Since transverse dispersion changes off-energy particle trajectories and increases the effective beam size, dispersion must be controlled. This thesis treats the concept of dispersion in linacs, and analyses the impact of dispersion on the electron beam and on the FEL process. It presents generation mechanisms for spurious dispersion, quantifying its importance for FLASH (Free-electron Laser in Hamburg) and the XFEL (European X-ray Free-Electron Laser). A method for measuring and correcting dispersion and its implementation in FLASH is described. Experiments of dispersion e ects on the transverse beam quality and on the FEL performance are presented. (orig.)

  2. Spurious dispersion effects at FLASH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prat, Eduard

    2009-07-15

    The performance of the Free-Electron Laser (FEL) process imposes stringent demands on the transverse trajectory and size of the electron beam. Since transverse dispersion changes off-energy particle trajectories and increases the effective beam size, dispersion must be controlled. This thesis treats the concept of dispersion in linacs, and analyses the impact of dispersion on the electron beam and on the FEL process. It presents generation mechanisms for spurious dispersion, quantifying its importance for FLASH (Free-electron Laser in Hamburg) and the XFEL (European X-ray Free-Electron Laser). A method for measuring and correcting dispersion and its implementation in FLASH is described. Experiments of dispersion e ects on the transverse beam quality and on the FEL performance are presented. (orig.)

  3. X-ray Observations at Gaisberg Tower

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pasan Hettiarachchi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the occurrence of X-rays at ground level due to cloud-to-ground flashes of upward-initiated lightning from Gaisberg Tower, in Austria, which is located at an altitude of 1300 m. This is the first observation of X-ray emissions from upward lightning from a tower top located at high altitude. Measurements were carried out using scintillation detectors installed close to the tower top in two phases from 2011 to 2015. X-rays were recorded in three subsequent strokes of three flashes out of the total of 108 flashes recorded in the system during both phases. In contrast to the observations from downward natural or triggered lightning, X-rays were observed only within 10 µs before the subsequent return stroke. This shows that X-rays were emitted when the dart leader was in the vicinity of the tower top, hence during the most intense phase of the dart leader. Both the detected energy and the fluence of X-rays are far lower compared to X-rays from downward natural or rocket-triggered lightning. In addition to the above 108 flashes, an interesting observation of X-rays produced by a nearby downward flash is also presented. The shorter length of dart-leader channels in Gaisberg is suggested as a possible cause of this apparently weaker X-ray production.

  4. TGF Afterglows: A New Radiation Mechanism From Thunderstorms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rutjes, C.; Diniz, G.; Ferreira, I. S.; Ebert, U.

    2017-10-01

    Thunderstorms are known to create terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) which are microsecond-long bursts created by runaway of thermal electrons from propagating lightning leaders, as well as gamma ray glows that possibly are created by relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREA) that can last for minutes or more and are sometimes terminated by a discharge. In this work we predict a new intermediate thunderstorm radiation mechanism, which we call TGF afterglow, as it is caused by the capture of photonuclear neutrons produced by a TGF. TGF afterglows are milliseconds to seconds long; this duration is caused by the thermalization time of the intermediate neutrons. TGF afterglows indicate that the primary TGF has produced photons in the energy range of 10-30 MeV; they are nondirectional in contrast to the primary TGF. Gurevich et al. might have reported TGF afterglows in 2011.

  5. Brilliant GeV gamma-ray flash from inverse Compton scattering in the QED regime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Z.; Hu, R. H.; Lu, H. Y.; Yu, J. Q.; Wang, D. H.; Fu, E. G.; Chen, C. E.; He, X. T.; Yan, X. Q.

    2018-04-01

    An all-optical scheme is proposed for studying laser plasma based incoherent photon emission from inverse Compton scattering in the quantum electrodynamic regime. A theoretical model is presented to explain the coupling effects among radiation reaction trapping, the self-generated magnetic field and the spiral attractor in phase space, which guarantees the transfer of energy and angular momentum from electromagnetic fields to particles. Taking advantage of a prospective ˜ 1023 W cm-2 laser facility, 3D particle-in-cell simulations show a gamma-ray flash with unprecedented multi-petawatt power and brightness of 1.7 × 1023 photons s-1 mm-2 mrad-2/0.1% bandwidth (at 1 GeV). These results bode well for new research directions in particle physics and laboratory astrophysics exploring laser plasma interactions.

  6. Machine protection for FLASH and the European XFEL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Froehlich, Lars

    2009-05-15

    The Free-Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) and the future European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL) are sources of brilliant extremeultraviolet and X-ray radiation pulses. Both facilities are based on superconducting linear accelerators (linacs) that can produce and transport electron beams of high average power. With up to 90 kW or up to 600 kW of power, respectively, these beams hold a serious potential to damage accelerator components. This thesis discusses several passive and active machine protection measures needed to ensure safe operation. At FLASH, dark current from the rf gun electron source has activated several accelerator components to unacceptable radiation levels. Its transport through the linac is investigated with detailed tracking simulations using a parallelized and enhanced version of the tracking code Astra; possible remedies are evaluated. Beam losses can lead to the demagnetization of permanent magnet insertion devices. A number of beam loss scenarios typical for FLASH are investigated with shower simulations. A shielding setup is designed and its efficiency is evaluated. For the design parameters of FLASH, it is concluded that the average relative beam loss in the undulators must be controlled to a level of about 10{sup -8}. FLASH is equipped with an active machine protection system (MPS) comprising more than 80 photomultiplier-based beam loss monitors and several subsystems. The maximum response time to beam losses is less than 4 {mu}s. Setup procedures and calibration algorithms for MPS subsystems and components are introduced and operational problems are addressed. Finally, an architecture for a fully programmable machine protection system for the XFEL is presented. Several options for the topology of this system are reviewed, with the result that an availability goal of at least 0.999 for the MPS is achievable with moderate hardware requirements. (orig.)

  7. Machine protection for FLASH and the European XFEL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Froehlich, Lars

    2009-05-01

    The Free-Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) and the future European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (XFEL) are sources of brilliant extremeultraviolet and X-ray radiation pulses. Both facilities are based on superconducting linear accelerators (linacs) that can produce and transport electron beams of high average power. With up to 90 kW or up to 600 kW of power, respectively, these beams hold a serious potential to damage accelerator components. This thesis discusses several passive and active machine protection measures needed to ensure safe operation. At FLASH, dark current from the rf gun electron source has activated several accelerator components to unacceptable radiation levels. Its transport through the linac is investigated with detailed tracking simulations using a parallelized and enhanced version of the tracking code Astra; possible remedies are evaluated. Beam losses can lead to the demagnetization of permanent magnet insertion devices. A number of beam loss scenarios typical for FLASH are investigated with shower simulations. A shielding setup is designed and its efficiency is evaluated. For the design parameters of FLASH, it is concluded that the average relative beam loss in the undulators must be controlled to a level of about 10 -8 . FLASH is equipped with an active machine protection system (MPS) comprising more than 80 photomultiplier-based beam loss monitors and several subsystems. The maximum response time to beam losses is less than 4 μs. Setup procedures and calibration algorithms for MPS subsystems and components are introduced and operational problems are addressed. Finally, an architecture for a fully programmable machine protection system for the XFEL is presented. Several options for the topology of this system are reviewed, with the result that an availability goal of at least 0.999 for the MPS is achievable with moderate hardware requirements. (orig.)

  8. Observers can reliably identify illusory flashes in the illusory flash paradigm

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erp, J.B.F. van; Philippi, T.G.; Werkhoven, P.

    2013-01-01

    In the illusory flash paradigm, a single flash may be experienced as two flashes when accompanied by two beeps or taps, and two flashes may be experienced as a single flash when accompanied by one beep or tap. The classic paradigm restricts responses to '1' and '2' (2-AFC), ignoring possible

  9. Hot Flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hot flashes Overview Hot flashes are sudden feelings of warmth, which are usually most intense over the face, neck and chest. Your skin might redden, as if you're blushing. Hot flashes can also cause sweating, and if you ...

  10. Development of a Dynamic Spot Size Diagnostic for Flash Radiographic X-Ray Sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Droemer, D. W.; Lutz, S.; Devore, D.; Rovang, D.; Portillo, S.; Maenchen, J.

    2003-01-01

    There has been considerable work in recent years in the development of high-brightness, high-dose flash x-ray radiographic sources. Spot size is one of several parameters that helps characterize source performance and provides a figure of merit to assess the suitability of various sources to specific experimental requirements. Time-integrated spot-size measurements using radiographic film and a high-Z rolled-edge object have been used for several years with great success. The Advanced Radiographic Technologies program thrust to improve diode performance requires extending both modeling and experimental measurements into the transient time domain. A new Time Resolved Spot Detector (TRSD) is under development to provide this information. In this paper we report the initial results of the performance of a 148-element scintillating fiber array that is fiber-optically coupled to a gated streak camera. Spatial and temporal resolution results are discussed and the data obtained FR-om the Sand ia National Laboratories (SNL) RITS-3 (Radiographic Integrated Test Stand) accelerator are presented

  11. Proceedings of International Symposium TEPA 2016: Thunderstorms and Elementary Particle Acceleration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chilingarian, A.

    2017-03-01

    avalanches - RREA. The separation of positive and negative charges in thundercloud and existence of a stable ambient population of the cosmic ray electrons enables the acceleration of the seed electrons in direction of the Earth's surface and to open space (Terrestrial gamma flashes, TGFs). Both TGEs and TGFs precede the lightning activity and can be used for the research of poorly understood lightning initiation processes providing key research instrument – fluxes of electrons, neutrons and gamma rays originated in the thunderclouds. Information acquired from the time series of TGEs along with widely used information on the temporal patterns of the radio waveforms will help to develop both reliable model of lightning initiation and detailed mechanism of electron acceleration in thunderclouds.

  12. Flash X-Ray Apparatus With Spectrum Control Functions For Medical Use And Fuji Computed Radiography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isobe, H.; Sato, E.; Hayasi, Y.; Suzuki, M.; Arima, H.; Hoshino, F.

    1985-02-01

    Flash radiographic bio-medical studies at sub-microsecond intervals were performed by using both a new type of flash X-ray(FX) apparatus with spectrum control functions and Fuji Computed Radiography(FCR). This single flasher tends to have a comparatively long exposure time and the electric pulse width of the FX wave form is about 0.3,usec. The maximum FX dose is about 50mR at 1m per pulse, and the effective focal spot varies according to condenser charging voltage, A-C distance, etc., ranging from 1.0 to 3.0mm in diameter, but in the low dose rate region it can be reduced to less than 1.0mm in diameter. The FX dose is determined by the condenser charging voltage and the A-C distance, while the FX spectrum is determined by the average voltage of the FX tube and filters. Various clear FX images were obtained by controlling the spectrum and dose. FCR is a new storage medium for medical radiography developed by the Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. and this apparatus has various image forming functions: low dose radiography, film density control, image contrast control, subtraction management and others. We have used this new apparatus in conjunction with our FX radiography and have obtained some new and interesting biomedical radiograms: the edge enhancement image, the instantaneous enlarged image, and the single exposure energy subtraction image using the FX spectrum distribution.

  13. Flash Kα radiography of laser-driven solid sphere compression for fast ignition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sawada, H.; Lee, S.; Nagatomo, H.; Arikawa, Y.; Nishimura, H.; Ueda, T.; Shigemori, K.; Fujioka, S.; Shiroto, T.; Ohnishi, N.; Sunahara, A.; Beg, F. N.; Theobald, W.; Pérez, F.; Patel, P. K.

    2016-01-01

    Time-resolved compression of a laser-driven solid deuterated plastic sphere with a cone was measured with flash Kα x-ray radiography. A spherically converging shockwave launched by nanosecond GEKKO XII beams was used for compression while a flash of 4.51 keV Ti Kα x-ray backlighter was produced by a high-intensity, picosecond laser LFEX (Laser for Fast ignition EXperiment) near peak compression for radiography. Areal densities of the compressed core were inferred from two-dimensional backlit x-ray images recorded with a narrow-band spherical crystal imager. The maximum areal density in the experiment was estimated to be 87 ± 26 mg/cm"2. The temporal evolution of the experimental and simulated areal densities with a 2-D radiation-hydrodynamics code is in good agreement.

  14. Flash Kα radiography of laser-driven solid sphere compression for fast ignition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sawada, H. [Department of Physics, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, Nevada 89557 (United States); Lee, S.; Nagatomo, H.; Arikawa, Y.; Nishimura, H.; Ueda, T.; Shigemori, K.; Fujioka, S. [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka (Japan); Shiroto, T.; Ohnishi, N. [Department of Aerospace Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi (Japan); Sunahara, A. [Institute of Laser Technology, Nishi-ku, Osaka (Japan); Beg, F. N. [University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States); Theobald, W. [Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States); Pérez, F. [LULI, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, Cedex (France); Patel, P. K. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

    2016-06-20

    Time-resolved compression of a laser-driven solid deuterated plastic sphere with a cone was measured with flash Kα x-ray radiography. A spherically converging shockwave launched by nanosecond GEKKO XII beams was used for compression while a flash of 4.51 keV Ti Kα x-ray backlighter was produced by a high-intensity, picosecond laser LFEX (Laser for Fast ignition EXperiment) near peak compression for radiography. Areal densities of the compressed core were inferred from two-dimensional backlit x-ray images recorded with a narrow-band spherical crystal imager. The maximum areal density in the experiment was estimated to be 87 ± 26 mg/cm{sup 2}. The temporal evolution of the experimental and simulated areal densities with a 2-D radiation-hydrodynamics code is in good agreement.

  15. FLASH Interface; a GUI for managing runtime parameters in FLASH simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Christopher; Tzeferacos, Petros; Weide, Klaus; Lamb, Donald; Flocke, Norbert; Feister, Scott

    2017-10-01

    We present FLASH Interface, a novel graphical user interface (GUI) for managing runtime parameters in simulations performed with the FLASH code. FLASH Interface supports full text search of available parameters; provides descriptions of each parameter's role and function; allows for the filtering of parameters based on categories; performs input validation; and maintains all comments and non-parameter information already present in existing parameter files. The GUI can be used to edit existing parameter files or generate new ones. FLASH Interface is open source and was implemented with the Electron framework, making it available on Mac OSX, Windows, and Linux operating systems. The new interface lowers the entry barrier for new FLASH users and provides an easy-to-use tool for experienced FLASH simulators. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), NNSA ASC/Alliances Center for Astrophysical Thermonuclear Flashes, U.S. DOE NNSA ASC through the Argonne Institute for Computing in Science, U.S. National Science Foundation.

  16. Flash Platform Examination

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-01

    than would be performed in software”[108]. Uro Tinic, one of the Flash player’s engineers, further clarifies exactly what Flash player 10 hardware...www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/features/ (Access date: 28 Sep 2009). [109] Uro , T. What Does GPU Acceleration Mean? (online), http...133] Shorten, A. (2009), Design to Development: Flash Catalyst to Flash Builder, In Proceedings of Adobe Max 2009, Los Angeles, CA. 142 DRDC

  17. Past, Present and Future Aspects of Laser-Based Synchronization at FLASH

    OpenAIRE

    Schulz, Sebastian; Bousonville, Michael; Steffen, Bernd; Sydlo, Cezary; Zummack, Falco; Kozak, Tomasz; Predki, Pawel; Kuhl, Alexander; Czwalinna, Marie Kristin; Felber, Matthias; Heuer, Michael; Lamb, Thorsten; Mueller, Jost; Peier, Peter; Ruzin, Sergej

    2013-01-01

    Free-electron lasers, like FLASH and the upcoming European XFEL, are capable of producing XUV and X-ray pulses of a few femtoseconds duration. For time-resolved pump-probe experiments and the externally seeded operation mode it is crucial not only to stabilize the arrival time of the electron bunches, but also to achieve a synchronization accuracy of external lasers on the same timescale. This can only be realized with a laser-based synchronization infrastructure. At FLASH, a periodic femtose...

  18. In situ measurements of the Runaway Breakdown (RB) on Aragats mountain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chilingarian, A.; Hovsepyan, G.; Mailyan, B.

    2017-12-01

    Acceleration and multiplication of the cosmic ray electrons by strong electric fields in the thundercloud are well-established phenomena comprising the core of the atmospheric high-energy physics. The majority of experimental data on particle acceleration in the thunderclouds comes from space-born experiments detecting Terrestrial Gamma flashes (TGFs) and from networks of particle detectors located on the earth's surface observing Thunderstorm Ground Enhancements (TGEs). Models for explaining both TGF and TGE are based on the concept of a Runaway Breakdown (RB) introduced by A. Gurevich. Prove of these models requires registration of the electromagnetic avalanches developing in the thundercloud and reaching the earth's surface. Unfortunately due to high location of cloud and fast attenuation of electrons in the atmosphere the registration of such an avalanches are very rare. On Aragats mountain in Armenia, where the cloud location is very low we observe several TGE events with sizable electron contribution. We present direct measurements of such an avalanches lasting less than a microsecond; hundreds of such avalanches comprise a TGE lasting few minutes. We recovered as well the differential energy spectra of electron and gamma ray content of avalanches. The abrupt termination of the particle flux by nearby lightning indicates that RB process precedes (initiates) the lightning flash.

  19. Fermi GBM: Results from the First Year +

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson-Hodge, Colleen A.

    2009-01-01

    Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) has performed well in the first year+. GBM triggers 353 Gamma-ray Bursts (GRBs), 168 SGR events, 18 TGFs, and 1 solar flare to date. Short GRBs appear contracted in time and shifted to higher energy than long GRBs. Pulsed persistent emission from SGR 1550-5418 detected. TGFs are shorter, have higher average photon energies, and much higher count rates than GRBs. GBM monitoring of accreting pulsars provides long-term spin-histories. GBM Earth occultation monitoring complements Swift.

  20. The haptic and the visual flash-lag effect and the role of flash characteristics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knut Drewing

    Full Text Available When a short flash occurs in spatial alignment with a moving object, the moving object is seen ahead the stationary one. Similar to this visual "flash-lag effect" (FLE it has been recently observed for the haptic sense that participants judge a moving hand to be ahead a stationary hand when judged at the moment of a short vibration ("haptic flash" that is applied when the two hands are spatially aligned. We further investigated the haptic FLE. First, we compared participants' performance in two isosensory visual or haptic conditions, in which moving object and flash were presented only in a single modality (visual: sphere and short color change, haptic: hand and vibration, and two bisensory conditions, in which the moving object was presented in both modalities (hand aligned with visible sphere, but the flash was presented only visually or only haptically. The experiment aimed to disentangle contributions of the flash's and the objects' modalities to the FLEs in haptics versus vision. We observed a FLE when the flash was visually displayed, both when the moving object was visual and visuo-haptic. Because the position of a visual flash, but not of an analogue haptic flash, is misjudged relative to a same visuo-haptic moving object, the difference between visual and haptic conditions can be fully attributed to characteristics of the flash. The second experiment confirmed that a haptic FLE can be observed depending on flash characteristics: the FLE increases with decreasing intensity of the flash (slightly modulated by flash duration, which had been previously observed for vision. These findings underline the high relevance of flash characteristics in different senses, and thus fit well with the temporal-sampling framework, where the flash triggers a high-level, supra-modal process of position judgement, the time point of which further depends on the processing time of the flash.

  1. Update on The Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) Pathfinder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grossan, B.; Brandt, Søren; Budtz-Jørgensen, Carl

    2011-01-01

    The Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) uses an X/gamma and an optical/UV instrument to observe gamma-ray bursts (GRB) starting milliseconds after burst trigger and location. The X/gamma instrument, a standard coded-mask camera, locates the GRB and triggers the system. The optical/UV instrument, ...

  2. Study of TGEs and Gamma-Flashes from thunderstorms in 20-3000 keV energy range with SINP MSU Gamma-Ray spectrometers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogomolov, V.V.; Svertilov, S.I.; Maximov, I.A.; Panasyuk, M.I.; Garipov, G.K.

    2016-01-01

    SINP MSU provided a number of experiments with scintillator gamma-spectrometers for study of spectral, temporal and spatial characteristics of TGEs as well as for search of fast hard x-ray and gamma-ray flashes probably appearing at the moment of lightning. The measurements were done in Moscow region and in Armenia at Aragats Mountain. Each instrument used in this work was able to record data in so called “event mode”: the time of each interaction was recorded with ∼15 mcs accuracy together with detailed spectral data. Such design allowed one to look for fast sequences of gamma-quanta, coming at the moments of discharges during thunderstorms. The pulse-shape analysis made by detector electronics was used to separate real gammaray events and possible imitations of flashes by electrical disturbances when discharges occur. During the time period from spring to autumn of 2015 a number of TGEs were detected. Spectral analysis of received data showed that the energy spectrum of coming radiation in 20-3000 kev range demonstrate a set of gamma-ray lines that can be interpreted as radiation from Rn-222 daughter isotopes. The increase of Rn-222 radiation was detected during rainfalls with thunderstorm as well as during rainy weather without thunderstorms. Variations of Rn-222 radiation dominate in low energies (<2.6MeV) and must be taken into account in the experiments performed to measure low energy gamma-radiation from the electrons accelerated in thunderclouds. In order to determine the direction from which the additional gamma-quanta come the experiment with collimated gamma-spectrometer placed on rotated platform was done. The results of this experiment realized in Moscow region from august, 2015 will be presented as well as the results of comparison of different TGEs measured in Moscow region and in Armenia. (author)

  3. Laftr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barghi, M. R., Sr.; Sample, J.; Forouzani, A.; Delaney, N.; Wells, E.; Parab, A.; Bowers, G. S.; Smith, D.; Martinez-McKinney, F.

    2017-12-01

    The Light and Fast TGF Recorder (LAFTR), is a joint institutional NASA balloon borne gamma-ray detector between undergraduates at Montana State University(MSU) and University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) designed to record an extremely bright sub-millisecond burst of gamma-rays observed to originate inside thunderstorms called Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs). The detector employs a fast small plastic scintillator(BC-408) to avoid oversaturation. The Scintillator output is read out by the SensL Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPm) complemented by a custom shaping circuit to narrow long exponential pulses outputted from the SiPm into a semi-gaussian pulse with a 40 ns FWHM to be read into a 6 channel discriminator board for coarse spectroscopy and output a Low Voltage Differential Signal(LVDS). The presentation will primarily focus on the significant experiences and skills acquired from the project by several team members such as the importance of team coordination in joint institutional projects,clear documentation, communication, and planning such detector systems under the NASA Guidelines.

  4. Pro Android Flash

    CERN Document Server

    Chin, Stephen; Campesato, Oswald

    2011-01-01

    Did you know you can take your Flash skills beyond the browser, allowing you to make apps for Android, iOS and the BlackBerry Tablet OS? Build dynamic apps today starting with the easy-to-use Android smartphones and tablets. Then, take your app to other platforms without writing native code. Pro Android Flash is the definitive guide to building Flash and other rich Internet applications (RIAs) on the Android platform. It covers the most popular RIA frameworks for Android developers - Flash and Flex - and shows how to build rich, immersive user experiences on both Android smartphones and tablet

  5. Compact X-ray sources: X-rays from self-reflection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangles, Stuart P. D.

    2012-05-01

    Laser-based particle acceleration offers a way to reduce the size of hard-X-ray sources. Scientists have now developed a simple scheme that produces a bright flash of hard X-rays by using a single laser pulse both to generate and to scatter an electron beam.

  6. The Status of the Ultra Fast Flash Observatory - Pathfinder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nam, J. W.; Ahmad, S.; Ahn, K. B.

    2014-01-01

    The Ultra Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) is a project to study early optical emissions from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). The primary scientific goal of UFFO is to see if GRBs can be calibrated with their rising times, so that they could be used as new standard candles. In order to minimize delay in op...

  7. Afterglow Observations Shed New Light on the Nature of X-ray Flashes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Granot, J

    2005-02-17

    X-ray flashes (XRFs) and X-ray rich gamma-ray bursts (XRGRBs) share many observational characteristics with long duration ({approx}> 2 s) GRBs, but the reason for which the spectral energy distribution of their prompt emission peaks at lower photon energies, E{sub p}, is still a subject of debate. Although many different models have been invoked in order to explain the lower values of E{sub p}, their implications for the afterglow emission were not considered in most cases, mainly because observations of XRF afterglows have become available only recently. Here we examine the predictions of the various XRF models for the afterglow emission, and test them against the observations of XRF 030723 and XRGRB 041006, the events with the best monitored afterglow light curves in their respective class. We show that most existing XRF models are hard to reconcile with the observed afterglow light curves, which are very flat at early times. Such light curves are, however, naturally produced by a roughly uniform jet with relatively sharp edges that is viewed off-axis (i.e. from outside of the jet aperture). This type of model self consistently accommodates both the observed prompt emission and the afterglow light curves of XRGRB 041006 and XRF 030723, implying viewing angles {theta}{sub obs} from the jet axis of ({theta}{sub obs}-{theta}{sub 0}) {approx} 0.15 {theta}{sub 0} and ({theta}{sub obs}-{theta}{sub 0}) {approx} {theta}{sub 0}, respectively, where {theta}{sub 0} {approx} 3{sup o} is the half-opening angle of the jet. This suggests that GRBs, XRGRBs and XRFs are intrinsically similar relativistic jets viewed from different angles. It is then natural to identify GRBs with {gamma}({theta}{sub obs} - {theta}{sub 0}) {approx}< 1, XRGRBs with 1 {approx}< ({theta}{sub obs} - {theta}{sub 0}) {approx}< a few, and XRFs with {gamma}({theta}{sub obs} - {theta}{sub 0}) {approx}> a few, where {gamma} is the Lorentz factor of the outflow near the edge of the jet from which most of the

  8. Professional Flash Lite Mobile Development

    CERN Document Server

    Anderson, J G

    2010-01-01

    Discover how to create Flash Lite mobile apps from the ground up. Adobe Flash is an ideal choice for developing rich interactive content for "Flash-enabled" mobile devices; and with this book, you'll learn how to create unique applications with Flash Lite. Through a series of code samples and extensive example applications, you'll explore the core concepts, key features, and best practices of the Flash Lite player. Coverage reveals various ways to develop Flash mobile content, create applications with a cross-platform programming framework based on the Model, View and Controller conc

  9. Calibration and Simulation of the GRB trigger detector of the Ultra Fast Flash Observatory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Huang, M.-H.A.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

    2013-01-01

    The UFFO (Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory) is a GRB detector on board the Lomonosov satellite, to be launched in 2013. The GRB trigger is provided by an X-ray detector, called UBAT (UFFO Burst Alarm & Trigger Telescope), which detects X-rays from the GRB and then triggers to determine the direction ...

  10. Search Engine Optimization for Flash Best Practices for Using Flash on the Web

    CERN Document Server

    Perkins, Todd

    2009-01-01

    Search Engine Optimization for Flash dispels the myth that Flash-based websites won't show up in a web search by demonstrating exactly what you can do to make your site fully searchable -- no matter how much Flash it contains. You'll learn best practices for using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, as well as SWFObject, for building sites with Flash that will stand tall in search rankings.

  11. NAND flash memory technologies

    CERN Document Server

    Aritome, Seiichi

    2016-01-01

    This book discusses basic and advanced NAND flash memory technologies, including the principle of NAND flash, memory cell technologies, multi-bits cell technologies, scaling challenges of memory cell, reliability, and 3-dimensional cell as the future technology. Chapter 1 describes the background and early history of NAND flash. The basic device structures and operations are described in Chapter 2. Next, the author discusses the memory cell technologies focused on scaling in Chapter 3, and introduces the advanced operations for multi-level cells in Chapter 4. The physical limitations for scaling are examined in Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 describes the reliability of NAND flash memory. Chapter 7 examines 3-dimensional (3D) NAND flash memory cells and discusses the pros and cons in structure, process, operations, scalability, and performance. In Chapter 8, challenges of 3D NAND flash memory are dis ussed. Finally, in Chapter 9, the author summarizes and describes the prospect of technologies and market for the fu...

  12. Flash-x-radiography for fuel motion studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choate, L.M.; Halbleib, J.A. Sr.; Posey, L.D.

    1976-01-01

    The paper is primarily intended to be a status report on recent activities in the Flash X-ray Radiography/Cinematography area. Studies in the area of source definition as well as associated experimental limitations are discussed. The implications of machine current upon precision uncertainty in measurements of changes in areal density are presented. The radiographic techniques presently being evaluated are discussed. Performance estimates representative of this type of diagnostic tool are presented. Comparison with other results is made

  13. Relativistic Electrons in Electric Discharges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cinar, Deniz

    at the time when also gigantic electric discharges were observed at 10-90 km altitude in the stratosphere and mesosphere, the so called “jets” and “sprites”, commonly referred to as “Transient Luminous Events” (TLEs). TGFs were _rst thought connected to TLEs, but later research has pointed to lightning......Thunderstorms generate bursts of X- and Gamma radiation. When observed from spacecraft, the bursts are referred to as “Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes” (TGFs). They are bremsstrahlung from energetic electrons accelerated in thunderstorm electric _elds. The TGFs were _rst observed in the 90ties...... discharges as the source. The “Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor” (ASIM) for the International Space Station in 2016, led by DTU Space, and the French microsatellite TARANIS, also with launch in 2016, will identify with certainty the source of TGFs. In preparation for the missions, the Ph.D. project has...

  14. Flash grundkursus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Henrik

    2008-01-01

    Flash er et programmeringssprog  og kan som sådant ikke noget i sig selv. Kursets mål er, at give den studerende et grundlæggende kendskab til Flash, så det kan bruges til præsentationer på skærm og til produktion af hjemmesider. På kurset arbejdes der med billede, grafik, lyd, video og interakti...

  15. Learning Flash CS4 Professional

    CERN Document Server

    Shupe, Rich

    2009-01-01

    Learning Flash CS4 Professional offers beginners and intermediate Flash developers a unique introduction to the latest version of Adobe's powerful multimedia application. This easy-to-read book is loaded with full-color examples and hands-on tasks to help you master Flash CS4's new motion editor, integrated 3D system, and character control using the new inverse kinematics bones animation system. No previous Flash experience is necessary.

  16. Collimation techniques for dense object flash radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, K.H.

    1984-08-01

    In explosively driven experiments, flash radiography can record a wealth of information about material densities and boundaries. Obtaining accurate quantitative data from these radiographs requires careful design of the experiment so that one can control and measure the scattered radiation background that is a part of any experiment. We have used collimators at the x-ray source to match the incident x-ray flux to the transmission of the object, thereby reducing the production of scattered radiation while still preserving a complete view of the object. Multi-hole collimators (at the film plane) with a length-to-diameter ratio of approx. 20:1 have been used to measure the scattered radiation field with several exposure geometries and with various shielding methods

  17. Flashing oscillation in pool water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takamasa, Tomoji; Kondo, Koichi; Hazuku, Tatsuya

    1996-01-01

    This paper presents an experimental study of high-pressure saturated water discharging into the pool water. The purpose of the experiment is to clarify the phenomena that occur in blow-down of high-pressure saturated water from the pressure vessel into the water-filled containment in the case of a wall-crack accident or a LOCA in an advanced reactor. The results revealed that a flashing oscillation (FO) occurs when high-pressure saturated water discharges into the pool water, under specified experimental settings. The range of the flashing oscillates between a point very close to and some distance from the vent hole. The pressures in the vent tube and pool water vary according to the flashing oscillation. The pressure oscillation and frequency of flashing position might be caused by the balancing action between the supply of saturated water, flashing at the control volume and its condensation on the steam-water interface. A linear analysis was conducted using a spherical flashing bubble model. The period of the flashing oscillation in the experiments can be explained by theoretical analysis

  18. Demonstration of the self-magnetic-pinch diode as an X-ray source for flash core-punch radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cordova, Steve Ray; Rovang, Dean Curtis; Portillo, Salvador; Oliver, Bryan Velten; Bruner, Nichelle Lee; Ziska, Derek Raymond

    2007-01-01

    Minimization of the radiographic spot size and maximization of the radiation dose is a continuing long-range goal for development of electron beam driven X-ray radiography sources. In collaboration with members of the Atomic Weapons Establishment(AWE), Aldermaston UK, the Advanced Radiographic Technologies Dept. 1645 is conducting research on the development of X-ray sources for flash core-punch radiography. The Hydrodynamics Dept. at AWE has defined a near term radiographic source requirement for scaled core-punch experiments to be 250 rads(at)m with a 2.75 mm source spot-size. As part of this collaborative effort, Dept. 1645 is investigating the potential of the Self-Magnetic-Pinched (SMP) diode as a source for core-punch radiography. Recent experiments conducted on the RITS-6 accelerator [1,2] demonstrated the potential of the SMP diode by meeting and exceeding the near term radiographic requirements established by AWE. During the demonstration experiments, RITS-6 was configured with a low-impedance (40 (Omega)) Magnetically Insulated Transmission Line (MITL), which provided a 75-ns, 180-kA, 7.5-MeV forward going electrical pulse to the diode. The use of a low-impedance MITL enabled greater power coupling to the SMP diode and thus allowed for increased radiation output. In addition to reconfiguring the driver (accelerator), geometric changes to the diode were also performed which allowed for an increase in dose production without sacrificing the time integrated spot characteristics. The combination of changes to both the pulsed power driver and the diode significantly increased the source x-ray intensity

  19. Hot flashes and sleep in women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moe, Karen E

    2004-12-01

    Sleep disturbances during menopause are often attributed to nocturnal hot flashes and 'sweats' associated with changing hormone patterns. This paper is a comprehensive critical review of the research on the relationship between sleep disturbance and hot flashes in women. Numerous studies have found a relationship between self-reported hot flashes and sleep complaints. However, hot flash studies using objective sleep assessment techniques such as polysomnography, actigraphy, or quantitative analysis of the sleep EEG are surprisingly scarce and have yielded somewhat mixed results. Much of this limited evidence suggests that hot flashes are associated with objectively identified sleep disruption in at least some women. At least some of the negative data may be due to methodological issues such as reliance upon problematic self-reports of nocturnal hot flashes and a lack of concurrent measures of hot flashes and sleep. The recent development of a reliable and non-intrusive method for objectively identifying hot flashes during the night should help address the need for substantial additional research in this area. Several areas of clinical relevance are described, including the effects of discontinuing combined hormone therapy (estrogen plus progesterone) or estrogen-only therapy, the possibility of hot flashes continuing for many years after menopause, and the link between hot flashes and depression.

  20. Note: On the generation of sub-300 keV flash-X-rays using rod-pinch diode: An experimental investigation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Satyanarayana, N.; Rajawat, R. K.; Basu, Shibaji [Facility for Electromagnetic Systems, BARCF(V), B-Block, Autonagar, Visakhapatnam 530012, Andhra Pradesh (India); Rao, A. Durga Prasad [Department of Nuclear Physics, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam 530001, Andhra Pradesh (India); Mittal, K. C. [Accelerator and Pulse Power Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, Maharashtra (India)

    2014-09-15

    Generation of flash X-rays (FXRs) at less than 500 keV is described with emphasis on experimental investigation. The pulser is a Tesla transformer-Water transmission line based pulsed power generator operating in double resonance mode to power a rod-pinch diode. The configuration of aspect ratio reported here falls much below the normally reported ratios for the rod-pinch diode operation. Experimental investigation at such low pulsed voltage has revealed “flowering” of the anode tip and “pitting” of the perspex window. A possible explanation in terms of Lorentz body force is discussed rather than the pinch mechanism generally suggested in literature. The experimental investigation for the FXR generation is corroborated by measuring the radiation dose using CaSO{sub 4} (Dy) thermo luminescent dosimeters.

  1. MR colonography with fecal tagging: comparison between 2D turbo FLASH and 3D FLASH sequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papanikolaou, Nickolas; Grammatikakis, John; Maris, Thomas; Prassopoulos, Panos; Gourtsoyiannis, Nicholas; Lauenstein, Thomas

    2003-01-01

    The objective of this study was to compare inversion recovery turbo 2D fast low-angle shot (FLASH) and 3D FLASH sequences for fecal-tagged MR colonography studies. Fifteen consecutive patients with indications for colonoscopy underwent MR colonography with fecal tagging. An inversion recovery turbo-FLASH sequence was applied and compared in terms of artifacts presence, efficiency for masking residual stool, and colonic wall conspicuity with a fat-saturated 3D FLASH sequence. Both sequences were acquired following administration of paramagnetic contrast agent. Contrast-to-noise ratio and relative contrast between colonic wall and lumen were calculated and compared for both sequences. Turbo 2D FLASH provided fewer artifacts, higher efficiency for masking the residual stool, and colonic wall conspicuity equivalent to 3D FLASH. An inversion time of 10 ms provided homogeneously low signal intensity of the colonic lumen. Contrast to noise between colonic wall and lumen was significantly higher in the 3D FLASH images, whereas differences in relative contrast were not statistically significant. An optimized inversion-recovery 2D turbo-FLASH sequence provides better fecal tagging results and should be added to the 3D FLASH sequence when designing dark-lumen MR colonography examination protocols. (orig.)

  2. Flash-Type Discrimination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koshak, William J.

    2010-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation describes the significant progress made in the flash-type discrimination algorithm development. The contents include: 1) Highlights of Progress for GLM-R3 Flash-Type discrimination Algorithm Development; 2) Maximum Group Area (MGA) Data; 3) Retrieval Errors from Simulations; and 4) Preliminary Global-scale Retrieval.

  3. The October 2014 United States Treasury bond flash crash and the contributory effect of mini flash crashes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zachary S Levine

    Full Text Available We investigate the causal uncertainty surrounding the flash crash in the U.S. Treasury bond market on October 15, 2014, and the unresolved concern that no clear link has been identified between the start of the flash crash at 9:33 and the opening of the U.S. equity market at 9:30. We consider the contributory effect of mini flash crashes in equity markets, and find that the number of equity mini flash crashes in the three-minute window between market open and the Treasury Flash Crash was 2.6 times larger than the number experienced in any other three-minute window in the prior ten weekdays. We argue that (a this statistically significant finding suggests that mini flash crashes in equity markets both predicted and contributed to the October 2014 U.S. Treasury Bond Flash Crash, and (b mini-flash crashes are important phenomena with negative externalities that deserve much greater scholarly attention.

  4. The October 2014 United States Treasury bond flash crash and the contributory effect of mini flash crashes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levine, Zachary S; Hale, Scott A; Floridi, Luciano

    2017-01-01

    We investigate the causal uncertainty surrounding the flash crash in the U.S. Treasury bond market on October 15, 2014, and the unresolved concern that no clear link has been identified between the start of the flash crash at 9:33 and the opening of the U.S. equity market at 9:30. We consider the contributory effect of mini flash crashes in equity markets, and find that the number of equity mini flash crashes in the three-minute window between market open and the Treasury Flash Crash was 2.6 times larger than the number experienced in any other three-minute window in the prior ten weekdays. We argue that (a) this statistically significant finding suggests that mini flash crashes in equity markets both predicted and contributed to the October 2014 U.S. Treasury Bond Flash Crash, and (b) mini-flash crashes are important phenomena with negative externalities that deserve much greater scholarly attention.

  5. Warm dense matter and Thomson scattering at FLASH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faeustlin, Roland Rainer

    2010-05-01

    X-ray free electron lasers are powerful tools to investigate moderately to strongly correlated solid density low temperature plasmas, named warm dense matter. These plasmas are of most interest for astrophysics and laser plasma interaction, particularly inertial confinement fusion. This work utilizes the ultrashort soft x-ray pulse duration and high brilliance of the free electron laser in Hamburg, FLASH, to generate warm dense matter and to study its ultrafast processes. The techniques applied are absorption measurement, emission spectroscopy and Thomson scattering. Radiative hydrodynamics and Thomson scattering simulations are used to investigate the impact of temperature and density gradients in the sample and to fit the experimental data. The measurements result in a comprehensive picture of soft x-ray matter interaction related to warm dense matter and yield insight into ultrafast equilibration and relaxation mechanisms, in particular impact ionization and radiative recombination. (orig.)

  6. Warm dense matter and Thomson scattering at FLASH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Faeustlin, Roland Rainer

    2010-05-15

    X-ray free electron lasers are powerful tools to investigate moderately to strongly correlated solid density low temperature plasmas, named warm dense matter. These plasmas are of most interest for astrophysics and laser plasma interaction, particularly inertial confinement fusion. This work utilizes the ultrashort soft x-ray pulse duration and high brilliance of the free electron laser in Hamburg, FLASH, to generate warm dense matter and to study its ultrafast processes. The techniques applied are absorption measurement, emission spectroscopy and Thomson scattering. Radiative hydrodynamics and Thomson scattering simulations are used to investigate the impact of temperature and density gradients in the sample and to fit the experimental data. The measurements result in a comprehensive picture of soft x-ray matter interaction related to warm dense matter and yield insight into ultrafast equilibration and relaxation mechanisms, in particular impact ionization and radiative recombination. (orig.)

  7. Flash X-ray measurements on the shock-induced dispersal of a dense particle curtain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Justin L.; Kearney, Sean P.; Beresh, Steven J.; DeMauro, Edward P.; Pruett, Brian O.

    2015-12-01

    The interaction of a Mach 1.67 shock wave with a dense particle curtain is quantified using flash radiography. These new data provide a view of particle transport inside a compressible, dense gas-solid flow of high optical opacity. The curtain, composed of 115-µm glass spheres, initially spans 87 % of the test section width and has a streamwise thickness of about 2 mm. Radiograph intensities are converted to particle volume fraction distributions using the Beer-Lambert law. The mass in the particle curtain, as determined from the X-ray data, is in reasonable agreement with that given from a simpler method using a load cell and particle imaging. Following shock impingement, the curtain propagates downstream and the peak volume fraction decreases from about 23 to about 4 % over a time of 340 µs. The propagation occurs asymmetrically, with the downstream side of the particle curtain experiencing a greater volume fraction gradient than the upstream side, attributable to the dependence of particle drag on volume fraction. Bulk particle transport is quantified from the time-dependent center of mass of the curtain. The bulk acceleration of the curtain is shown to be greater than that predicted for a single 115-µm particle in a Mach 1.67 shock-induced flow.

  8. DIRCM FLASH Flight Tests

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Molocher, Bernhard; Kaltenecker, Anton; Thum-Jaeger, Andrea; Regensburger, Martin; Formery, Martin

    2005-01-01

    .... FLASH operation is as follows: After handover following an alarm from the missile warning system FLASH enters autonomous passive tracking mode for tracking a missiles and sending a laser beam onto the missile...

  9. Flashing inception in flowing liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, O.C. Jr.

    1979-01-01

    The inception of net vaporization in flashing flows is examined. It is suggested that the flashing inception can be expressed as two additive effects. One is due to the static decompression which is a function of the spinodal limit and also of the expansion rate. The other effect which is a function of Reynolds number and flashing index, is due to the turbulent fluctuations of the flowing liquid. It is shown that by taking a three standard deviation band on the turbulent velocity fluctuations, an adequate representation of the inverse mass flux effect on flashing inception for existing data is obtained

  10. Statistical Evolution of the Lightning Flash

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zoghzoghy, F. G.; Cohen, M.; Said, R.; Inan, U. S.

    2012-12-01

    Natural lightning is one of the most fascinating and powerful electrical processes on Earth. To date, the physics behind this natural phenomenon are not fully understood, due primarily to the difficulty of obtaining measurements inside thunderstorms and to the wide range of timescales involved (from nanoseconds to seconds). Our aim is to use accurate lightning geo-location data from the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) to study statistical patterns in lightning, taking advantage of the fact that millions of lightning flashes occur around the globe every day. We present two sets of results, one involving the patterns of flashes in a storm, and a second involving the patterns of strokes in a flash. These patterns can provide a surrogate measure of the timescales and the spatial extents of the underlying physical processes. First, we study the timescales of charge buildup inside thunderstorms. We find that, following a lightning flash, the probability of another neighboring flash decreases and takes tens of seconds to recover. We find that this suppression effect is a function of flash type, stroke peak current, cloud-to-ground (CG) stroke multiplicity, and other lightning and geographical parameters. We find that the probabilities of subsequent flashes are more suppressed following oceanic lightning, or following flashes with higher peak currents and/or higher multiplicities (for CG flashes). Second, we use NLDN data to study the evolution of the strokes within a CG flash. A CG flash typically includes multiple return strokes, which can occur in the same channel or in multiple channels within a few kilometers. We cluster NLDN stroke data into flashes and produce the probability density function of subsequent strokes as a function of distance and time-delays relative to the previous stroke. Using this technique, we investigate processes which occur during the CG lightning flash with nanosecond to millisecond timescales. For instance, our results suggest

  11. Gamma-ray burst observations: the present situation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vedrenne, G.

    1984-01-01

    Recent results in gamma ray burst investigations concerning the spectral variability on a short time scale, precise locations, and the discovery of optical flashes in gamma ray burst positions on archival plates are presented. The implications of optical and X-ray observations of gamma ray burst error boxes are also discussed. 72 references

  12. Menopausal Hot Flashes and White Matter Hyperintensities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurston, Rebecca C.; Aizenstein, Howard J.; Derby, Carol A.; Sejdić, Ervin; Maki, Pauline M.

    2015-01-01

    Objective Hot flashes are the classic menopausal symptom. Emerging data links hot flashes to cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, yet how hot flashes are related to brain health is poorly understood. We examined the relationship between hot flashes - measured via physiologic monitor and self-report - and white matter hyperintensities (WMH) among midlife women. Methods Twenty midlife women ages 40-60 without clinical CVD, with their uterus and both ovaries, and not taking hormone therapy were recruited. Women underwent 24 hours of ambulatory physiologic and diary hot flash monitoring to quantify hot flashes; magnetic resonance imaging to assess WMH burden; 72 hours of actigraphy and questionnaires to quantify sleep; and a blood draw, questionnaires, and physical measures to quantify demographics and CVD risk factors. Test of a priori hypotheses regarding relations between physiologically-monitored and self-reported wake and sleep hot flashes and WMH were conducted in linear regression models. Results More physiologically-monitored hot flashes during sleep were associated with greater WMH, controlling for age, race, and body mass index [beta(standard error)=.0002 (.0001), p=.03]. Findings persisted controlling for sleep characteristics and additional CVD risk factors. No relations were observed for self-reported hot flashes. Conclusions More physiologically-monitored hot flashes during sleep were associated with greater WMH burden among midlife women free of clinical CVD. Results suggest that relations between hot flashes and CVD risk observed in the periphery may extend to the brain. Future work should consider the unique role of sleep hot flashes in brain health. PMID:26057822

  13. Foundation Flash CS4 for Designers

    CERN Document Server

    Green, Tom

    2008-01-01

    In this book, you'll learn:* How to create effective animations using the new Motion Editor and animation tools * How to use the new 3D features to animate objects in 3D space * Best-practice tips and techniques from some of the top Flash practitioners on the planet * How to create captioned video and full-screen video, and deploy HD video using Flash * Techniques for using the Flash UI components as well as XML documents to create stunning,interactive presentations If you're a Flash designer looking for a solid overview of Flash CS4, this book is for you. Through the use of solid and practica

  14. Lightning channels emerging from the top of thunderstorm clouds

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Velde, Oscar; Montanyà, Joan; Soula, Serge; Pineda, Nicolau

    2013-04-01

    In recent years, research of transient luminous events is shifting from the rather common elves and sprites high above thunderclouds to the much less frequently observed phenomena issued by the storm cloud itself: gigantic jets (GJ) connecting to the ionosphere, and high-energy terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) recorded at spacecraft. These phenomena both are observed more often at tropical latitudes, and a link may or may not exist between the two. It is likely that both share the requirement of high-altitude leaders of negative polarity, which in the case of a GJ escapes from the cloud top and transforms into a long streamer discharge. While this should be easier at lower air densities (higher altitude), previous studies showed that GJs need not be produced by storms with the highest tops. TGFs have still unclear origins, but may be related to production in negative leaders or other regions with strong vertically directed electric fields by runaway electron mechnisms. In December 2009, a gigantic jet was observed in the Mediterranean Sea region. During the same night, a nearby storm produced repeatedly multiple leaders piercing through the cloud top, without any sign of streamers reaching higher altitudes (unlike jets or starters). Similar observations of upward cloud-to-air lightning have been obtained recently by low-light cameras over storms near the Catalonian coast in different seasons. The production conditions are currently being investigated, with a focus on optically determined altitudes of lightning and evolution of storm tops (and their temperature level). The initial impression is that cloud flashes escape into the air above during stages when the growing convective cloud top is very close to the main charge production region. Upward cloud-to-air lightning has also been mapped by the Ebro Lightning Mapping Array, exhibiting inverse bolt-from-the blue characteristics, and as a by-product of a bolt-from-the-blue lightning strike to ground, recorded

  15. AGILE DATA CENTER AT ASDC AND AGILE HIGHLIGHTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlotta Pittori

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available We present an overview of the main AGILE Data Center activities and the AGILE scientific highlights during the first 5 years of operations. AGILE is an ASI space mission in joint collaboration with INAF, INFN and CIFS, dedicated to the observation of the gamma-ray Universe. The AGILE satellite was launched on April 23rd, 2007, and is devoted to gamma-ray astrophysics in the 30MeV ÷ 50 GeV energy range, with simultaneous X-ray imaging capability in the 18 ÷ 60 keV band. Despite the small size and budget, AGILE has produced several important scientific results, including the unexpected discovery of strong and rapid gamma-ray flares from the Crab Nebula over daily timescales. This discovery won AGILE PI and the AGILE Team the prestigious Bruno Rossi Prize for 2012, an international award in the field of high energy astrophysics. Thanks to its sky monitoring capability and fast ground segment alert system, AGILE is substantially improving our knowledge of the gamma-ray sky, also making a crucial contribution to the study of the terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs detected in the Earth atmosphere. The AGILE Data Center, part of the ASI Science Data Center (ASDC located in Frascati, Italy, is in charge of all the science oriented activities related to the analysis, archiving and distribution of AGILE data.

  16. Detection of Malicious Flash Banner Advertisements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirill Alekseevich Samosadnyy

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper addresses the problem of detecting malicious flash advertisements. As a result, detection method based on dynamic analysis that modify flash application and execute it in Adobe Flash player is proposed and evaluated on synthetic and real world examples.

  17. Multiflash X ray with Image Detanglement for Single Image Isolation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-31

    known and separated into individual images. A proof-of- principle study was performed using 4 X-ray flashes and copper masks with sub-millimeter holes...Popular Science article.2 For decades, that basic concept dominated the color television market . Those were the days when a large color television...proof-of- principle study was performed using 4 X-ray flashes and copper masks with sub-millimeter holes that allowed development of the required image

  18. On multiphase negative flash for ideal solutions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yan, Wei; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

    2012-01-01

    simpler than the corresponding normal flash algorithm. Unlike normal flash, multiphase negative flash for ideal solutions can diverge if the feasible domain for phase amounts is not closed. This can be judged readily during the iteration process. The algorithm can also be extended to the partial negative......There is a recent interest to solve multiphase negative flash problems where the phase amounts can be negative for normal positive feed composition. Solving such a negative flash problem using successive substitution needs an inner loop for phase distribution calculation at constant fugacity...... coefficients. It is shown that this inner loop, named here as multiphase negative flash for ideal solutions, can be solved either by Michelsen's algorithm for multiphase normal flash, or by its variation which uses F−1 phase amounts as independent variables. In either case, the resulting algorithm is actually...

  19. Measuring hot flash phenomenonology using ambulatory prospective digital diaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, William I.; Thurston, Rebecca C.

    2016-01-01

    Objective This study provides the description, protocol, and results from a novel prospective ambulatory digital hot flash phenomenon diary. Methods This study included 152 midlife women with daily hot flashes who completed an ambulatory electronic hot flash diary continuously for the waking hours of 3 consecutive days. In this diary, women recorded their hot flashes and accompanying characteristics and associations as the hot flashes occurred. Results Self-reported hot flash severity on the digital diaries indicated that the majority of hot flashes were rated as mild (41.3%) or moderate (43.7%). Severe (13.1%) and very severe (1.8%) hot flashes were less common. Hot flash bother ratings were rated as mild (43%), or moderate (33.5%), with fewer hot flashes reported bothersome (17.5%) or very bothersome (6%). The majority of hot flashes were reported as occurring on the on the face (78.9%), neck (74.7%), and chest (61.3%). Prickly skin was reported concurrently with 32% of hot flashes, 7% with anxiety and 5% with nausea. A novel finding, 38% of hot flashes were accompanied by a premonitory aura. Conclusion A prospective electronic digital hot flash diary allows for a more precise quantitation of hot flashes while overcoming many of the limitations of commonly employed retrospective questionnaires and paper diaries. Unique insights into the phenomenology, loci and associated characteristics of hot flashes were obtained using this device. The digital hot flash phenomenology diary is recommended for future ambulatory studies of hot flashes as a prospective measure of the hot flash experience. PMID:27404030

  20. Two-step flash light sintering of copper nanoparticle ink to remove substrate warping

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ryu, Chung-Hyeon; Joo, Sung-Jun [Department of Mechanical Convergence Engineering, Hanyang University, Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hak-Sung, E-mail: kima@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Mechanical Convergence Engineering, Hanyang University, Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Seoul, 133-791 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-30

    Highlights: • We performed the two-step flash light sintering for copper nanoparticle ink to remove substrate warping. • 12 J/cm{sup 2} of preheating and 7 J/cm{sup 2} of main sintering energies were determined as optimum conditions to sinter the copper nanoparticle ink. • The resistivity of two-step sintered copper nanoparticle ink was 3.81 μΩ cm with 5B adhesion level, 2.3 times greater than that of bulk copper. • The two-step sintered case showed a high conductivity without any substrate warping. - Abstract: A two-step flash light sintering process was devised to reduce the warping of polymer substrates during the sintering of copper nanoparticle ink. To determine the optimum sintering conditions of the copper nanoparticle ink, the flash light irradiation conditions (pulse power, pulse number, on-time, and off-time) were varied and optimized. In order to monitor the flash light sintering process, in situ resistance and temperature monitoring of copper nanoink were conducted during the flash light sintering process. Also, a transient heat transfer analysis was performed by using the finite-element program ABAQUS to predict the temperature changes of copper nanoink and polymer substrate. The microstructures of the sintered copper nanoink films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, an X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the crystal phase change of the sintered copper nanoparticles. The resulting two-step flash light sintered copper nanoink films exhibited a low resistivity (3.81 μΩ cm, 2.3 times of that of bulk copper) and 5B level of adhesion strength without warping of the polymer substrate.

  1. Cuinse2 Thin Film For Solar Cell By Flash Evaporation

    OpenAIRE

    A.H. Soepardjo

    2009-01-01

    Deposition of thin films for material solar cell CuInSe2 are relatively simple. In this research mainly focused on the use of flash evaporation method, and the material created can then be characterized by optical and electrical properties. The optical characterization is done by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), and transmission and reflection by UV-VIS spectrophotometry. Electrical characterization is done by utilizing the Hall effect equipment. From these chara...

  2. Optical observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hjorth, J.; Pian, E.; Fynbo, J.P.U.

    2004-01-01

    We briefly review the status and recent progress in the field of optical observations of gamma-ray burst afterglows. We will focus on the fundamental observational evidence for the relationship between gamma-ray bursts and the final evolutionary phases of massive stars. In particular, we will address (i) gamma-ray burst host galaxies, (ii) optically dark gamma-ray burst afterglows, (iii) the gamma-ray burst-supernova connection, and (iv) the relation between X-ray flashes, gamma-ray bursts, and supernovae

  3. Flashing inception in flowing liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, O.C. Jr.

    1980-01-01

    The inception of net vaporization in flashing flows is examined. It is suggested that the flashing inception can be expressed as two additive effects. One is due to the static decompression which is a function of the initial temperature and also the expansion rate. The other effect which is a function of Reynolds number and flashing index, is due to the turbulent fluctuations of the flowing liquid. It is shown that by taking a three standard deviation band on the turbulent velocity fluctuations, an adequate representation of the inverse mass flux effect on flashing inception for existing data is obtained. The turbulence effects are combined with the correlation of Alamgir and Lienhard to provide predictive methods recommended for the case where both static and convective decompression effects exist

  4. Comparative Study of Furnace and Flash Lamp Annealed Silicon Thin Films Grown by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maheshwar Shrestha

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Low-temperature growth of microcrystalline silicon (mc-Si is attractive for many optoelectronic device applications. This paper reports a detailed comparison of optical properties, microstructure, and morphology of amorphous silicon (a-Si thin films crystallized by furnace annealing and flash lamp annealing (FLA at temperatures below the softening point of glass substrate. The initial a-Si films were grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD. Reflectance measurement indicated characteristic peak in the UV region ~280 nm for the furnace annealed (>550 °C and flash lamp annealed films, which provided evidence of crystallization. The film surface roughness increased with increasing the annealing temperature as well as after the flash lamp annealing. X-ray diffraction (XRD measurement indicated that the as-deposited samples were purely amorphous and after furnace crystallization, the crystallites tended to align in one single direction (202 with uniform size that increased with the annealing temperature. On the other hand, the flash lamp crystalized films had randomly oriented crystallites with different sizes. Raman spectroscopy showed the crystalline volume fraction of 23.5%, 47.3%, and 61.3% for the samples annealed at 550 °C, 650 °C, and with flash lamp, respectively. The flash lamp annealed film was better crystallized with rougher surface compared to furnace annealed ones.

  5. GeckoFTL: Scalable Flash Translation Techniques For Very Large Flash Devices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dayan, Niv; Bonnet, Philippe; Idreos, Stratos

    2016-01-01

    The volume of metadata needed by a flash translation layer (FTL) is proportional to the storage capacity of a flash device. Ideally, this metadata should reside in the device's integrated RAM to enable fast access. However, as flash devices scale to terabytes, the necessary volume of metadata...... thereby harming performance and device lifetime. In this paper, we identify a key component of the metadata called the Page Validity Bitmap (PVB) as the bottleneck. PVB is used by the garbage-collectors of state-of-the-art FTLs to keep track of which physical pages in the device are invalid. PVB...... constitutes 95% of the FTL's RAM-resident metadata, and recovering PVB after power fails takes a significant proportion of the overall recovery time. To solve this problem, we propose a page-associative FTL called GeckoFTL, whose central innovation is replacing PVB with a new data structure called Logarithmic...

  6. [Nikola Tesla: flashes of inspiration].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villarejo-Galende, Albero; Herrero-San Martín, Alejandro

    2013-01-16

    Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was one of the greatest inventors in history and a key player in the revolution that led to the large-scale use of electricity. He also made important contributions to such diverse fields as x-rays, remote control, radio, the theory of consciousness or electromagnetism. In his honour, the international unit of magnetic induction was named after him. Yet, his fame is scarce in comparison with that of other inventors of the time, such as Edison, with whom he had several heated arguments. He was a rather odd, reserved person who lived for his inventions, the ideas for which came to him in moments of inspiration. In his autobiography he relates these flashes with a number of neuropsychiatric manifestations, which can be seen to include migraine auras, synaesthesiae, obsessions and compulsions.

  7. An Analysis of Total Lightning Flash Rates Over Florida

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzetti, Thomas O.; Fuelberg, Henry E.

    2017-12-01

    Although Florida is known as the "Sunshine State", it also contains the greatest lightning flash densities in the United States. Flash density has received considerable attention in the literature, but lightning flash rate has received much less attention. We use data from the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network (ENTLN) to produce a 5 year (2010-2014) set of statistics regarding total flash rates over Florida and adjacent regions. Instead of tracking individual storms, we superimpose a 0.2° × 0.2° grid over the study region and count both cloud-to-ground (CG) and in-cloud (IC) flashes over 5 min intervals. Results show that the distribution of total flash rates is highly skewed toward small values, whereas the greatest rate is 185 flashes min-1. Greatest average annual flash rates ( 3 flashes min-1) are located near Orlando. The southernmost peninsula, North Florida, and the Florida Panhandle exhibit smaller average annual flash rates ( 1.5 flashes min-1). Large flash rates > 100 flashes min-1 can occur during any season, at any time during the 24 h period, and at any location within the domain. However, they are most likely during the afternoon and early evening in East Central Florida during the spring and summer months.

  8. Bunch arrival time monitors; Concepts towards improving the sensitivity for low charge operation for FLASH II and XFEL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Penirschke, Andreas; Angelovski, Aleksandar; Jakoby, Rolf [TU Darmstadt, Institut fuer Mikrowellentechnik und Photonik, Merckstr. 25, 64283 Darmstadt (Germany); Sydlo, Cezary; Bousonville, Michael; Czwalinna, Marie Kristin; Schlarb, Holger [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Kuhl, Alexander [University of Hamburg, Physics Department, Accelerator Physics Group (Germany); Weiland, Thomas [Technische Univ. Darmstadt (Germany). Inst. fuer Theorie Elektromagnetischer Felder

    2013-07-01

    High gain Free-Electron Lasers can generate ultra short X-ray pulses in the femtosecond range. For a stable operation of the FEL, the precise knowledge of the bunch arrival time is crucial. A novel high bandwidth Bunch Arrival time Monitor was recently installed at FLASH to allow a low charge operation mode with a sub-10 fs resolution for bunch charges of 20 pC or more. The BAM is equipped with cone shaped pickups for the precise measurement of both, the high and low bunch charge operation mode. For the extension of FLASH facility to FLASH II new pickups for the high bandwidth BAMs need to be developed. The new BAM needs to maximize the voltage level of the beam induced signal for low charge operation mode in order to provide sufficient signal strength for the subsequent electronics. In this talk, we present concepts to improve the signal strength at the electro-optic modulators for low charge operation at FLASH II and XFEL.

  9. A global flash flood forecasting system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baugh, Calum; Pappenberger, Florian; Wetterhall, Fredrik; Hewson, Tim; Zsoter, Ervin

    2016-04-01

    The sudden and devastating nature of flash flood events means it is imperative to provide early warnings such as those derived from Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) forecasts. Currently such systems exist on basin, national and continental scales in Europe, North America and Australia but rely on high resolution NWP forecasts or rainfall-radar nowcasting, neither of which have global coverage. To produce global flash flood forecasts this work investigates the possibility of using forecasts from a global NWP system. In particular we: (i) discuss how global NWP can be used for flash flood forecasting and discuss strengths and weaknesses; (ii) demonstrate how a robust evaluation can be performed given the rarity of the event; (iii) highlight the challenges and opportunities in communicating flash flood uncertainty to decision makers; and (iv) explore future developments which would significantly improve global flash flood forecasting. The proposed forecast system uses ensemble surface runoff forecasts from the ECMWF H-TESSEL land surface scheme. A flash flood index is generated using the ERIC (Enhanced Runoff Index based on Climatology) methodology [Raynaud et al., 2014]. This global methodology is applied to a series of flash floods across southern Europe. Results from the system are compared against warnings produced using the higher resolution COSMO-LEPS limited area model. The global system is evaluated by comparing forecasted warning locations against a flash flood database of media reports created in partnership with floodlist.com. To deal with the lack of objectivity in media reports we carefully assess the suitability of different skill scores and apply spatial uncertainty thresholds to the observations. To communicate the uncertainties of the flash flood system output we experiment with a dynamic region-growing algorithm. This automatically clusters regions of similar return period exceedence probabilities, thus presenting the at-risk areas at a spatial

  10. Flash CS4: The Missing Manual

    CERN Document Server

    Grover, Chris

    2008-01-01

    Unlock the power of Flash and bring gorgeous animations to life onscreen. Flash CS4: The Missing Manual includes a complete primer on animation, a guided tour of the program's tools and capabilities, lots of new illustrations, and more details on working with video. Beginners will learn to use the software in no time, and experienced Flash designers will improve their skills.

  11. Flash light sintered copper precursor/nanoparticle pattern with high electrical conductivity and low porosity for printed electronics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, Wan-Ho; Hwang, Hyun-Jun; Kim, Hak-Sung

    2015-01-01

    In this work, the hybrid copper inks with precursor and nanoparticles were fabricated and sintered via flash light irradiation to achieve highly conductive electrode pattern with low porosity. The hybrid copper ink was made of copper nanoparticles and various copper precursors (e.g., copper(II) chloride, copper(II) nitrate trihydrate, copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate and copper(II) trifluoroacetylacetonate). The printed hybrid copper inks were sintered at room temperature and under ambient conditions using an in-house flash light sintering system. The effects of copper precursor weight fraction and the flash light irradiation conditions (light energy and pulse duration) were investigated. Surfaces of the sintered hybrid copper patterns were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. Also, spectroscopic characterization techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the crystal phases of the flash light sintered copper precursors. High conductivity hybrid copper patterns (27.3 μΩ cm), which is comparable to the resistivity of bulk copper (1.68 μΩ cm) were obtained through flash light sintering at room temperature and under ambient conditions. - Highlights: • The hybrid copper inks with precursor and nanoparticles were fabricated. • The hybrid copper ink was sintered via flash light irradiation. • The resistivity of sintered hybrid copper ink was 27.3 μΩ cm. • Highly conductive copper film with low porosity could be achieved

  12. Flash light sintered copper precursor/nanoparticle pattern with high electrical conductivity and low porosity for printed electronics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chung, Wan-Ho; Hwang, Hyun-Jun [Department of Mechanical Convergence Engineering, Hanyang University, 17 Haendang-Dong, Seongdong-Gu, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hak-Sung, E-mail: kima@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Mechanical Convergence Engineering, Hanyang University, 17 Haendang-Dong, Seongdong-Gu, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-04-01

    In this work, the hybrid copper inks with precursor and nanoparticles were fabricated and sintered via flash light irradiation to achieve highly conductive electrode pattern with low porosity. The hybrid copper ink was made of copper nanoparticles and various copper precursors (e.g., copper(II) chloride, copper(II) nitrate trihydrate, copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate and copper(II) trifluoroacetylacetonate). The printed hybrid copper inks were sintered at room temperature and under ambient conditions using an in-house flash light sintering system. The effects of copper precursor weight fraction and the flash light irradiation conditions (light energy and pulse duration) were investigated. Surfaces of the sintered hybrid copper patterns were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. Also, spectroscopic characterization techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the crystal phases of the flash light sintered copper precursors. High conductivity hybrid copper patterns (27.3 μΩ cm), which is comparable to the resistivity of bulk copper (1.68 μΩ cm) were obtained through flash light sintering at room temperature and under ambient conditions. - Highlights: • The hybrid copper inks with precursor and nanoparticles were fabricated. • The hybrid copper ink was sintered via flash light irradiation. • The resistivity of sintered hybrid copper ink was 27.3 μΩ cm. • Highly conductive copper film with low porosity could be achieved.

  13. Flashing coupled density wave oscillation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Shengyao; Wu Xinxin; Zhang Youjie

    1997-07-01

    The experiment was performed on the test loop (HRTL-5), which simulates the geometry and system design of the 5 MW reactor. The phenomenon and mechanism of different kinds of two-phase flow instabilities, namely geyser instability, flashing instability and flashing coupled density wave instability are described. The especially interpreted flashing coupled density wave instability has never been studied well, it is analyzed by using a one-dimensional non-thermo equilibrium two-phase flow drift model computer code. Calculations are in good agreement with the experiment results. (5 refs.,5 figs., 1 tab.)

  14. Flash CS5 The Missing Manual

    CERN Document Server

    Grover, Chris

    2010-01-01

    Once you know how to use Flash, you can create everything from simple animations to high-end desktop applications, but it's a complex tool that can be difficult to master on your own-unless you have this Missing Manual. This book will help you learn all you need to know about Flash CS5 to create animations that bring your ideas to life. Learn animation basics. Find everything you need to know to get started with FlashMaster the Flash tools. Learn the animation and effects toolset, with clear explanations and hands-on examplesUse 3D effects. Rotate and put objects in motion in three dimensions

  15. A Durable Flash Memory Search Tree

    OpenAIRE

    Clay III, James; Wortman, Kevin

    2012-01-01

    We consider the task of optimizing the B-tree data structure, used extensively in operating systems and databases, for sustainable usage on multi-level flash memory. Empirical evidence shows that this new flash memory tree, or FM Tree, extends the operational lifespan of each block of flash memory by a factor of roughly 27 to 70 times, while still supporting logarithmic-time search tree operations.

  16. Bipolar cloud-to-ground lightning flash observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saba, Marcelo M. F.; Schumann, Carina; Warner, Tom A.; Helsdon, John H.; Schulz, Wolfgang; Orville, Richard E.

    2013-10-01

    lightning is usually defined as a lightning flash where the current waveform exhibits a polarity reversal. There are very few reported cases of cloud-to-ground (CG) bipolar flashes using only one channel in the literature. Reports on this type of bipolar flashes are not common due to the fact that in order to confirm that currents of both polarities follow the same channel to the ground, one necessarily needs video records. This study presents five clear observations of single-channel bipolar CG flashes. High-speed video and electric field measurement observations are used and analyzed. Based on the video images obtained and based on previous observations of positive CG flashes with high-speed cameras, we suggest that positive leader branches which do not participate in the initial return stroke of a positive cloud-to-ground flash later generate recoil leaders whose negative ends, upon reaching the branch point, traverse the return stroke channel path to the ground resulting in a subsequent return stroke of opposite polarity.

  17. Modelling and mitigation of Flash Crashes

    OpenAIRE

    Fry, John; Serbera, Jean-Philippe

    2017-01-01

    The algorithmic trading revolution has had a dramatic effect upon markets. Trading has become faster, and in some ways more efficient, though potentially at the cost higher volatility and increased uncertainty. Stories of predatory trading and flash crashes constitute a new financial reality. Worryingly, highly capitalised stocks may be particularly vulnerable to flash crashes. Amid fears of high-risk technology failures in the global financial system we develop a model for flash crashes....

  18. Electro-optical muzzle flash detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krieg, Jürgen; Eisele, Christian; Seiffer, Dirk

    2016-10-01

    Localizing a shooter in a complex scenario is a difficult task. Acoustic sensors can be used to detect blast waves. Radar technology permits detection of the projectile. A third method is to detect the muzzle flash using electro-optical devices. Detection of muzzle flash events is possible with focal plane arrays, line and single element detectors. In this paper, we will show that the detection of a muzzle flash works well in the shortwave infrared spectral range. Important for the acceptance of an operational warning system in daily use is a very low false alarm rate. Using data from a detector with a high sampling rate the temporal signature of a potential muzzle flash event can be analyzed and the false alarm rate can be reduced. Another important issue is the realization of an omnidirectional view required on an operational level. It will be shown that a combination of single element detectors and simple optics in an appropriate configuration is a capable solution.

  19. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FLASH POINTS OF SOME BINARY ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    B. S. Chandravanshi

    Miscellaneous binary blends containing solvent neutral-150 (SN-150), ... viscosity, the flash point test has always been a standard part of a lubricant's specification. ... between structure and flash points of organic compounds [5-12] and fuels [13, 14]. ... in binary mixtures, the gaps between flash points would be high enough.

  20. Novel X-ray telescopes for wide-field X-ray monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudec, R.; Inneman, A.; Pina, L.; Sveda, L.

    2005-01-01

    We report on fully innovative very wide-field of view X-ray telescopes with high sensitivity as well as large field of view. The prototypes are very promising, allowing the proposals for space projects with very wide-field Lobster-eye X-ray optics to be considered. The novel telescopes will monitor the sky with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution of order of 1 arcmin. They are expected to contribute essentially to study and to understand various astrophysical objects such as AGN, SNe, Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), X-ray flashes (XRFs), galactic binary sources, stars, CVs, X-ray novae, various transient sources, etc. The Lobster optics based X-ray All Sky Monitor is capable to detect around 20 GRBs and 8 XRFs yearly and this will surely significantly contribute to the related science

  1. Flash CS5.5 The Missing Manual

    CERN Document Server

    Grover, Chris

    2011-01-01

    You can build everything from simple animations to full-fledged iOS and Android apps with Flash CS5.5, but learning this complex program can be difficult-unless you have this fully updated, bestselling guide. Learn how to create gorgeous Flash effects even if you have no programming experience. With Flash CS5.5: The Missing Manual, you'll move from the basics to power-user tools with ease. Learn animation basics. Discover how to turn simple ideas into stunning animations.Master Flash's tools. Learn the animation and effects tools with clear explanations and hands-on examples.Use 3D effects. R

  2. Single-particle coherent diffractive imaging with a soft x-ray free electron laser: towards soot aerosol morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bogan, Michael J.; Starodub, Dmitri; Hampton, Christina Y.; Sierra, Raymond G.

    2010-10-01

    The first of its kind, the Free electron LASer facility in Hamburg, FLASH, produces soft x-ray pulses with unprecedented properties (10 fs, 6.8-47 nm, 1012 photons per pulse, 20 µm diameter). One of the seminal FLASH experiments is single-pulse coherent x-ray diffractive imaging (CXDI). CXDI utilizes the ultrafast and ultrabright pulses to overcome resolution limitations in x-ray microscopy imposed by x-ray-induced damage to the sample by 'diffracting before destroying' the sample on sub-picosecond timescales. For many lensless imaging algorithms used for CXDI it is convenient when the data satisfy an oversampling constraint that requires the sample to be an isolated object, i.e. an individual 'free-standing' portion of disordered matter delivered to the centre of the x-ray focus. By definition, this type of matter is an aerosol. This paper will describe the role of aerosol science methodologies used for the validation of the 'diffract before destroy' hypothesis and the execution of the first single-particle CXDI experiments being developed for biological imaging. FLASH CXDI now enables the highest resolution imaging of single micron-sized or smaller airborne particulate matter to date while preserving the native substrate-free state of the aerosol. Electron microscopy offers higher resolution for single-particle analysis but the aerosol must be captured on a substrate, potentially modifying the particle morphology. Thus, FLASH is poised to contribute significant advancements in our knowledge of aerosol morphology and dynamics. As an example, we simulate CXDI of combustion particle (soot) morphology and introduce the concept of extracting radius of gyration of fractal aggregates from single-pulse x-ray diffraction data. Future upgrades to FLASH will enable higher spatially and temporally resolved single-particle aerosol dynamics studies, filling a critical technological need in aerosol science and nanotechnology. Many of the methodologies described for FLASH will

  3. Single-particle coherent diffractive imaging with a soft x-ray free electron laser: towards soot aerosol morphology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogan, Michael J; Starodub, Dmitri; Hampton, Christina Y; Sierra, Raymond G

    2010-01-01

    The first of its kind, the Free electron LASer facility in Hamburg, FLASH, produces soft x-ray pulses with unprecedented properties (10 fs, 6.8-47 nm, 10 12 photons per pulse, 20 μm diameter). One of the seminal FLASH experiments is single-pulse coherent x-ray diffractive imaging (CXDI). CXDI utilizes the ultrafast and ultrabright pulses to overcome resolution limitations in x-ray microscopy imposed by x-ray-induced damage to the sample by 'diffracting before destroying' the sample on sub-picosecond timescales. For many lensless imaging algorithms used for CXDI it is convenient when the data satisfy an oversampling constraint that requires the sample to be an isolated object, i.e. an individual 'free-standing' portion of disordered matter delivered to the centre of the x-ray focus. By definition, this type of matter is an aerosol. This paper will describe the role of aerosol science methodologies used for the validation of the 'diffract before destroy' hypothesis and the execution of the first single-particle CXDI experiments being developed for biological imaging. FLASH CXDI now enables the highest resolution imaging of single micron-sized or smaller airborne particulate matter to date while preserving the native substrate-free state of the aerosol. Electron microscopy offers higher resolution for single-particle analysis but the aerosol must be captured on a substrate, potentially modifying the particle morphology. Thus, FLASH is poised to contribute significant advancements in our knowledge of aerosol morphology and dynamics. As an example, we simulate CXDI of combustion particle (soot) morphology and introduce the concept of extracting radius of gyration of fractal aggregates from single-pulse x-ray diffraction data. Future upgrades to FLASH will enable higher spatially and temporally resolved single-particle aerosol dynamics studies, filling a critical technological need in aerosol science and nanotechnology. Many of the methodologies described for FLASH will

  4. Hot Flashes amd Night Sweats (PDQ)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Professionals Questions to Ask about Your Treatment Research Hot Flashes and Night Sweats (PDQ®)–Patient Version Overview ... quality of life in many patients with cancer. Hot flashes and night sweats may be side effects ...

  5. "Know What to Do If You Encounter a Flash Flood": Mental Models Analysis for Improving Flash Flood Risk Communication and Public Decision Making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazrus, Heather; Morss, Rebecca E; Demuth, Julie L; Lazo, Jeffrey K; Bostrom, Ann

    2016-02-01

    Understanding how people view flash flood risks can help improve risk communication, ultimately improving outcomes. This article analyzes data from 26 mental models interviews about flash floods with members of the public in Boulder, Colorado, to understand their perspectives on flash flood risks and mitigation. The analysis includes a comparison between public and professional perspectives by referencing a companion mental models study of Boulder-area professionals. A mental models approach can help to diagnose what people already know about flash flood risks and responses, as well as any critical gaps in their knowledge that might be addressed through improved risk communication. A few public interviewees mentioned most of the key concepts discussed by professionals as important for flash flood warning decision making. However, most interviewees exhibited some incomplete understandings and misconceptions about aspects of flash flood development and exposure, effects, or mitigation that may lead to ineffective warning decisions when a flash flood threatens. These include important misunderstandings about the rapid evolution of flash floods, the speed of water in flash floods, the locations and times that pose the greatest flash flood risk in Boulder, the value of situational awareness and environmental cues, and the most appropriate responses when a flash flood threatens. The findings point to recommendations for ways to improve risk communication, over the long term and when an event threatens, to help people quickly recognize and understand threats, obtain needed information, and make informed decisions in complex, rapidly evolving extreme weather events such as flash floods. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

  6. Flash sintering of ceramic materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dancer, C. E. J.

    2016-10-01

    During flash sintering, ceramic materials can sinter to high density in a matter of seconds while subjected to electric field and elevated temperature. This process, which occurs at lower furnace temperatures and in shorter times than both conventional ceramic sintering and field-assisted methods such as spark plasma sintering, has the potential to radically reduce the power consumption required for the densification of ceramic materials. This paper reviews the experimental work on flash sintering methods carried out to date, and compares the properties of the materials obtained to those produced by conventional sintering. The flash sintering process is described for oxides of zirconium, yttrium, aluminium, tin, zinc, and titanium; silicon and boron carbide, zirconium diboride, materials for solid oxide fuel applications, ferroelectric materials, and composite materials. While experimental observations have been made on a wide range of materials, understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the onset and latter stages of flash sintering is still elusive. Elements of the proposed theories to explain the observed behaviour include extensive Joule heating throughout the material causing thermal runaway, arrested by the current limitation in the power supply, and the formation of defect avalanches which rapidly and dramatically increase the sample conductivity. Undoubtedly, the flash sintering process is affected by the electric field strength, furnace temperature and current density limit, but also by microstructural features such as the presence of second phase particles or dopants and the particle size in the starting material. While further experimental work and modelling is still required to attain a full understanding capable of predicting the success of the flash sintering process in different materials, the technique non-etheless holds great potential for exceptional control of the ceramic sintering process.

  7. Evaluation of Flash Bainite in 4130 Steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-01

    Technical Report ARWSB-TR-11011 Evaluation of Flash Bainite in 4130 Steel G. Vigilante M. Hespos S. Bartolucci...4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Evaluation of Flash Bainite in 4130 Steel 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT...need to be addressed, the Flash Bainite processing of 4130 steel demonstrates promise for applications needing a combination of high strength with

  8. Flash-Aware Page Replacement Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guangxia Xu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the limited main memory resource of consumer electronics equipped with NAND flash memory as storage device, an efficient page replacement algorithm called FAPRA is proposed for NAND flash memory in the light of its inherent characteristics. FAPRA introduces an efficient victim page selection scheme taking into account the benefit-to-cost ratio for evicting each victim page candidate and the combined recency and frequency value, as well as the erase count of the block to which each page belongs. Since the dirty victim page often contains clean data that exist in both the main memory and the NAND flash memory based storage device, FAPRA only writes the dirty data within the victim page back to the NAND flash memory based storage device in order to reduce the redundant write operations. We conduct a series of trace-driven simulations and experimental results show that our proposed FAPRA algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of page hit ratio, the number of write operations, runtime, and the degree of wear leveling.

  9. Physiologically assessed hot flashes and endothelial function among midlife women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurston, Rebecca C; Chang, Yuefang; Barinas-Mitchell, Emma; Jennings, J Richard; von Känel, Roland; Landsittel, Doug P; Matthews, Karen A

    2017-08-01

    Hot flashes are experienced by most midlife women. Emerging data indicate that they may be associated with endothelial dysfunction. No studies have tested whether hot flashes are associated with endothelial function using physiologic measures of hot flashes. We tested whether physiologically assessed hot flashes were associated with poorer endothelial function. We also considered whether age modified associations. Two hundred seventy-two nonsmoking women reporting either daily hot flashes or no hot flashes, aged 40 to 60 years, and free of clinical cardiovascular disease, underwent ambulatory physiologic hot flash and diary hot flash monitoring; a blood draw; and ultrasound measurement of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation to assess endothelial function. Associations between hot flashes and flow-mediated dilation were tested in linear regression models controlling for lumen diameter, demographics, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and estradiol. In multivariable models incorporating cardiovascular disease risk factors, significant interactions by age (P hot flashes (beta [standard error] = -2.07 [0.79], P = 0.01), and more frequent physiologic hot flashes (for each hot flash: beta [standard error] = -0.10 [0.05], P = 0.03, multivariable) were associated with lower flow-mediated dilation. Associations were not accounted for by estradiol. Associations were not observed among the older women (age 54-60 years) or for self-reported hot flash frequency, severity, or bother. Among the younger women, hot flashes explained more variance in flow-mediated dilation than standard cardiovascular disease risk factors or estradiol. Among younger midlife women, frequent hot flashes were associated with poorer endothelial function and may provide information about women's vascular status beyond cardiovascular disease risk factors and estradiol.

  10. Principles of arc flash protection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hirschmann, R. B.

    2003-04-01

    Recent developments in NFPA 70E, the electrical safety standards in the United States and Canada, designed to provide for a safe industrial work environment, are discussed. The emphasis in this instance is on arc explosions. Development of an arc flash protective program is discussed under various major components of an electrical safety program. These are: appropriate qualifications and training for workers, safe work practices, appropriate hazard assessment practices for any task exceeding 50V where there is the potential of an arc flash accident, flash protection equipment commensurate with the hazard associated with the task to be performed, layering in protective clothing over all body surfaces, and strict adherence to rules regarding use of safety garments and equipment.

  11. Flash flood forecasting, warning and risk management: the HYDRATE project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borga, M.; Anagnostou, E.N.; Bloeschl, G.; Creutin, J.-D.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → We characterize flash flood events in various regions of Europe. → We provide guidance to improve observations and monitoring of flash floods. → Flash floods are associated to orography and are influenced by initial soil moisture conditions. → Models for flash flood forecasting and flash flood hazard assessment are illustrated and discussed. → We examine implications for flood risk policy and discuss recommendations received from end users. - Abstract: The management of flash flood hazards and risks is a critical component of public safety and quality of life. Flash-floods develop at space and time scales that conventional observation systems are not able to monitor for rainfall and river discharge. Consequently, the atmospheric and hydrological generating mechanisms of flash-floods are poorly understood, leading to highly uncertain forecasts of these events. The objective of the HYDRATE project has been to improve the scientific basis of flash flood forecasting by advancing and harmonising a European-wide innovative flash flood observation strategy and developing a coherent set of technologies and tools for effective early warning systems. To this end, the project included actions on the organization of the existing flash flood data patrimony across Europe. The final aim of HYDRATE was to enhance the capability of flash flood forecasting in ungauged basins by exploiting the extended availability of flash flood data and the improved process understanding. This paper provides a review of the work conducted in HYDRATE with a special emphasis on how this body of research can contribute to guide the policy-life cycle concerning flash flood risk management.

  12. TU-H-CAMPUS-TeP2-02: FLASH Irradiation Improves the Therapeutic Index Following GI Tract Irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schueler, E; Trovati, S; King, G; Lartey, F; Rafat, M; Loo, B; Maxim, P

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate and characterize the radiobiological effectiveness of very high dose rate radiotherapy (FLASH) compared to conventional irradiation in an in vivo model. Methods: The gastrointestinal (GI) tract of C57BL/6 mice were irradiated with doses ranging between 10 and 18 Gy using a custom stereotactic jig. A Varian Clinac 21EX was modified to allow dose rates ranging from 0.05 to 240 Gy/s at the position of the mirror. With the gantry at 180 degrees, the jig holding the individual animals was placed above the mirror to take advantage of the reduced source to target distance. Mice were irradiated with 20MeV electrons. Following irradiation, the mice were monitored twice daily for morbidity and daily for weight changes. Results: Mice irradiated with FLASH irradiation had lower weight loss compared to the mice receiving conventional irradiation. Following FLASH irradiation, a maximum weight loss of ∼20% was observed at day 6 with subsequent recovery, while following conventional irradiation, higher weight losses was observed with fewer instances of recovery. Concerning survival, all mice in the conventionally irradiated groups had a 100% mortality in the range of 15.5–18 Gy, while the mice irradiated with FLASH irradiation had a 100% survival in the same range. Conclusion: These results have demonstrated proof of principle that FLASH irradiations have a dramatic impact on the overall survival of mice following GI tract irradiations. If the increase in the therapeutic window can be validated and understood, this would revolutionize the field of radiation oncology and lead to increased cure rates with reduced side effects following treatment, resulting in increased quality of life for cancer survivors. Funding: DoD, Award#:W81XWH-14-1-0014, Weston Havens Foundation, Bio-X (Stanford University), the Office of the Dean of the Medical School, the Office of the Provost (Stanford University), and the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation; BL and PM are

  13. TU-H-CAMPUS-TeP2-02: FLASH Irradiation Improves the Therapeutic Index Following GI Tract Irradiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schueler, E; Trovati, S; King, G; Lartey, F; Rafat, M; Loo, B; Maxim, P [Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To investigate and characterize the radiobiological effectiveness of very high dose rate radiotherapy (FLASH) compared to conventional irradiation in an in vivo model. Methods: The gastrointestinal (GI) tract of C57BL/6 mice were irradiated with doses ranging between 10 and 18 Gy using a custom stereotactic jig. A Varian Clinac 21EX was modified to allow dose rates ranging from 0.05 to 240 Gy/s at the position of the mirror. With the gantry at 180 degrees, the jig holding the individual animals was placed above the mirror to take advantage of the reduced source to target distance. Mice were irradiated with 20MeV electrons. Following irradiation, the mice were monitored twice daily for morbidity and daily for weight changes. Results: Mice irradiated with FLASH irradiation had lower weight loss compared to the mice receiving conventional irradiation. Following FLASH irradiation, a maximum weight loss of ∼20% was observed at day 6 with subsequent recovery, while following conventional irradiation, higher weight losses was observed with fewer instances of recovery. Concerning survival, all mice in the conventionally irradiated groups had a 100% mortality in the range of 15.5–18 Gy, while the mice irradiated with FLASH irradiation had a 100% survival in the same range. Conclusion: These results have demonstrated proof of principle that FLASH irradiations have a dramatic impact on the overall survival of mice following GI tract irradiations. If the increase in the therapeutic window can be validated and understood, this would revolutionize the field of radiation oncology and lead to increased cure rates with reduced side effects following treatment, resulting in increased quality of life for cancer survivors. Funding: DoD, Award#:W81XWH-14-1-0014, Weston Havens Foundation, Bio-X (Stanford University), the Office of the Dean of the Medical School, the Office of the Provost (Stanford University), and the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation; BL and PM are

  14. Geographical distribution of hot flash frequencies: considering climatic influences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sievert, Lynnette Leidy; Flanagan, Erin K

    2005-10-01

    Laboratory studies suggest that hot flashes are triggered by small elevations in core body temperature acting within a reduced thermoneutral zone, i.e., the temperature range in which a woman neither shivers nor sweats. In the present study, it was hypothesized that women in different populations develop climate-specific thermoneutral zones, and ultimately, population-specific frequencies of hot flashes at menopause. Correlations were predicted between hot flash frequencies and latitude, elevation, and annual temperatures. Data on hot flash frequencies were drawn from 54 studies. Pearson correlation analyses and simple linear regressions were applied, first using all studies, and second using a subset of studies that included participants only to age 60 (n = 36). Regressions were repeated with all studies, controlling for method of hot flash assessment. When analyses were restricted to studies that included women up to age 60, average temperature of the coldest month was a significant predictor of hot flash frequency (P hottest and coldest temperatures was also a significant predictor (P coldest month, difference between hottest and coldest temperatures, and mean annual temperature were significant predictors of hot flash frequency. Women reported fewer hot flashes in warmer temperatures, and more hot flashes with increasing seasonality. These results suggest that acclimatization to coldest temperatures or sensitivity to seasonality may explain part of the population variation in hot flash frequency.

  15. Organic flash cycles for efficient power production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Tony; Mao, Samuel S.; Greif, Ralph

    2016-03-15

    This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus related to an Organic Flash Cycle (OFC). In one aspect, a modified OFC system includes a pump, a heat exchanger, a flash evaporator, a high pressure turbine, a throttling valve, a mixer, a low pressure turbine, and a condenser. The heat exchanger is coupled to an outlet of the pump. The flash evaporator is coupled to an outlet of the heat exchanger. The high pressure turbine is coupled to a vapor outlet of the flash evaporator. The throttling valve is coupled to a liquid outlet of the flash evaporator. The mixer is coupled to an outlet of the throttling valve and to an outlet of the high pressure turbine. The low pressure turbine is coupled to an outlet of the mixer. The condenser is coupled to an outlet of the low pressure turbine and to an inlet of the pump.

  16. Scattering Correction For Image Reconstruction In Flash Radiography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cao, Liangzhi; Wang, Mengqi; Wu, Hongchun; Liu, Zhouyu; Cheng, Yuxiong; Zhang, Hongbo [Xi' an Jiaotong Univ., Xi' an (China)

    2013-08-15

    Scattered photons cause blurring and distortions in flash radiography, reducing the accuracy of image reconstruction significantly. The effect of the scattered photons is taken into account and an iterative deduction of the scattered photons is proposed to amend the scattering effect for image restoration. In order to deduct the scattering contribution, the flux of scattered photons is estimated as the sum of two components. The single scattered component is calculated accurately together with the uncollided flux along the characteristic ray, while the multiple scattered component is evaluated using correction coefficients pre-obtained from Monte Carlo simulations.The arbitrary geometry pretreatment and ray tracing are carried out based on the customization of AutoCAD. With the above model, an Iterative Procedure for image restORation code, IPOR, is developed. Numerical results demonstrate that the IPOR code is much more accurate than the direct reconstruction solution without scattering correction and it has a very high computational efficiency.

  17. Scattering Correction For Image Reconstruction In Flash Radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Liangzhi; Wang, Mengqi; Wu, Hongchun; Liu, Zhouyu; Cheng, Yuxiong; Zhang, Hongbo

    2013-01-01

    Scattered photons cause blurring and distortions in flash radiography, reducing the accuracy of image reconstruction significantly. The effect of the scattered photons is taken into account and an iterative deduction of the scattered photons is proposed to amend the scattering effect for image restoration. In order to deduct the scattering contribution, the flux of scattered photons is estimated as the sum of two components. The single scattered component is calculated accurately together with the uncollided flux along the characteristic ray, while the multiple scattered component is evaluated using correction coefficients pre-obtained from Monte Carlo simulations.The arbitrary geometry pretreatment and ray tracing are carried out based on the customization of AutoCAD. With the above model, an Iterative Procedure for image restORation code, IPOR, is developed. Numerical results demonstrate that the IPOR code is much more accurate than the direct reconstruction solution without scattering correction and it has a very high computational efficiency

  18. Construction and performance of large flash chambers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, F.E.; Bogert, D.; Fisk, R.; Stutte, L.; Walker, J.K.; Wolfson, J.; Abolins, M.; Ernwein, J.; Owen, D.; Lyons, T.

    1979-01-01

    The construction and performance of 12' x 12' flash chambers used in a 340 ton neutrino detector under construction at Fermilab is described. The flash chambers supply digital information with a spatial resolution of 0.2'', and are used to finely sample the shower development of the reaction products of neutrino interactions. The flash chambers are easy and inexpensive to build and are electronically read out

  19. Non Volatile Flash Memory Radiation Tests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irom, Farokh; Nguyen, Duc N.; Allen, Greg

    2012-01-01

    Commercial flash memory industry has experienced a fast growth in the recent years, because of their wide spread usage in cell phones, mp3 players and digital cameras. On the other hand, there has been increased interest in the use of high density commercial nonvolatile flash memories in space because of ever increasing data requirements and strict power requirements. Because of flash memories complex structure; they cannot be treated as just simple memories in regards to testing and analysis. It becomes quite challenging to determine how they will respond in radiation environments.

  20. Production of bio-oils from wood by flash pyrolysis; Herstellung von Bio-Oelen aus Holz in einer Flash-Pyrolyseanlage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meier, D; Ollesch, T [Bundesforschungsanstalt fuer Forst- und Holzwirtschaft, Hamburg (Germany). Inst. fuer Holzchemie und Chemische Technologie des Holzes; Gerdes, C; Kaminsky, W [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Technische und Makromolekulare Chemie (ITMCh)

    1998-09-01

    Flash pyrolysis is a medium-temperature process (around 475 C) in which biomass is heated up rapidly in the absence of oxygen. The pyrolysis products are cooled down rapidly, condensing into a reddish-brown liquid with around half the calorific value of a conventional heating oil. In contrast to conventional charcoal production, flash pyrolysis is a modern process whose process parameters enure high liquid yields. Modern fluidized-bed reactors for flash pyrolysis of biomass tend to have high heating rates and short times of residue. In the `Hamburg process`, fluidized-bed reactors are used successfully for pyrolysis of plastics. A flash pyrolysis plant for biomass treatment was constructed in cooperation with Hamburg University with funds provided by the `Bundesstiftung Umwelt`. This contribution describes the first series of experiments, mass balances and oil analyses using beech wood as material to be pyrolyzed. (orig./SR) [Deutsch] Flash-Pyrolyse ist ein Mitteltemperatur-Prozess (ca. 475 C), in dem Biomasse unter Sauerstoffausschluss sehr schnell erhitzt wird. Die entstehenden Pyrolyseprodukte werden schnell abgekuehlt und kondensieren zu einer roetlich-braunen Fluessigkeit, die etwa die Haelfte des Heizwertes eines konventionellen Heizoeles besitzt. Flash-Pyrolyse ist, im Gegensatz zur konventionellen Holzverkohlung, ein modernes Verfahren, dessen spezielle Verfahrensparameter hohe Fluessigausbeuten ermoeglichen. Hohe Aufheizraten, verbunden mit kurzen Verweilzeiten, werden mit stationaeren Wirbelbettreaktoren erzielt die gegenwaertig vorwiegend fuer die Flash-Pyrolyse von Biomasse eingesetzt werden. Im `Hamburger Verfahren` haben sich Wirbelbettreaktoren im Bereich der Kunststoffpyrolyse bewaehrt. Daher wurde in Zusammenarbeit mit der Universitaet Hamburg und finanzieller Foerderung der Bundesstiftung Umwelt eine Flash-Pyrolyseanlage fuer Biomasse gebaut: In dieser Arbeit werden erste Versuchsreihen, Massenbilanzen und Oelanalysen aus der Pyrolyse von

  1. Opportunities and challenges for photon diagnostics at the soft X-ray FEL FLASH in simultaneous operation mode (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhlmann, Marion; Treusch, Rolf; Plönjes-Palm, Elke; Faatz, Bart; Tiedtke, Kai; Braune, Markus; Keitel, Barbara

    2017-06-01

    FLASH operates two distinguished undulator sections driven by one linear accelerator. In the 11th year of user operation the grown demands for detailed photon beam performances are doubled approached. The more complex machine settings and setup times require a more and more efficient determination of its characteristics concerning electron- and photon-beams. The photon diagnostics systems, e.g. gas monitor detection, photon-ion spectroscopy, or diffractive tools, not only have to deal on a regular basis with fundamental wavelengths between 4nm and 90nm, also they have to be reliable from 1µJ up to 1mJ of average single pulse energy. For the success of the experiments the error bars of many diagnostics measurements need to be pushed into their current limits and developments to go further are always issued. Especial, the pulse duration in conjunction with the spectral width has been accessed in the last year. Direct approaches of fundamental wavelengths below the Nitrogene K-edge and higher harmonics in and below the water window were achieved. While in principal distinguished to each other, the photon diagnostics tools of FLASH1 and FLASH2 add-up to a more complete understanding of the other. Together they allow for a better perspective towards further developments and a more suitable use of beam times. The intermingled knowledge of electron- and photon-beams is essential for an FEL particular in simultaneous operation mode. Examples out of regular user operation and distinguished FEL-studies are given to illustrate the current state of the photon diagnostics at FLASH.

  2. The Evolution and Structure of Extreme Optical Lightning Flashes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Michael; Rudlosky, Scott; Deierling, Wiebke

    2017-12-27

    This study documents the composition, morphology, and motion of extreme optical lightning flashes observed by the Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS). The furthest separation of LIS events (groups) in any flash is 135 km (89 km), the flash with the largest footprint had an illuminated area of 10,604 km 2 , and the most dendritic flash has 234 visible branches. The longest-duration convective LIS flash lasted 28 s and is overgrouped and not physical. The longest-duration convective-to-stratiform propagating flash lasted 7.4 s, while the longest-duration entirely stratiform flash lasted 4.3 s. The longest series of nearly consecutive groups in time lasted 242 ms. The most radiant recorded LIS group (i.e., "superbolt") is 735 times more radiant than the average group. Factors that impact these optical measures of flash morphology and evolution are discussed. While it is apparent that LIS can record the horizontal development of the lightning channel in some cases, radiative transfer within the cloud limits the flash extent and level of detail measured from orbit. These analyses nonetheless suggest that lightning imagers such as LIS and Geostationary Lightning Mapper can complement ground-based lightning locating systems for studying physical lightning phenomena across large geospatial domains.

  3. Timing in a FLASH

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoek, M.; Cardinali, M.; Corell, O.; Dickescheid, M.; Ferretti B., M. I.; Lauth, W.; Schlimme, B. S.; Sfienti, C.; Thiel, M.

    2017-12-01

    A prototype detector, called FLASH (Fast Light Acquiring Start Hodoscope), was built to provide precise Time-of-Flight (TOF) measurements and reference timestamps for detector setups at external beam lines. Radiator bars, made of synthetic fused silica, were coupled to a fast MCP-PMT with 64 channels and read out with custom electronics using Time-over-Threshold (TOT) for signal characterization. The TRB3 system, a high-precision TDC implemented in an FPGA, was used as data acquisition system. The performance of a system consisting of two FLASH units was investigated at a dedicated test experiment at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI) accelerator using its 855 MeV electron beam. The TOT measurement enabled time walk corrections and an overall TOF resolution of ∼70 ps could be achieved which translates into a resolution of ∼50 ps per FLASH unit. The intrinsic resolution of the frontend electronics including the TDC was measured to be less than 25 ps.

  4. A Comparative Study of Reduced-Variables-Based Flash and Conventional Flash

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yan, Wei; Stenby, Erling Halfdan; Michelsen, Michael Locht

    2013-01-01

    ) with zero binary-interaction parameters (BIPs) and later generalized to situations with nonzero-BIP matrices. Most of the studies in the last decade suggest that the reduced-variables methods are much more efficient than the conventional flash method. However, Haugen and Beckner (2011) questioned...... with the conventional minimization-based flash. A test with the use of the SPE 3 example (Kenyon and Behie 1987) showed that the best reduction in time was less than 20% for the extreme situation of 25 components and just one row/column with nonzero BIPs. A better performance can be achieved by a simpler implementation...... directly using the sparsity of the BIP matrix....

  5. An unusual characteristic "flower-like" pattern: flash suppressor burns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurcan, Altun

    2012-04-01

    The case on contact shots from firearms with a flash suppressor is rare. When a rifle fitted with a flash suppressor is fired, the emerging soot-laden gas in the barrel escapes from the slits of the flash suppressor. If the shot is contact or near contact, the flash suppressor will produce a characteristic "flower-like" pattern of seared, blackened zones around the entrance. This paper presents the injury pattern of the flash suppressor in a 29-year-old man who committed suicide with a G3 automatic infantry rifle.

  6. Coherence properties of the radiation from FLASH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneidmiller, E.A.; Yurkov, M.V.

    2015-02-01

    FLASH is the first free electron laser user facility operating in the vacuum ultraviolet and soft x-ray wavelength range. Many user experiments require knowledge of the spatial and temporal coherence properties of the radiation. In this paper we present an analysis of the coherence properties of the radiation for the fundamental and for the higher odd frequency harmonics. We show that temporal and spatial coherence reach maximum close to the FEL saturation but may degrade significantly in the post-saturation regime. We also find that the pointing stability of short FEL pulses is limited due to the fact that non-azimuthal FEL eigenmodes are not sufficiently suppressed. We discuss possible ways for improving the degree of transverse coherence and the pointing stability.

  7. Baseline distortion effect on gamma-ray pulse-height spectra in neutron capture experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laptev, A.; Harada, H.; Nakamura, S.; Hori, J.; Igashira, M.; Ohsaki, T.; Ohgama, K.

    2005-01-01

    A baseline distortion effect due to gamma-flash at neutron time-of-flight measurement using a pulse neutron source has been investigated. Pulses from C 6 D 6 detectors accumulated by flash-ADC were processed with both standard analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and flash-ADC operational modes. A correction factor of gamma-ray yields, due to baseline shift, was quantitatively obtained by comparing the pulse height spectra of the two data-taking modes. The magnitude of the correction factor depends on the time after gamma-flash and has complex time dependence with a changing sign

  8. Flash memory in embedded Java programs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Korsholm, Stephan Erbs

    This paper introduces a Java execution environment with the capability for storing constant heap data in Flash, thus saving valuable RAM. The extension is motivated by the structure of three industrial applications which demonstrate the need for storing constant data in Flash on small embedded...

  9. Critical flashing flows in nozzles with subcooled inlet conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abuaf, N.; Jones, O.C. Jr.; Wu, B.J.C.

    1983-01-01

    Examination of a large number of experiments dealing with flashing flows in converging and converging-diverging nozzles reveals that knowledge of the flashing inception point is the key to the prediction of critical flow rates. An extension of the static flashing inception correlation of Jones [16] and Alamgir and Lienhard [17] to flowing systems has allowed the determination of the location of flashing inception in nozzle flows with subcooled inlet conditions. It is shown that in all the experiments examined with subcooled inlet regardless of the degree of inlet subcooling, flashing inception invariably occurred very close to the throat. A correlation is given to predict flashing inception in both pipes and nozzles which matches all data available, but is lacking verification in intermediate nozzle geometries where turbulence may be important. A consequence of this behavior is that the critical mass flux may be correlated to the pressure difference between the nozzle inlet and flashing inception, through a single phase liquid discharge coefficient and an accurate prediction of the flashing inception pressure at the throat. Comparison with the available experiments indicate that the predicted mass fluxes are within 5 percent of the measurements

  10. Frequency and seasonality of flash floods in Slovenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trobec Tajan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to assess and analyse the dynamics of flash flooding events in Slovenia. The paper examines in particular the frequency of flash floods and their seasonal distribution. The methodology is based on the analysis of historical records and modern flood data. The results of a long-term frequency analysis of 138 flash floods that occurred between 1550 and 2015 are presented. Because of the lack of adequate historical flood data prior to 1950 the main analysis is based on data for the periodbetween1951 and2015, while the analysis of data for the period between1550 and1950 is added as a supplement to the main analysis. Analysis of data for the period after 1950 shows that on average 1.3 flash floods occur each year in Slovenia. The linear trend for the number of flash floods is increasing but is not statistically significant. Despite the fact that the majority of Slovenian rivers have one of the peaks in spring and one of the lows in summer, 90% of flash floods actually occur during meteorological summer or autumn - i.e. between June and November, which shows that discharge regimes and flood regimes are not necessarily related. Because of the lack of flood records from the more distant past as well as the large variability of flash flood events in the last several decades, we cannot provide a definitive answer to the question about possible changes in their frequency and seasonality by relying solely on the detected trends. Nevertheless, considering the results of analysis and future climate change scenarios the frequency of flash floods in Slovenia could increase while the period of flash flood occurrence could be extended.

  11. Portable pulse X-ray micro and nanosecond range apparatus for studying fast-going processes in opaque media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goganov, D.A.; Komyak, N.I.; Pelix, E.A.

    Pulse X-radiography (X-ray flash duration in the order of 10 -6 -10 -9 sec) is the principal method for studying fast-going processes in opaque media by serial and parallel radiographic imaging. Description is given and main features are outlined of pulse X-ray apparatus IRA-4b, 5b, 6b producing X-radiation flashes from 0.3 μsec to 10-20 nsec in duration

  12. Spatial-temporal characteristics of lightning flash size in a supercell storm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhixiao; Zheng, Dong; Zhang, Yijun; Lu, Gaopeng

    2017-11-01

    The flash sizes of a supercell storm, in New Mexico on October 5, 2004, are studied using the observations from the New Mexico Lightning Mapping Array and the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Doppler radar (KABX). First, during the temporal evolution of the supercell, the mean flash size is anti-correlated with the flash rate, following a unary power function, with a correlation coefficient of - 0.87. In addition, the mean flash size is linearly correlated with the area of reflectivity > 30 dBZ at 5 km normalized by the flash rate, with a correlation coefficient of 0.88. Second, in the horizontal, flash size increases along the direction from the region near the convection zone to the adjacent forward anvil. The region of minimum flash size usually corresponds to the region of maximum flash initiation and extent density. The horizontal correspondence between the mean flash size and the flash extent density can also be fitted by a unary power function, and the correlation coefficient is > 0.5 in 50% of the radar volume scans. Furthermore, the quality of fit is positively correlated to the convective intensity. Third, in the vertical direction, the height of the maximum flash initiation density is close to the height of maximum flash extent density, but corresponds to the height where the mean flash size is relatively small. In the discussion, the distribution of the small and dense charge regions when and where convection is vigorous in the storm, is deduced to be responsible for the relationship that flash size is temporally and spatially anti-correlated with flash rate and density, and the convective intensity.

  13. Menopausal Hot Flashes and Carotid Intima Media Thickness Among Midlife Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurston, Rebecca C; Chang, Yuefang; Barinas-Mitchell, Emma; Jennings, J Richard; Landsittel, Doug P; Santoro, Nanette; von Känel, Roland; Matthews, Karen A

    2016-12-01

    There has been a longstanding interest in the role of menopause and its correlates in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women. Menopausal hot flashes are experienced by most midlife women; emerging data link hot flashes to CVD risk indicators. We tested whether hot flashes, measured via state-of-the-art physiologic methods, were associated with greater subclinical atherosclerosis as assessed by carotid ultrasound. We considered the role of CVD risk factors and estradiol concentrations in these associations. A total of 295 nonsmoking women free of clinical CVD underwent ambulatory physiologic hot flash assessments; a blood draw; and carotid ultrasound measurement of intima media thickness and plaque. Associations between hot flashes and subclinical atherosclerosis were tested in regression models controlling for CVD risk factors and estradiol. More frequent physiologic hot flashes were associated with higher carotid intima media thickness (for each additional hot flash: β [SE]=0.004 [0.001]; P=0.0001; reported hot flash: β [SE]=0.008 [0.002]; P=0.002, multivariable) and plaque (eg, for each additional hot flash, odds ratio [95% confidence interval] plaque index ≥2=1.07 [1.003-1.14]; P=0.04, relative to no plaque, multivariable] among women reporting daily hot flashes; associations were not accounted for by CVD risk factors or by estradiol. Among women reporting hot flashes, hot flashes accounted for more variance in intima media thickness than most CVD risk factors. Among women reporting daily hot flashes, frequent hot flashes may provide information about a woman's vascular status beyond standard CVD risk factors and estradiol. Frequent hot flashes may mark a vulnerable vascular phenotype among midlife women. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

  14. Flood hazard assessment in areas prone to flash flooding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kvočka, Davor; Falconer, Roger A.; Bray, Michaela

    2016-04-01

    Contemporary climate projections suggest that there will be an increase in the occurrence of high-intensity rainfall events in the future. These precipitation extremes are usually the main cause for the emergence of extreme flooding, such as flash flooding. Flash floods are among the most unpredictable, violent and fatal natural hazards in the world. Furthermore, it is expected that flash flooding will occur even more frequently in the future due to more frequent development of extreme weather events, which will greatly increase the danger to people caused by flash flooding. This being the case, there will be a need for high resolution flood hazard maps in areas susceptible to flash flooding. This study investigates what type of flood hazard assessment methods should be used for assessing the flood hazard to people caused by flash flooding. Two different types of flood hazard assessment methods were tested: (i) a widely used method based on an empirical analysis, and (ii) a new, physically based and experimentally calibrated method. Two flash flood events were considered herein, namely: the 2004 Boscastle flash flood and the 2007 Železniki flash flood. The results obtained in this study suggest that in the areas susceptible to extreme flooding, the flood hazard assessment should be conducted using methods based on a mechanics-based analysis. In comparison to standard flood hazard assessment methods, these physically based methods: (i) take into account all of the physical forces, which act on a human body in floodwater, (ii) successfully adapt to abrupt changes in the flow regime, which often occur for flash flood events, and (iii) rapidly assess a flood hazard index in a relatively short period of time.

  15. Flash memory management system and method utilizing multiple block list windows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, James (Inventor); Gender, Thomas K. (Inventor)

    2005-01-01

    The present invention provides a flash memory management system and method with increased performance. The flash memory management system provides the ability to efficiently manage and allocate flash memory use in a way that improves reliability and longevity, while maintaining good performance levels. The flash memory management system includes a free block mechanism, a disk maintenance mechanism, and a bad block detection mechanism. The free block mechanism provides efficient sorting of free blocks to facilitate selecting low use blocks for writing. The disk maintenance mechanism provides for the ability to efficiently clean flash memory blocks during processor idle times. The bad block detection mechanism provides the ability to better detect when a block of flash memory is likely to go bad. The flash status mechanism stores information in fast access memory that describes the content and status of the data in the flash disk. The new bank detection mechanism provides the ability to automatically detect when new banks of flash memory are added to the system. Together, these mechanisms provide a flash memory management system that can improve the operational efficiency of systems that utilize flash memory.

  16. Significant and variable linear polarization during the prompt optical flash of GRB 160625B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troja, E.; Lipunov, V. M.; Mundell, C. G.; Butler, N. R.; Watson, A. M.; Kobayashi, S.; Cenko, S. B.; Marshall, F. E.; Ricci, R.; Fruchter, A.; Wieringa, M. H.; Gorbovskoy, E. S.; Kornilov, V.; Kutyrev, A.; Lee, W. H.; Toy, V.; Tyurina, N. V.; Budnev, N. M.; Buckley, D. A. H.; González, J.; Gress, O.; Horesh, A.; Panasyuk, M. I.; Prochaska, J. X.; Ramirez-Ruiz, E.; Rebolo Lopez, R.; Richer, M. G.; Roman-Zuniga, C.; Serra-Ricart, M.; Yurkov, V.; Gehrels, N.

    2017-07-01

    Newly formed black holes of stellar mass launch collimated outflows (jets) of ionized matter that approach the speed of light. These outflows power prompt, brief and intense flashes of γ-rays known as γ-ray bursts (GRBs), followed by longer-lived afterglow radiation that is detected across the electromagnetic spectrum. Measuring the polarization of the observed GRB radiation provides a direct probe of the magnetic fields in the collimated jets. Rapid-response polarimetric observations of newly discovered bursts have probed the initial afterglow phase, and show that, minutes after the prompt emission has ended, the degree of linear polarization can be as high as 30 per cent - consistent with the idea that a stable, globally ordered magnetic field permeates the jet at large distances from the central source. By contrast, optical and γ-ray observations during the prompt phase have led to discordant and often controversial results, and no definitive conclusions have been reached regarding the origin of the prompt radiation or the configuration of the magnetic field. Here we report the detection of substantial (8.3 ± 0.8 per cent from our most conservative simulation), variable linear polarization of a prompt optical flash that accompanied the extremely energetic and long-lived prompt γ-ray emission from GRB 160625B. Our measurements probe the structure of the magnetic field at an early stage of the jet, closer to its central black hole, and show that the prompt phase is produced via fast-cooling synchrotron radiation in a large-scale magnetic field that is advected from the black hole and distorted by dissipation processes within the jet.

  17. uFlip: Understanding Flash IO Patterns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bouganim, Luc; Jonsson, Bjørn; Bonnet, Philippe

    2009-01-01

    want to establish what kind of IOs should be favored (or avoided) when designing algorithms and architectures for flash-based systems. In this paper, we focus on flash IO patterns, that capture relevant distribution of IOs in time and space, and our goal is to quantify their performance. We define uFLIP...

  18. Exploring Branded Flash Mobs : A study of the impact of branded flash mobs on consumer behavior and consumer experience

    OpenAIRE

    Grant, Philip

    2014-01-01

    The desire of every marketer is to develop and maintain strong customer relationships. One way this can be accomplished is through effective advertising. Marketers have recently begun to brand flash mobs as a way to effectuate strong brand relationships. Even so, it is unclear whether or not the branding of flash mobs supports or frustrates this pursuit. Therefore, the goal of this thesis is to help marketers understand the potential impact that branded flash mobs may have on consumer behavio...

  19. Cosmic rays score direct hits with Apollo crew

    CERN Multimedia

    1971-01-01

    Apollo 14 astronauts conduted experiments during the spaceflight to help scientists to understand why previous crews have seen flashes of light during missions, believed to be caused by cosmic rays (1 page).

  20. Automated Studies of Continuing Current in Lightning Flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez-Claros, Jose

    Continuing current (CC) is a continuous luminosity in the lightning channel that lasts longer than 10 ms following a lightning return stroke to ground. Lightning flashes following CC are associated with direct damage to power lines and are thought to be responsible for causing lightning-induced forest fires. The development of an algorithm that automates continuing current detection by combining NLDN (National Lightning Detection Network) and LEFA (Langmuir Electric Field Array) datasets for CG flashes will be discussed. The algorithm was applied to thousands of cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes within 40 km of Langmuir Lab, New Mexico measured during the 2013 monsoon season. It counts the number of flashes in a single minute of data and the number of return strokes of an individual lightning flash; records the time and location of each return stroke; performs peak analysis on E-field data, and uses the slope of interstroke interval (ISI) E-field data fits to recognize whether continuing current (CC) exists within the interval. Following CC detection, duration and magnitude are measured. The longest observed C in 5588 flashes was 631 ms. The performance of the algorithm (vs. human judgement) was checked on 100 flashes. At best, the reported algorithm is "correct" 80% of the time, where correct means that multiple stations agree with each other and with a human on both the presence and duration of CC. Of the 100 flashes that were validated against human judgement, 62% were hybrid. Automated analysis detects the first but misses the second return stroke in many cases where the second return stroke is followed by long CC. This problem is also present in human interpretation of field change records.

  1. Foundation Flash Cartoon Animation

    CERN Document Server

    Jones, Tim; Rosson, Allan S

    2008-01-01

    One of Flash s most common uses is still animation for cartoons, games, advertising etc, and this book takes a fresh look at the topic, breaking it down pre-production, production, and post production, and looking at each section in detail, and covering topics such as storyboarding, character libraries and camera mechanics like no Flash book has before. The book is written by members of the Emmy award winning ANIMAX team, who have created work for clients such as Disney, AOL, Fox, WWE, ESPN, and Sesame workshop. This book is an opportunity for them to share their secrets, and is written to sui

  2. Weak positive cloud-to-ground flashes in Northeastern Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez, Raul E.; Maier, Michael W.; Garcia-Miguel, Juan A.; Holle, Ronald L.

    1991-01-01

    The frequency distributions of the peak magnetic field associated with the first detected return stroke of positive and negative cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes were studied using lightning data from northeastern Colorado. These data were obtained during 1985 with a medium-to-high gain network of three direction finders (DF's). The median signal strength of positive flashes was almost two times that of the negatives for flashes within 300 km of the DF's, which have an inherent detection-threshold bias that tends to discriminate against weak signals. This bias increases with range, and affects the detection of positive and negative flashes in different ways, because of the differing character of their distributions. Positive flashes appear to have a large percentage of signals clustered around very weak values that are lost to the medium-to-high gain Colorado Detection System very quickly with increasing range. The resulting median for positive signals could thus appear to be much larger than the median for negative signals, which are more clustered around intermediate values. When only flashes very close to the DF's are considered, however, the two distributions have almost identical medians. The large percentage of weak positive signals detected close to the DF's has not been explored previously. They have been suggested to come from intracloud discharges and thus are improperly classified as CG flashes. Evidence in hand, points to their being real positive, albeit weak CG flashes. Whether or not they are real positive ground flashes, it is important to be aware of their presence in data from magnetic DF networks.

  3. Flash hydropyrolysis of bituminous coal . III. Research on flash hydropyrolysis tar

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, M.; Zhu, Z.; He, Y.; Ding, N.; Tang, L. [East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai (China)

    2000-02-01

    Tar sample obtained by flash hydropyrolysis (FHP) from Dongshen coal at high pressure entrained reactor was investigated. An effect of flash hydropyrolysis temperature on the main components in tar was studied and the quality of the tar was compared with high temperature coke oven tar. The results showed that: the yields of liquid hydrocarbon in FHP tar were more than 15%, which is twofold of that in coke oven tar; the FHP tar has high oil fraction and low pitch; high phenol components and pure condensed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and low aliphatic hydrocarbon. The components of the FHP tar were simpler than that of high temperature coke oven tar. Therefore, FHP has improved the quantity and quality of tar. 11 refs., 3 figs., 5 tabs.

  4. Empirical optimization of undulator tapering at FLASH2 and comparison with numerical simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mak, Alan; Curbis, Francesca; Werin, Sverker [Lund Univ. (Sweden). MAX IV Laboratory; Faatz, Bart [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2016-08-15

    In a free-electron laser equipped with variable-gap undulator modules, the technique of undulator tapering opens up the possibility to increase the radiation power beyond the initial saturation point, thus enhancing the efficiency of the laser. The effectiveness of the enhancement relies on the proper optimization of the taper profile. In this work, a multidimensional optimization approach is implemented empirically in the X-ray free-electron laser FLASH2. The empirical results are compared with numerical simulations.

  5. Improving Flash Flood Prediction in Multiple Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Broxton, P. D.; Troch, P. A.; Schaffner, M.; Unkrich, C.; Goodrich, D.; Wagener, T.; Yatheendradas, S.

    2009-12-01

    Flash flooding is a major concern in many fast responding headwater catchments . There are many efforts to model and to predict these flood events, though it is not currently possible to adequately predict the nature of flash flood events with a single model, and furthermore, many of these efforts do not even consider snow, which can, by itself, or in combination with rainfall events, cause destructive floods. The current research is aimed at broadening the applicability of flash flood modeling. Specifically, we will take a state of the art flash flood model that is designed to work with warm season precipitation in arid environments, the KINematic runoff and EROSion model (KINEROS2), and combine it with a continuous subsurface flow model and an energy balance snow model. This should improve its predictive capacity in humid environments where lateral subsurface flow significantly contributes to streamflow, and it will make possible the prediction of flooding events that involve rain-on-snow or rapid snowmelt. By modeling changes in the hydrologic state of a catchment before a flood begins, we can also better understand the factors or combination of factors that are necessary to produce large floods. Broadening the applicability of an already state of the art flash flood model, such as KINEROS2, is logical because flash floods can occur in all types of environments, and it may lead to better predictions, which are necessary to preserve life and property.

  6. Flash flood modelling for ungauged catchments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garambois, P.-A.; Roux, H.; Larnier, K.; Dartus, D.

    2012-04-01

    Flash flood is a very intense and quick hydrologic response of a catchment to rainfall. This phenomenon has a high spatial-temporal variability as its generating storm, often hitting small catchments (few km2). Data collected by (Gaume et al. 2009) about 500 flash floods over the last 50 years showed that they could occur everywhere in Europe and more often in the Mediterranean regions, Alpine regions and continental Europe. Given the small spatial-temporal scales and high variability of flash floods, their prediction remains a hard exercise as the necessary data are often scarce. Flash flood prediction on ungauged catchments is one of the challenges of hydrological modelling as defined by (Sivapalan et al. 2003). Several studies have been headed up with the MARINE model (Modélisation de l'Anticipation du Ruissellement et des Inondations pour des évèNements Extrêmes) for the Gard region (France), (Roux et al. 2011), (Castaings et al. 2009). This physically based spatially distributed rainfall runoff model is dedicated to flash flood prediction. The study aims at finding a methodology for flash flood prediction at ungauged locations in the Cévennes-Vivarais region in particular. The regionalization method is based on multiple calibrations on gauged catchments in order to extract model structures (model + parameter values) for each catchment. Several mathematical methods (multiple regressions, transfer functions, krigging…) will then be tested to calculate a regional parameter set. The study also investigates the usability of additional hydrologic indices at different time scales to constrain model predictions from parameters obtained using these indices, and this independently of the model considered. These hydrologic indices gather information on hydrograph shape or catchment dynamic for instance. Results explaining global catchments behaviour are expected that way. The spatial-temporal variability of storms is also described through indices and linked with

  7. Flashing light in microalgae biotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Ghosh, Said; Fixler, Dror; Dubinsky, Zvy; Iluz, David

    2016-03-01

    Flashing light can enhance photosynthesis and improve the quality and quantity of microalgal biomass, as it can increase the products of interest by magnitudes. Therefore, the integration of flashing light effect into microalgal cultivation systems should be considered. However, microalgae require a balanced mix of the light/dark cycle for higher growth rates, and respond to light intensity differently according to the pigments acquired or lost during the growth. This review highlights recently published results on flashing light effect on microalgae and its applications in biotechnology, as well as the recently developed bioreactors designed to fulfill this effect. It also discusses how this knowledge can be applied in selecting the optimal light frequencies and intensities with specific technical properties for increasing biomass production and/or the yield of the chemicals of interest by microalgae belonging to different genera. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. An unusual characteristic “flower-like” pattern: flash suppressor burns

    OpenAIRE

    Gurcan, Altun

    2012-01-01

    The case on contact shots from firearms with a flash suppressor is rare. When a rifle fitted with a flash suppressor is fired, the emerging soot-laden gas in the barrel escapes from the slits of the flash suppressor. If the shot is contact or near contact, the flash suppressor will produce a characteristic “flower-like” pattern of seared, blackened zones around the entrance. This paper presents the injury pattern of the flash suppressor in a 29-year-old man who committed suicide with a G3 aut...

  9. An unusual characteristic “flower-like” pattern: flash suppressor burns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurcan, Altun

    2012-01-01

    The case on contact shots from firearms with a flash suppressor is rare. When a rifle fitted with a flash suppressor is fired, the emerging soot-laden gas in the barrel escapes from the slits of the flash suppressor. If the shot is contact or near contact, the flash suppressor will produce a characteristic “flower-like” pattern of seared, blackened zones around the entrance. This paper presents the injury pattern of the flash suppressor in a 29-year-old man who committed suicide with a G3 automatic infantry rifle. PMID:23935280

  10. Sphinx, the high speed flash radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1997-01-01

    Sphinx (Nanosecond Pulse X-Photon Source) is the most compact (0.1 m 3 ) existing system which can generates short pulses (10 to 30 nanoseconds) of 5 to 180 keV X-photon radiation with a repeating cadence of 100 pulses per second and doses which can reach 2 mR at 1 m. This system was developed by the Research Group on Energetics of Ionized Media (GREMI) from the CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) and the University of Orleans (France). Sphinx is the smallest device from a series of compact X-ray sources ranging from 5 to 400 keV. These devices can have several possible applications such as the study of ultra-fast phenomena, the high cadence flash radiography in medicine, biology, materials studies, pre-ionizing of gas lasers, self-excitation and photo-ionization of atoms, molecules or aggregates. (J.S.)

  11. Replacing HDDs with Solid-State Flash Disks in PXIbus-Based Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Z W; Zeng, L

    2006-01-01

    New security features, constantly decreasing prices, solid-state Flash disks are becoming a popular alternative for replacing failure-prone mechanical Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) in PXIbus-based military systems. The key component in high-capacity solid-state Flash disks is NAND Flash, but with a specification that shows only 100,000-300,000 write/erase cycles, engineers may be concerned that the lifetime of Flash disks cannot meet their application requirements. With the right Flash management, Flash disks are able to provide the reliability and endurance that military applications need

  12. NELIOTA: First temperature measurement of lunar impact flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonanos, A. Z.; Avdellidou, C.; Liakos, A.; Xilouris, E. M.; Dapergolas, A.; Koschny, D.; Bellas-Velidis, I.; Boumis, P.; Charmandaris, V.; Fytsilis, A.; Maroussis, A.

    2018-04-01

    We report the first scientific results from the NELIOTA (NEO Lunar Impacts and Optical TrAnsients) project, which has recently begun lunar monitoring observations with the 1.2-m Kryoneri telescope. NELIOTA aims to detect faint impact flashes produced by near-Earth meteoroids and asteroids and thereby help constrain the size-frequency distribution of near-Earth objects in the decimeter to meter range. The NELIOTA setup, consisting of two fast-frame cameras observing simultaneously in the R and I bands, enables - for the first time - direct analytical calculation of the flash temperatures. We present the first ten flashes detected, for which we find temperatures in the range 1600 to 3100 K, in agreement with theoretical values. Two of these flashes were detected on multiple frames in both filters and therefore yield the first measurements of the temperature drop for lunar flashes. In addition, we compute the impactor masses, which range between 100 g and 50 kg.

  13. Cardiac autonomic function and hot flashes among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Carolyn J; Mendes, Wendy Berry; Schembri, Michael; Grady, Deborah; Huang, Alison J

    2017-07-01

    Abnormalities in autonomic function are posited to play a pathophysiologic role in menopausal hot flashes. We examined relationships between resting cardiac autonomic activity and hot flashes in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Autonomic function was assessed at baseline and 12 weeks among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women (n = 121, mean age 53 years) in a randomized trial of slow-paced respiration for hot flashes. Pre-ejection period (PEP), a marker of sympathetic activation, was measured with impedance cardiography. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a marker of parasympathetic activation, was measured with electrocardiography. Participants self-reported hot flash frequency and severity in 7-day symptom diaries. Analysis of covariance models were used to relate autonomic function and hot flash frequency and severity at baseline, and to relate changes in autonomic function to changes in hot flash frequency and severity over 12 weeks, adjusting for age, body mass index, and intervention assignment. PEP was not associated with hot flash frequency or severity at baseline or over 12 weeks (P > 0.05 for all). In contrast, there was a trend toward greater frequency of moderate-to-severe hot flashes with higher RSA at baseline (β = 0.43, P = 0.06), and a positive association between change in RSA and change in frequency of moderate-to-severe hot flashes over 12 weeks (β = 0.63, P = 0.04). Among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women with hot flashes, variations in hot flash frequency and severity were not explained by variations in resting sympathetic activation. Greater parasympathetic activation was associated with more frequent moderate-to-severe hot flashes, which may reflect increased sensitivity to perceiving hot flashes.

  14. The Essential Guide to 3D in Flash

    CERN Document Server

    Olsson, Ronald A

    2010-01-01

    If you are an ActionScript developer or designer and you would like to work with 3D in Flash, this book is for you. You will learn the core Flash 3D concepts, using the open source Away3D engine as a primary tool. Once you have mastered these skills, you will be able to realize the possibilities that the available Flash 3D engines, languages, and technologies have to offer you with Flash and 3D.* Describes 3D concepts in theory and their implementation using Away3D* Dives right in to show readers how to quickly create an interactive, animated 3D scene, and builds on that experience throughout

  15. Gamma Ray Bursts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gehrels, Neil; Meszaros, Peter

    2012-01-01

    Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are bright flashes of gamma-rays coming from the cosmos. They occur roughly once per day ,last typically lOs of seconds and are the most luminous events in the universe. More than three decades after their discovery, and after pioneering advances from space and ground experiments, they still remain mysterious. The launch of the Swift and Fermi satellites in 2004 and 2008 brought in a trove of qualitatively new data. In this review we survey the interplay between these recent observations and the theoretical models of the prompt GRB emission and the subsequent afterglows.

  16. RURAL FLASH-FLOOD BEHAVIOR IN GOUYAVE WATERSHED, GRENADA, CARIBBEAN ISLAND

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahmat Aris Pratomo

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Flash-flood is considered as one of the most common natural disasters in Grenada, a tropical small state island in Caribbean Island. Grenada has several areas which are susceptible to flooding. One of them is Gouyave town which is located in the north-west of Grenada. Its land-use types are highly dominated by green areas, especially in the upper-part of the region. The built-up areas can only be found in the lower-part of Gouyave watershed, near the coastal area. However, there were many land conversions from natural land-use types into built-up areas in the upper-part region. They affected the decrease of water infiltration and the increase of potential run-off, making these areas susceptible to flash-flood. In addition, it is also influenced by the phenomenon of climate change. Changes in extreme temperature increase higher potential of hurricanes or wind-storm, directly related to the potential escalation of flash-flood. To develop effective mitigation strategies, understanding the behavior of flash-flood is required. The purpose of this paper was to observe the behavior of flash-flood in Gouyave watershed in various return periods using OpenLISEM software. It was used to develop and analyse the flash-flood characteristics. The result showed that the climatic condition (rainfall intensity and land-use are influential to the flash-flood event. Flash-flood occurs in 35 and 100 years return period. Flash-flood inundates Gouyave’s area in long duration, with below 1 m flood depth. The flood propagation time is slow. This condition is also influenced by the narrower and longer of Gouyave basin shape. To develop flash-flood reduction strategies, the overall understanding of flash-flood behavior is important. If the mitigation strategy is adapted to their behavior, the implementation will be more optimum.

  17. Professional Flash Mobile Development Creating Android and iPhone Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Wagner, Richard

    2010-01-01

    Professional Flash Mobile Development: Creating Android and iPhone ApplicationsEverything Flash developers need to know to create native Android and iPhone appsThis Wrox guide shows Flash developers how to create native applications for Android and iPhone mobile devices using Flash. Packed with practical examples, it shows how to build a variety of apps and integrate them with core mobile services such as Accelerometer, GPS, Photo Library,and more.Offers Flash developers the tools to create apps for the Android and iPhone mobile devicesSho

  18. A hybrid ferroelectric-flash memory cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Jae Hyo; Byun, Chang Woo; Seok, Ki Hwan; Kim, Hyung Yoon; Chae, Hee Jae; Lee, Sol Kyu; Son, Se Wan; Ahn, Donghwan; Joo, Seung Ki

    2014-09-01

    A ferroelectric-flash (F-flash) memory cells having a metal-ferroelectric-nitride-oxynitride-silicon structure are demonstrated, and the ferroelectric materials were perovskite-dominated Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) crystallized by Pt gate electrode. The PZT thin-film as a blocking layer improves electrical and memorial performance where programming and erasing mechanism are different from the metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor device or the conventional silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon device. F-flash cells exhibit not only the excellent electrical transistor performance, having 442.7 cm2 V-1 s-1 of field-effect mobility, 190 mV dec-1 of substhreshold slope, and 8 × 105 on/off drain current ratio, but also a high reliable memory characteristics, having a large memory window (6.5 V), low-operating voltage (0 to -5 V), faster P/E switching speed (50/500 μs), long retention time (>10 years), and excellent fatigue P/E cycle (>105) due to the boosting effect, amplification effect, and energy band distortion of nitride from the large polarization. All these characteristics correspond to the best performances among conventional flash cells reported so far.

  19. PENGEMBANGAN EVALUASI PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS MULTIMEDIA DENGAN FLASH, PHP, DAN MySQL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadi Sutopo

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Computer-Based Testing (CBT program was launched for years to give test takers the options of taking computerized version of test. The application which generates academic score is developed as a server-side with Adobe Flash. Flash is well known as a powerful and dynamic front-end for the Web. However, Flash is also great interface for server-side applications. PHP can launch server-side script using Flash as a front-end and pass variables back and forth between Flash and the PHP pages. Along with PHP, MySQL can be used to store data and later retrieve it. Using Flash as a front-end, data and variables are passed between the MySQL database, PHP, and Flash to enhance application's functionality in managing databases.

  20. History of hot flashes and aortic calcification among postmenopausal women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurston, Rebecca C; Kuller, Lewis H; Edmundowicz, Daniel; Matthews, Karen A

    2010-03-01

    Menopausal hot flashes are considered largely a quality-of-life issue. However, emerging research also links hot flashes to cardiovascular risk. In some investigations, this risk is particularly apparent among women using hormone therapy. The aim of this study was to determine whether a longer history of reported hot flashes over the study period was associated with greater aortic and coronary artery calcification. Interactions with hormone therapy use were examined in an exploratory fashion. Participants included 302 women participating in the Healthy Women Study, a longitudinal study of cardiovascular risk during perimenopause and postmenopause, which was initiated in 1983. Hot flashes (any/none) were assessed when women were 1, 2, 5, and 8 years postmenopausal. Electron beam tomography measures of coronary artery calcification and aortic calcification were completed in 1997-2004. Associations between the number of visits with report of hot flashes, divided by the number of visits attended, and aortic or coronary artery calcification (transformed) were examined in linear regression models. Interactions by hormone therapy use were evaluated. Among women using hormone therapy, a longer history of reported hot flashes was associated with increased aortic calcification, controlling for traditional cardiovascular risk factors (b = 2.87, SE = 1.21, P history of hot flashes and coronary artery calcification. Among postmenopausal women using hormone therapy, a longer history of reported hot flashes measured prospectively was associated with increased aortic calcification, controlling for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Hot flashes may signal adverse cardiovascular changes among certain postmenopausal women.

  1. Assessment of vulnerability to extreme flash floods in design storms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Eung Seok; Choi, Hyun Il

    2011-07-01

    There has been an increase in the occurrence of sudden local flooding of great volume and short duration caused by heavy or excessive rainfall intensity over a small area, which presents the greatest potential danger threat to the natural environment, human life, public health and property, etc. Such flash floods have rapid runoff and debris flow that rises quickly with little or no advance warning to prevent flood damage. This study develops a flash flood index through the average of the same scale relative severity factors quantifying characteristics of hydrographs generated from a rainfall-runoff model for the long-term observed rainfall data in a small ungauged study basin, and presents regression equations between rainfall characteristics and the flash flood index. The aim of this study is to develop flash flood index-duration-frequency relation curves by combining the rainfall intensity-duration-frequency relation and the flash flood index from probability rainfall data in order to evaluate vulnerability to extreme flash floods in design storms. This study is an initial effort to quantify the flash flood severity of design storms for both existing and planned flood control facilities to cope with residual flood risks due to extreme flash floods that have ocurred frequently in recent years.

  2. Experimental study of self magnetic pinch diode as flash radiography source at 4 megavolt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Etchessahar, Bertrand; Bicrel, Béatrice; Cassany, Bruno; Desanlis, Thierry; Voisin, Luc; Maisonny, Rémi; Toury, Martial; Hourdin, Laurent; Cartier, Frédéric; Cartier, Stéphanie; D'Almeida, Thierry; Delbos, Christophe; Garrigues, Alain; Plouhinec, Damien; Ritter, Sandra; Sol, David; Zucchini, Frédéric; Caron, Michel

    2013-01-01

    The Self Magnetic Pinch (SMP) diode is a potential high-brightness X-ray source for high voltage generators (2–10 MV) that has shown good reliability for flash radiography applications [D. D. Hinchelwood et al., “High power self-pinch diode experiments for radiographic applications” IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 35(3), 565–572 (2007)]. We have studied this diode at about 4 MV, driven by the ASTERIX generator operated at the CEA/GRAMAT [G. Raboisson et al., “ASTERIX, a high intensity X-ray generator,” in Proceedings of the 7th IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (1989), pp. 567–570]. This generator, made up of a capacitor bank and a Blumlein line, was initially designed to test the behavior of electronic devices under irradiation. In our experiments, the vacuum diode is modified in order to set up flash radiographic diodes. A previous set of radiographic experiments was carried out on ASTERIX with a Negative Polarity Rod Pinch (NPRP) diode [B. Etchessahar et al., “Study and optimization of negative polarity rod pinch diode as flash radiography source at 4.5 MV,” Phys. Plasmas 19(9), 093104 (2012)]. The SMP diode which is examined in the present study provides an alternative operating point on the same generator and a different radiographic performance: 142 ± 11 rad at 1 m dose (Al) for a 3.46 ± 0.42 mm spot size (1.4× FWHM of the LSF). This performance is obtained in a reproducible and robust nominal configuration. However, several parametric variations were also tested, such as cathode diameter and anode/cathode gap. They showed that an even better performance is accessible after optimization, in particular, a smaller spot size (<3 mm). Numbers of electrical, optical, and X-ray diagnostics have been implemented in order to gain more insight in the diode physics and to optimize it further. For the first time in France, visible and laser imaging of the SMP diode has been realized, from a radial point of view, thus, providing key information on the electrode

  3. FPGA Flash Memory High Speed Data Acquisition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, April

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to design and implement a VHDL ONFI Controller module for a Modular Instrumentation System. The goal of the Modular Instrumentation System will be to have a low power device that will store data and send the data at a low speed to a processor. The benefit of such a system will give an advantage over other purchased binary IP due to the capability of allowing NASA to re-use and modify the memory controller module. To accomplish the performance criteria of a low power system, an in house auxiliary board (Flash/ADC board), FPGA development kit, debug board, and modular instrumentation board will be jointly used for the data acquisition. The Flash/ADC board contains four, 1 MSPS, input channel signals and an Open NAND Flash memory module with an analog to digital converter. The ADC, data bits, and control line signals from the board are sent to an Microsemi/Actel FPGA development kit for VHDL programming of the flash memory WRITE, READ, READ STATUS, ERASE, and RESET operation waveforms using Libero software. The debug board will be used for verification of the analog input signal and be able to communicate via serial interface with the module instrumentation. The scope of the new controller module was to find and develop an ONFI controller with the debug board layout designed and completed for manufacture. Successful flash memory operation waveform test routines were completed, simulated, and tested to work on the FPGA board. Through connection of the Flash/ADC board with the FPGA, it was found that the device specifications were not being meet with Vdd reaching half of its voltage. Further testing showed that it was the manufactured Flash/ADC board that contained a misalignment with the ONFI memory module traces. The errors proved to be too great to fix in the time limit set for the project.

  4. Multi-Level Bitmap Indexes for Flash Memory Storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Kesheng; Madduri, Kamesh; Canon, Shane

    2010-07-23

    Due to their low access latency, high read speed, and power-efficient operation, flash memory storage devices are rapidly emerging as an attractive alternative to traditional magnetic storage devices. However, tests show that the most efficient indexing methods are not able to take advantage of the flash memory storage devices. In this paper, we present a set of multi-level bitmap indexes that can effectively take advantage of flash storage devices. These indexing methods use coarsely binned indexes to answer queries approximately, and then use finely binned indexes to refine the answers. Our new methods read significantly lower volumes of data at the expense of an increased disk access count, thus taking full advantage of the improved read speed and low access latency of flash devices. To demonstrate the advantage of these new indexes, we measure their performance on a number of storage systems using a standard data warehousing benchmark called the Set Query Benchmark. We observe that multi-level strategies on flash drives are up to 3 times faster than traditional indexing strategies on magnetic disk drives.

  5. Simulated CONUS Flash Flood Climatologies from Distributed Hydrologic Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flamig, Z.; Gourley, J. J.; Vergara, H. J.; Kirstetter, P. E.; Hong, Y.

    2016-12-01

    This study will describe a CONUS flash flood climatology created over the period from 2002 through 2011. The MRMS reanalysis precipitation dataset was used as forcing into the Ensemble Framework For Flash Flood Forecasting (EF5). This high resolution 1-sq km 5-minute dataset is ideal for simulating flash floods with a distributed hydrologic model. EF5 features multiple water balance components including SAC-SMA, CREST, and a hydrophobic model all coupled with kinematic wave routing. The EF5/SAC-SMA and EF5/CREST water balance schemes were used for the creation of dual flash flood climatologies based on the differing water balance principles. For the period from 2002 through 2011 the daily maximum streamflow, unit streamflow, and time of peak streamflow was stored along with the minimum soil moisture. These variables are used to describe the states of the soils right before a flash flood event and the peak streamflow that was simulated during the flash flood event. The results will be shown, compared and contrasted. The resulting model simulations will be verified on basins less than 1,000-sq km with USGS gauges to ensure the distributed hydrologic models are reliable. The results will also be compared spatially to Storm Data flash flood event observations to judge the degree of agreement between the simulated climatologies and observations.

  6. The design of the light-flash warning light

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Junli

    2018-05-01

    In today's society, the warning light has been used widely in people's daily life and various industries and agricultures. It is important to protect people's life and security. Light-flashing warning light is a kind of warning light control equipment which can control warning light automatically open and work in the state of blinking after dark, and it can automatically shut down after the dawn. It can achieve the flashing light automatic control and dual function. At present, light-flashing warning lights are mainly used in the projects of municipal construction. It is helpful to warn people and vehicles that passed in the construction site and ensure personal safety through using light-flashing warning light. Its design is simple, its performance is stable and it is also very convince to use it.

  7. Understanding processes that generate flash floods in the arid Judean Desert to the Dead Sea - a measurement network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hennig, Hanna; Rödiger, Tino; Laronne, Jonathan B.; Geyer, Stefan; Merz, Ralf

    2016-04-01

    Flash floods in (semi-) arid regions are fascinating in their suddenness and can be harmful for humans, infrastructure, industry and tourism. Generated within minutes, an early warning system is essential. A hydrological model is required to quantify flash floods. Current models to predict flash floods are often based on simplified concepts and/or on concepts which were developed for humid regions. To more closely relate such models to local conditions, processes within catchments where flash floods occur require consideration. In this study we present a monitoring approach to decipher different flash flood generating processes in the ephemeral Wadi Arugot on the western side of the Dead Sea. To understand rainfall input a dense rain gauge network was installed. Locations of rain gauges were chosen based on land use, slope and soil cover. The spatiotemporal variation of rain intensity will also be available from radar backscatter. Level pressure sensors located at the outlet of major tributaries have been deployed to analyze in which part of the catchment water is generated. To identify the importance of soil moisture preconditions, two cosmic ray sensors have been deployed. At the outlet of the Arugot water is sampled and level is monitored. To more accurately determine water discharge, water velocity is measured using portable radar velocimetry. A first analysis of flash flood processes will be presented following the FLEX-Topo concept .(Savenije, 2010), where each landscape type is represented using an individual hydrological model according to the processes within the three hydrological response units: plateau, desert and outlet. References: Savenije, H. H. G.: HESS Opinions "Topography driven conceptual modelling (FLEX-Topo)", Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2681-2692, doi:10.5194/hess-14-2681-2010, 2010.

  8. The echo-enabled harmonic generation options for FLASH II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng, Haixiao; Decking, Winfried; Faatz, Bart

    2011-03-01

    FLASH II is an upgrade to the existing free electron laser (FEL) FLASH. The echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) scheme is proposed to be a potential seeding option of FLASH II. In this paper, the possibility of EEHG operation of FLASH II is investigated for the first time. With a combination of existing numerical codes, i.e. a laser-beam interaction code in an undulator (LBICU), a beam tracking code in a chicane (ELEGANT) and an universal FEL simulating code (GENESIS), the effects of beam energy chirp and coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) on EEHG operation are studied as well. In addition, several interesting issues concerning EEHG simulation are discussed. (orig.)

  9. X-ray shout echoing through space

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-01-01

    a flash of X-rays hi-res Size hi-res: 3991 Kb Credits: ESA, S. Vaughan (University of Leicester) EPIC camera shows the expanding rings caused by a flash of X-rays XMM-Newton's X-ray EPIC camera shows the expanding rings caused by a flash of X-rays scattered by dust in our Galaxy. The X-rays were produced by a powerful gamma-ray burst that took place on 3 December 2003. The slowly fading afterglow of the gamma-ray burst is at the centre of the expanding rings. Other, unrelated, X-ray sources can also be seen. The time since the gamma-ray explosion is shown in each panel in hours. At their largest size, the rings would appear in the sky about five times smaller than the full moon. a flash of X-rays hi-res Size hi-res: 2153 Kb Credits: ESA, S. Vaughan (University of Leicester) EPIC camera shows the expanding rings caused by a flash of X-rays (Please choose "hi-res" version for animation) XMM-Newton's X-ray EPIC camera shows the expanding rings caused by a flash of X-rays scattered by dust in our Galaxy. The X-rays were produced by a powerful gamma-ray burst that took place on 3 December 2003. The slowly fading afterglow of the gamma-ray burst is at the centre of the expanding rings. Other, unrelated, X-ray sources can also be seen. The time since the gamma-ray explosion is shown in each panel in seconds. At their largest size, the rings would appear in the sky about five times smaller than the full moon. This echo forms when the powerful radiation of a gamma-ray burst, coming from far away, crosses a slab of dust in our Galaxy and is scattered by it, like the beam of a lighthouse in clouds. Using the expanding rings to precisely pin-point the location of this dust, astronomers can identify places where new stars and planets are likely to form. On 3 December 2003 ESA's observatory, Integral, detected a burst of gamma rays, lasting about 30 seconds, from the direction of a distant galaxy. Within minutes of the detection, thanks to a sophisticated alert network, many

  10. All-photonic drying and sintering process via flash white light combined with deep-UV and near-infrared irradiation for highly conductive copper nano-ink

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hwang, Hyun-Jun; Oh, Kyung-Hwan; Kim, Hak-Sung

    2016-01-01

    We developed an ultra-high speed photonic sintering method involving flash white light (FWL) combined with near infrared (NIR) and deep UV light irradiation to produce highly conductive copper nano-ink film. Flash white light irradiation energy and the power of NIR/deep UV were optimized to obtain high conductivity Cu films. Several microscopic and spectroscopic characterization techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were employed to characterize the Cu nano-films. Optimally sintered Cu nano-ink films produced using a deep UV-assisted flash white light sintering technique had the lowest resistivity (7.62 μΩ·cm), which was only 4.5-fold higher than that of bulk Cu film (1.68 μΩ•cm). PMID:26806215

  11. A void distribution model-flashing flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riznic, J.; Ishii, M.; Afgan, N.

    1987-01-01

    A new model for flashing flow based on wall nucleations is proposed here and the model predictions are compared with some experimental data. In order to calculate the bubble number density, the bubble number transport equation with a distributed source from the wall nucleation sites was used. Thus it was possible to avoid the usual assumption of a constant bubble number density. Comparisons of the model with the data shows that the model based on the nucleation site density correlation appears to be acceptable to describe the vapor generation in the flashing flow. For the limited data examined, the comparisons show rather satisfactory agreement without using a floating parameter to adjust the model. This result indicated that, at least for the experimental conditions considered here, the mechanistic predictions of the flashing phenomenon is possible on the present wall nucleation based model

  12. Flash memories economic principles of performance, cost and reliability optimization

    CERN Document Server

    Richter, Detlev

    2014-01-01

    The subject of this book is to introduce a model-based quantitative performance indicator methodology applicable for performance, cost and reliability optimization of non-volatile memories. The complex example of flash memories is used to introduce and apply the methodology. It has been developed by the author based on an industrial 2-bit to 4-bit per cell flash development project. For the first time, design and cost aspects of 3D integration of flash memory are treated in this book. Cell, array, performance and reliability effects of flash memories are introduced and analyzed. Key performance parameters are derived to handle the flash complexity. A performance and array memory model is developed and a set of performance indicators characterizing architecture, cost and durability is defined.   Flash memories are selected to apply the Performance Indicator Methodology to quantify design and technology innovation. A graphical representation based on trend lines is introduced to support a requirement based pr...

  13. Method for programming a flash memory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brosky, Alexander R.; Locke, William N.; Maher, Conrado M.

    2016-08-23

    A method of programming a flash memory is described. The method includes partitioning a flash memory into a first group having a first level of write-protection, a second group having a second level of write-protection, and a third group having a third level of write-protection. The write-protection of the second and third groups is disabled using an installation adapter. The third group is programmed using a Software Installation Device.

  14. Environmental Effects on Data Retention in Flash Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, Rich; Flowers, David; Bergevin, Keith

    2017-01-01

    Flash technology is being utilized in fuzed munition applications and, based on the development of digital logic devices in the commercial world, usage of flash technology will increase. Antifuse technology, prevalent in non-volatile field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), will eventually be phased out as new devices have not been developed for approximately a decade. The reliance on flash technology presents a long-term reliability issue for both DoD and NASA safety- and mission-critical applications. A thorough understanding of the data retention failure modes and statistics associated with Flash data retention is of vital concern to the fuze safety community. A key retention parameter for a flash cell is the threshold voltage (VTH), which is an indirect indicator of the amount of charge stored on the cells floating gate. This paper will present the results of our on-going tests: long-term storage at 150 C for a small population of devices, neutron radiation exposure, electrostatic discharge (ESD) testing, and the trends of large populations (over 300 devices for each condition) exposed to three difference temperatures: 25 C, 125 C, and 150 C.

  15. Flash photolysis of rhodopsin in the cat retina

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ripps, H.; Mehaffey, L.; Siegel, I.M.; Ernst, W.; Kemp, C.M.

    1981-01-01

    The bleaching of rhodopsin by short-duration flashes of a xenon discharge lamp was studied in vivo in the cat retina with the aid of a rapid, spectral-scan fundus reflectometer. Difference spectra recorded over a broad range of intensities showed that the bleaching efficacy of high-intensity flashes was less than that of longer duration, steady lights delivering the same amount of energy. Both the empirical results and those derived from a theoretical analysis of flash photolysis indicate that, under the conditions of these experiments, the upper limit of the flash bleaching of rhodopsin in cat is approximately 90%. Although the fact that a full bleach could not be attained is attributable to photoreversal, i.e., the photic regeneration of rhodopsin from its light-sensitive intermediates, the 90% limit is considerably higher than the 50% (or lower) value obtained under other experimental circumstances. Thus, it appears that the duration (approximately 1 ms) and spectral composition of the flash, coupled with the kinetic parameters of the thermal and photic reactions in the cat retina, reduce the light-induced regeneration of rhodopsin to approximately 10%

  16. Desorption of deuterium from beryllium codeposits using flash heating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, J.H., E-mail: jyu@ferp.ucsd.edu [Center for Energy Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0417 (United States); Baldwin, M.J.; Doerner, R.P. [Center for Energy Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0417 (United States); Pitts, R.A. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 Saint Paul Lez Durance (France); Smirnov, R.D. [Center for Energy Research, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0417 (United States); Xu, H.W. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, CA 92186-5608 (United States)

    2013-07-15

    As a result of safety concerns, limits will be placed on the allowable tritium inventory retained inside the ITER vacuum vessel. The primary motivation for the present work is to test the proposed method of removing tritium from main chamber codeposits using radiative heat flashing from controlled ITER plasma shutdowns. Detritiation of Be codeposits is studied in the PISCES-B facility using flash-heating by a 10 ms laser with up to 2 MJ/m{sup 2} of absorbed energy density. Three types of codeposits are flash-heated with layer thickness ranging from 0.1 to 1.2 μm. Less than 25% of the D in the Be layer escapes at ITER-relevant flash energy densities and with peak surface temperature up to ∼900 °C. Repetitive flashing with peak surface temperature of 400–500 °C results in an increased population of higher energy trap sites, implying that transient heating which causes appropriate surface temperature excursion redistributes D among codeposit trap sites.

  17. Gun muzzle flash detection using a CMOS single photon avalanche diode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merhav, Tomer; Savuskan, Vitali; Nemirovsky, Yael

    2013-10-01

    Si based sensors, in particular CMOS Image sensors, have revolutionized low cost imaging systems but to date have hardly been considered as possible candidates for gun muzzle flash detection, due to performance limitations, and low SNR in the visible spectrum. In this study, a CMOS Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) module is used to record and sample muzzle flash events in the visible spectrum, from representative weapons, common on the modern battlefield. SPADs possess two crucial properties for muzzle flash imaging - Namely, very high photon detection sensitivity, coupled with a unique ability to convert the optical signal to a digital signal at the source pixel, thus practically eliminating readout noise. This enables high sampling frequencies in the kilohertz range without SNR degradation, in contrast to regular CMOS image sensors. To date, the SPAD has not been utilized for flash detection in an uncontrolled environment, such as gun muzzle flash detection. Gun propellant manufacturers use alkali salts to suppress secondary flashes ignited during the muzzle flash event. Common alkali salts are compounds based on Potassium or Sodium, with spectral emission lines around 769nm and 589nm, respectively. A narrow band filter around the Potassium emission doublet is used in this study to favor the muzzle flash signal over solar radiation. This research will demonstrate the SPAD's ability to accurately sample and reconstruct the temporal behavior of the muzzle flash in the visible wavelength under the specified imaging conditions. The reconstructed signal is clearly distinguishable from background clutter, through exploitation of flash temporal characteristics.

  18. Phototoxic effects of commercial photographic flash lamp on rat eyes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, Makoto; Shinoda, Kei; Ohde, Hisao; Tezuka, Keiji; Hida, Tetsuo

    2006-11-01

    To determine whether exposure of the cornea and retina of rats to flashes from a commercial photographic flash lamp is phototoxic. Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 10, 100, or 1,000 flashes of the OPTICAM 16M photographic flash lamp (Fujikoeki, Japan) placed 0.1, 1, or 3 m from the eyes. Corneal damage was assessed by a fluorescein staining score, and the retinal damage by eletroretinography (ERG) and histology before and 24 h after exposure. Exposure of the eyes to 1,000 flashes at 0.1 m increased the fluorescein staining score significantly (P = 0.009, the Mann-Whitney test). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the cornea showed a detachment of the epithelial cells from the surface after this exposure. The amplitude of the a-wave was decreased significantly by 23.0% (P = 0.026) of the amplitude before the exposure, and the b-wave by 19.7% (P = 0.0478) following 1,000 flashes at 0.1 m but not by the other exposures. TUNEL-positive cells were present in the outer nuclear layer only after the extreme exposure, but no significant decrease in retinal thickness was seen under any condition. The fluorescein staining score and ERGs recovered to control levels within 1 week. Light exposure to a photographic flash lamp does not induce damage to the cornea and retina except when they are exposed to 1,000 flashes at 0.1 m.

  19. Au Contraire: Gifted in a Flash (Mob)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delisle, James R.

    2012-01-01

    A "flash mob" is defined by Wikipedia as "a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then disperse." Fueled by social media and Smartphones, flash mobs have been used, primarily, as entertaining diversions by addicted techies with (apparently) tons of time on their hands.…

  20. Nuclear Malaysia Plasma Focus Device as a X-ray Source For Radiography Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rokiah Mohd Sabri; Abdul Halim Baijan; Siti Aiasah Hashim; Mohd Rizal Mohd Chulan; Wah, L.K.; Mukhlis Mokhtar; Azaman Ahmad; Rosli Che Ros

    2013-01-01

    A 3.375 kJ plasma focus is designed to operate at 13.5 kV for the purpose of studying x-ray source for radiography in Argon discharge. X-rays is detected by using x-ray film from the mammography radiographic plate. The feasibility of the plasma focus as a high intensity flash x-ray source for good contrast in radiography image is presented. (author)

  1. Quick Guide to Flash Catalyst

    CERN Document Server

    Elmansy, Rafiq

    2011-01-01

    How do you transform user interface designs created in Photoshop or Illustrator into interactive web pages? It's easier than you think. This guide shows you how to use Adobe Flash Catalyst to create interactive UIs and website wireframes for Rich Internet Applications-without writing a single line of code. Ideal for web designers, this book introduces Flash Catalyst basics with detailed step-by-step instructions and screenshots that illustrate every part of the process. You'll learn hands-on how to turn your static design or artwork into working user interfaces that can be implemented in Fla

  2. Numerical analyses of flashing jet structure and droplet size characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duan Riqiang; Jiang Shengyao; Koshizuka, Seiichi; Oka, Yoshiaki; Yamaguchi, Akira; Takata, Takashi

    2006-01-01

    In this paper, flashing jets are numerically simulated using the MPS method. The boiling mode for flashing is identified as surface boiling mode, based on the postulation of jets from a short nozzle under high depressurization. The Homogeneous Non-equilibrium Relaxation Model (HRM) is used for calculating the evaporation rate of flashing. The numerical simulation results show that flashing jets comprise an inner intact core which is surrounded by two-phase droplet flow. The effect of degree of superheat on the jet topological geometry is investigated. With increasing degree of superheat, the topological shape of flashing jets evolves from cylindrical core for low degree of superheat to cone-shaped core for high degree of superheat, and meanwhile the extinction length comes to decrease and tends asymptotically constant as the injection temperature approaches the saturation temperature corresponding to the injection pressure. The analyses of the droplet size distribution engendered from primary breakup of flashing jets show that: two peaks exist for droplet size distribution at lower degree of superheat; however, merely one peak for higher degree of superheat. From droplet size distribution, it is revealed that the primary breakup mechanism of flashing jets can be attributed to dominant mechanical breakup mode plus enhancement via surface evaporation. (author)

  3. 49 CFR 234.253 - Flashing light units and lamp voltage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Flashing light units and lamp voltage. 234.253... Maintenance, Inspection, and Testing Inspections and Tests § 234.253 Flashing light units and lamp voltage. (a... voltage shall be tested when installed and at least once every 12 months thereafter. (c) Each flashing...

  4. Measurements in shock physics: R and D in flash radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abraham, I.; Caron, M.; Etchessahar, B.; Le Dain, L.; Negre, J.P.; Partouche-Sebban, D.; Pichoff, N.; Toury, M.

    2010-01-01

    Within the simulation program of Cea-Dam, the radiographs produced by the AIRIX facility (induction Linac for flash radiography and X-ray imaging), provide fundamental experimental data for studying the dynamic behaviour of non nuclear materials under the effects of chemical explosive detonation. In order to improve the precision on the observed phenomena (locations of materials interfaces, development of instabilities, etc.), various research and development works have been performed on the modelling of the radiographic image formation, on the optimization of the radiographic chain and on the algorithms for image processing. This article presents in particular the studies on the various technologies of X-sources, on the new configurations of radiographic chains, and on the new digital imagers. (authors)

  5. Variable X-ray sky with Lobster Eye Telescopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudec, R.; Pina, L.; Inneman, A.; Sveda, L.

    2004-01-01

    The variable X-ray sky requires wide-field monitoring with high sensitivity. We refer on novel X-ray telescopes with high sensitivity as well as large field of view. The results are very promising, allowing the proposals for space projects with very wide-field Lobster-eye X-ray optics to be considered. The novel telescopes will monitor the sky with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution of order of 1 arcmin. They are expected to contribute essentially to study and to understand various astrophysical objects such as AGN, SNe, GRBs, X-ray flashes, galactic binary sources, stars, CVs, X-ray novae, various transient sources, etc

  6. The slewing mirror telescope of the Ultra Fast Flash Observatory Pathfinder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeong, S.; Ahmad, S.; Barrillon, P.

    2012-01-01

    The Slewing Mirror Telescope (SMT) is a key telescope of Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) space project to explore the first sub-minute or sub-seconds early photons from the Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) afterglows. As the realization of UFFO, 20kg of UFFO-Pathfinder (UFFO-P) is going to be on board...... the Russian Lomonosov satellite in November 2012 by Soyuz-2 rocket. Once the UFFO Burst Alert & Trigger Telescope (UBAT) detects the GRBs, Slewing mirror (SM) will slew to bring new GRB into the SMT’s field of view rather than slewing the entire spacecraft. SMT can give a UV/Optical counterpart position...

  7. Freeware eLearning Flash-ECG for learning electrocardiography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanov, Kalle; Kuusi, Timo

    2009-06-01

    Electrocardiographic (ECG) analysis can be taught in eLearning programmes with suitable software that permits the effective use of basic tools such as a ruler and a magnifier, required for measurements. The Flash-ECG (Research & Development Unit for Medical Education, University of Helsinki, Finland) was developed to enable teachers and students to use scanned and archived ECGs on computer screens and classroom projectors. The software requires only a standard web browser with a Flash plug-in and can be integrated with learning environments (Blackboard/WebCT, Moodle). The Flash-ECG is freeware and is available to medical teachers worldwide.

  8. Lunar Impact Flash Locations from NASA's Lunar Impact Monitoring Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moser, D. E.; Suggs, R. M.; Kupferschmidt, L.; Feldman, J.

    2015-01-01

    Meteoroids are small, natural bodies traveling through space, fragments from comets, asteroids, and impact debris from planets. Unlike the Earth, which has an atmosphere that slows, ablates, and disintegrates most meteoroids before they reach the ground, the Moon has little-to-no atmosphere to prevent meteoroids from impacting the lunar surface. Upon impact, the meteoroid's kinetic energy is partitioned into crater excavation, seismic wave production, and the generation of a debris plume. A flash of light associated with the plume is detectable by instruments on Earth. Following the initial observation of a probable Taurid impact flash on the Moon in November 2005,1 the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) began a routine monitoring program to observe the Moon for meteoroid impact flashes in early 2006, resulting in the observation of over 330 impacts to date. The main objective of the MEO is to characterize the meteoroid environment for application to spacecraft engineering and operations. The Lunar Impact Monitoring Program provides information about the meteoroid flux in near-Earth space in a size range-tens of grams to a few kilograms-difficult to measure with statistical significance by other means. A bright impact flash detected by the program in March 2013 brought into focus the importance of determining the impact flash location. Prior to this time, the location was estimated to the nearest half-degree by visually comparing the impact imagery to maps of the Moon. Better accuracy was not needed because meteoroid flux calculations did not require high-accuracy impact locations. But such a bright event was thought to have produced a fresh crater detectable from lunar orbit by the NASA spacecraft Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The idea of linking the observation of an impact flash with its crater was an appealing one, as it would validate NASA photometric calculations and crater scaling laws developed from hypervelocity gun testing. This idea was

  9. Irradiation of intense characteristic x-rays from weakly ionized linear molybdenum plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Eiichi; Hayasi, Yasuomi

    2003-01-01

    In the plasma flash x-ray generator, a high-voltage main condenser of approximately 200 nF is charged up to 55 kV by a power supply, and electric charges in the condenser are discharged to an x-ray tube after triggering the cathode electrode. The flash x-rays are then produced. The x-ray tube is a demountable triode that is connected to a turbo molecular pump with a pressure of approximately 1 mPa. As electron flows from the cathode electrode are roughly converged to a rod molybdenum target of 2.0 mm in diameter by the electric field in the x-ray tube, weakly ionized linear plasma, which consists of molybdenum ions and electrons, forms by target evaporation. At a charging voltage of 55 kV, the maximum tube voltage was almost equal to the charging voltage of the main condenser, and the peak current was about 20 kA. When the charging voltage was increased, the linear plasma formed, and the K-series characteristic x-ray intensities increased. The K lines were quite sharp and intense, and hardly any bremsstrahlung rays were detected. The x-ray pulse widths were approximately 700 ns, and the time-integrated x-ray intensity had a value of approximately 35 μC/kg at 1.0 m from the x-ray source with a charging voltage of 50 kV. (author)

  10. Mechanisms of nucleation in flashing flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, F.; Giot, M.

    1989-01-01

    The mechanisms of nucleation have been analysed. Starting from the assumption that the activation of micro-cavities in the wall surfaces is the most probable nucleation mechanism in practical flashing system, the authors study in detail the nucleation in a micro-cavity. A three step nucleation criterion is proposed, namely: trapping cavity, activable cavity and active cavity. Then, a new nucleation model is presented. The output of the model is the prediction of the bubble departure frequency versus the thermodynamic state of the liquid and the geometry of the cavity. The model can also predict the nucleation site density if the nature of the wall and the surface roughness are know. The prediction have been successfully compared with some preliminary experimental results. By combining the present model with Jones'theory, the flashing inception is correctly predicted. The use of this nucleation model for the complete modelling of a flashing non-equilibrium flow is in progress

  11. Flashing of high-pressure saturated water into the pool water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takamasa, Tomoji; Kondo, Koichi; Aya, Izuo.

    1997-01-01

    This paper presents an experimental study on a saturated high-pressure water discharging into a water pool. The purpose of the experiment is to clarify the phenomena that occur by a blow-down of the water from the pressure vessel into the water-filled containment in the case of a wall-crack accident or a LOCA in a passive safety reactor. The results show that a flashing oscillation (FO) occurs when the water discharges into the pool, under specified experimental conditions. The range of the flashing location oscillates between a point very close to and some distance away from the vent hole. The pressures in the vent tube and water pool constantly fluctuate due to the flashing oscillation. The pressure oscillation and alternating flashing location might be caused by the balancing action between the supply of saturated water, flashing at the control volume and steam condensation on the steam-water interface. The frequencies of FO, or frequencies of pressure oscillation and alternating flashing location, increased as water subcooling increased, and as discharging pressure and vent hole diameter decreased. A linear analysis was conducted using a spherical flashing bubble model in which the motion of bubble is controlled by steam condensation. The effects of these parameters on the period of FO in the experiments can be predicted well by the analysis. (author)

  12. Helium-burning flashes on accreting neutron stars: effects of stellar mass, radius, and magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joss, P.C.; Li, F.K.

    1980-01-01

    We have computed the evolution of the helium-burning shell in an accreting neutron star for various values of the stellar mass (M), radius (R), and surface magnetic fields strength (B). As shown in previous work, the helium-burning shell is often unstable and undergoes thermonuclear flashes that result in the emission of X-ray bursts from the neutron-star surface. The dependence of the properties of these bursts upon the values of M and R can be described by simple scaling relations. A strong magnetic field decreases the radiative and conductive opacities and inhibits convection in the neutron-star surface layers. For B 12 gauss, these effects are unimportant; for B> or approx. =10 13 gauss, the enhancement of the electron thermal conductivity is sufficiently large to stabilize the helium-burning shell against thermonuclear flashes. For intermediate values of B, the reduced opacities increase the recurrence intervals between bursts and the energy released per burst, while the inhibition of convection increases the burst rise times to about a few seconds. If the magnetic field funnels the accreting matter onto the magnetic polar caps, the instability of the helium-burning shell will be very strongly suppressed. These results suggest that it may eventually be possible to extract information on the macroscopic properties of neutron stars from the observed features of X-ray burst sources

  13. Implikasi Multimedia Interaktif Berbasis Flash Terhadap Motivasi dan Prestasi Belajar Matematika

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edi Irawan

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available [Bahasa]: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji efektivitas penggunaan multimedia berbasis flash pada mata kuliah statistika ditinjau dari motivasi belajar dan prestasi belajar mahasiswa. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian eksperimen semu dengan desain pretest-posttest nonequivalent group design. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di STKIP PGRI Pacitan pada tahun 2016. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah tes prestasi belajar dan angket motivasi belajar mahasiswa. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah uji one sample t-test, uji T2 Hotelling’s, dan uji t-Bonferroni. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan multimedia berbasis flash pada mata kuliah statistika lebih efektif daripada pembelajaran menggunakan media powerpoint ditinjau dari motivasi belajar dan prestasi belajar mahasiswa. Prestasi belajar statistika mahasiswa yang menggunakan media flash lebih baik daripada mahasiswa yang menggunakan media powerpoint. Demikian halnya pada aspek motivasi belajar, mahasiswa yang menggunakan flash mengalami peningkatan motivasi yang lebih signifikan daripada mahasiswa yang menggunakan media powerpoint. Kata kunci: Multimedia Flash; Motivasi Belajar; Prestasi Belajar; Statistika [English]: This study aims to test the effectiveness of the use of flash-based multimedia in the course of statistics toward learning motivation and student achievement. This research is a quasi-experimental research with pretest-posttest nonequivalent group design. This research was conducted at STKIP PGRI Pacitan in 2016. The instrument used was the test of student achievement and questionnaire of student's motivation. Data analysis techniques used one sample t-test, T2 Hotelling's test, and t-Bonferroni test. The results showed that the use of flash-based multimedia in the course of statistics is more effective than learning using powerpoint in terms of learning motivation and student achievement. Students’ achievement in statistics using flash media are better than students

  14. Effect of Soybeans on Hot Flashes in Postmenopausal Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H Mozaffari-khosravi

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Hot flashes are common and discomfortable signs of menopause that present with blazing sweatiness, sense of hotness, tachycardia and agitation. Hot flashes cause disturbances in daily activity and quality of night sleep. In spite of the effect of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT on hot flashes, nowadays, there are diverse opinions about HRT and the reason is that it has chronic complications. In addition, the acceptance of HRT by Iranian women is very low. Study of numerous texts has shown that isofliavone present in soybean is a phytoestrogen that could be effective in control of hot flashes. The purpose of the study is to examine the changes in time periods of hot flashes in response to consumption of 74 mg Isoflavone/day present in 60 grams soybeans in menopausal women. Methods: This study was a clinical trial with before and after design that included 31 postmenopausal women. The participants were assessed with respect to daily hot flashes at baseline and after one, two and three months of intervention. Participants consumed daily 60 grams soybeans for 3 months. Blood samples were taken at the start and end of intervention for determining levels of gonadotropins and estradiol. Data was analyzed by SPSS software. Results: There was a decrease in time period of hot flashes from baseline of 5.88±2.61 to 3.45±1.82 after one month, 2.73±1.57 after two months and 2.16±1.48 after three months of consumption of soybeans (P<0.001. There was decrease in levels of FSH, LH & estradiol after 3 months, but this decrease was not significant, except in the case of estradiol. Conclusion: In line with various studies proposing the use of soybeans in the form of concentrate, drink or capsule, this study suggests that consumption of soybeans (60 gr daily as snacks may be a safe and effective method for controlling hot flashes in postmenopausal women..

  15. Flashes and floaters - a practical approach to assessment and management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahawita, Shyalle; Simon, Sumu; Gilhotra, Jolly

    2014-04-01

    Flashes and floaters are common ophthalmic issues for which patients may initially present to their general practitioner. It may be a sign of benign, 
age-related changes of the vitreous or more serious retinal detachment. This article provides a guide to the assessment and management of a patient presenting with flashes and floaters. Although most patients presenting with flashes and floaters have benign 
age-related changes, they must be referred to an ophthalmologist to rule out sight-threatening conditions. Key examination features include the nature of the flashes and floaters, whether one or both eyes are affected and changes in visual acuity or visual field.

  16. A pilot study of magnetic therapy for hot flashes after breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Janet S; Wells, Nancy; Lambert, Beth; Watson, Peggy; Slayton, Tami; Chak, Bapsi; Hepworth, Joseph T; Worthington, W Bradley

    2002-04-01

    The purpose of this randomized placebo-controlled crossover pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of magnetic therapy for hot flashes among breast cancer survivors. Participants completed a 24-hour baseline hot-flash monitoring session, wore the magnetic devices or placebo for 3 days, completed an after-treatment hot-flash monitoring session, experienced a 10-day washout period, and then crossed over to the opposite study arm. Magnetic devices and placebos were placed on 6 acupressure sites corresponding to hot-flash relief. Complete data were available from 11 survivors of breast cancer. Results indicated magnetic therapy was no more effective than placebo in decreasing hot-flash severity, and contrary to expectations, placebo was significantly more effective than magnets in decreasing hot-flash frequency, bother, interference with daily activities, and overall quality of life. Implications for clinical practice and future research include the need to explore alternative interventions aimed at alleviating hot flashes in this population.

  17. LOBSTER - New Space X-Ray telescopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudec, R.; Pina, L.; Simon, V.; Sveda, L.; Inneman, A.; Semencova, V.; Skulinova, M.

    2007-01-01

    We discuss the technological and scientific aspects of fully innovative very wide-field X-ray telescopes with high sensitivity. The prototypes of Lobster telescopes designed, developed and tested are very promising, allowing the proposals for space projects with very wide-field Lobster Eye X-ray optics to be considered for the first time. The novel telescopes will monitor the sky with unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution of order of 1 arcmin. They are expected to contribute essentially to study of various astrophysical objects such as AGN, SNe, Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), X-ray flashes (XRFs), galactic binary sources, stars, CVs, X-ray novae, various transient sources, etc. For example, the Lobster optics based X-ray All Sky Monitor is capable to detect around 20 GRBs and 8 XRFs yearly and this will surely significantly contribute to the related science

  18. Preliminary research results for the generation and diagnostics of high power ion beams on FLASH II accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Hailiang; Qiu Aici; Sun Jianfeng; He Xiaoping; Tang Junping; Wang Haiyang; Li Jingya; Ren Shuqing; Ouyang Xiaoping; Zhang Guoguang; Li Hongyu

    2004-01-01

    The preliminary experimental results of the generation and diagnostics of high-power ion beams on FLASH II accelerator are reported. The high-power ion beams presently are being produced in a pinched diode. The method for enhancing the ratio of ion to electron current is to increase the electron residing time by pinching the electron flow. Furthermore, electron beam pinching can be combined with electron reflexing to achieve ion beams with even higher efficiency and intensity. The anode plasma is generated by anode foil bombarded with electron and anode foil surface flashover. In recent experiments on FLASH II accelerator, ion beams have been produced with a current of 160 kA and an energy of 500 keV corresponding to an ion beam peak power of about 80 GW. The ion number and current of high power ion beams were determined by monitoring delayed radioactivity from nuclear reactions induced in a 12 C target by the proton beams. The prompt γ-rays and diode Bremsstrahlung X-rays were measured with a PIN semi-conductor detector and a plastic scintillator detector. The current density distribution of ion beam was measured with a biased ion collector array. The ion beams were also recorded with a CR-39 detector. (authors)

  19. Predicted flash x-ray environments using standard converter configurations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Halbleib, J.A.; Sanford, T.W.L.

    1985-09-01

    Using a sophisticated Monte Carlo model, we have obtained predictions of the forward radiation fields generated by a series of monoenergetic electron sources, with kinetic energies ranging from 0.5 to 15.0 MeV, normally incident on standard converter configurations. The tantalum converter foil thickness that maximizes the total forward-going x-ray energy ranges from 0.3 times the continuous-slowing-down-approximation electron range at 0.5 MeV to 0.6 times that range at 15.0 MeV. This result is not very sensitive to the presence or absence of typical electron absorbers or debris shields. The forward extraction efficiency exhibits a slightly superlinear dependence on source electron kinetic energy. Electron backscatter and photon absorption are shown to be the chief transport phenomena that limit x-ray extraction. Dependence of x-ray spectra on emission angle results from the complicated interplay of cross-section kinematics, slant-thickness absorption, and slant-thickness buildup. The response of common dosimetry materials to the radiation fields was also studied. The systematics of energy deposition in high-Z and low-Z dosimetry materials as a function of source energy, converter geometry, and emission angle are presented in terms of an effective absorption coefficient. The utility of this coefficient for predicting the energy deposition in one material from the measured dose in another material is demonstrated. It is shown that the converter thickness that optimizes dose is less than the thickness that optimizes the forward extraction efficiency. 11 refs., 32 figs.

  20. Flash x-radiography for material motion detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choate, L.M.; Buckalew, W.H.; Posey, L.D.

    1977-01-01

    A significant part of the experimental program dealing with the behavior of prototypic LMFBR fuel pin bundles under mild to severe power transients is that of the observation of fuel/cladding/coolant motion. The feasibility of using electron beam flash x-radiography as a diagnostic tool for safety test facilities is presently under evaluation. A summary of the objectives and approach of the flash x-radiography program is presented

  1. Microstructure of wood charcoal prepared by flash heating

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kurosaki, F; Ishimaru, K; Hata, T; Bronsveld, P; Kobayashi, E; Imamura, Y

    2003-01-01

    Carbonized wood prepared by flash heating at 800 degreesC for I h shows a different microstructure and surface chemical structure than char formed after slow heating at 4 degreesC/min to 800 degreesC for I h. Flash heating produces pores that are surrounded by aggregates of carbon structures 25 to

  2. Foundation Flash CS5 for Designers

    CERN Document Server

    Green, T

    2010-01-01

    Flash is one of the most engaging, innovative, and versatile technologies available - allowing the creation of anything from animated banners and simple cartoons to Rich Internet Applications, interactive videos, and dynamic user interfaces for web sites, kiosks, devices, or DVDs. The possibilities are endless, and now it just got better. Flash CS5 boasts a host of new features, including better support for mobile devices, a whole new animation engine enabling full manipulation of tweens and paths, custom easing, improved inverse kinematics, a revamped timeline, built-in 3D, and much more. Thi

  3. Floods and Flash Flooding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Floods and flash flooding Now is the time to determine your area’s flood risk. If you are not sure whether you ... If you are in a floodplain, consider buying flood insurance. Do not drive around barricades. If your ...

  4. PENGEMBANGAN MEDIA FLASH BERBASIS PEMBELAJARAN INKUIRI UNTUK MENINGKATKAN HASIL BELAJAR SISWA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Indah Triana Aprillia

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian Research and Development (R&D. Tahapan rancangan pengembangan media flash ini menggunakan langkah prosedural oleh Borg and Gall. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui keefektifan pada ranah kognitif, afektif dan psikomotorik dalam penggunaan media flash berbasis pembelajaran inkuiri. Pengumpulan data pada penelitian ini menggunakan metode observasi, tes, angket dan dokumentasi. Data hasil penelitian dianalisis menggunakan metode analisis deskriptif kuantitatif. Produk pengembangan dinyatakan valid dan layak apabila telah memenuhi kriteria baik atau sangat baik dari validator. Produk pengembangan teruji untuk meningkatkan hasil belajar siswa yaitu diuji berdasarkan penggunaan media flash pada proses pembelajaran. Hasil pengembangan produk media flash berbasis pembelajaran inkuiri dinyatakan valid dengan kategori baik dan layak diterapkan berdasarkan uji kelayakan oleh ahli media dan ahli materi dengan skor rata-rata ahli media 73.5 dan ahli materi 37. Media flash dinyatakan efektif karena 36 siswa mencapai nilai KKM pada hasil tes, dengan nilai n-gain 0,71 dan pada aspek afektif dan psikomotorik termasuk dalam kategori baik, serta mendapat respon positif dari penggunanya dilihat dari angket tanggapan siswa, sehingga media flash efektif meningkatkan hasil belajar siswa. The research include in Research and Development (R&D. This step of flash media development uses procedural step by Borg and Gall. The purpose of this research is to know the effectiveness in the cognitive, afective, and psychomotoric domain in using flash media based on inquiry learning. Data accumulation in this research uses observation, test, questionaire and documentation methods. The result data of this research is analyzed by using quantitative descriptive analysis method. Development product is called valid and proper if it has fullfilled good or very good criteria from the validator. The development product proved to improve the

  5. Construction of a flash-photolysis apparatus having a short discharge time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devillers, C.

    1964-01-01

    Flash photolysis aims at reaching directly the primary mechanisms resulting from the action of light on an absorbent matter. This makes it necessary to produce a flash as short and as bright as possible. Our main effort was directed towards reducing the duration of the flash by decreasing the self-inductance of the discharge circuit. A description of this circuit and study of the characteristics of the apparatus are followed by a short description of the two analytical methods: flash spectrography and absorption spectrophotometry at a given wave-length. (author) [fr

  6. The Status of the Ultra Fast Flash Observatory – Pathfinder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nam, J.W.; Ahmad, S.; Ahn, K.B.; Barrillon, P.; Brandt, S.; Budtz-Jrgensen, C.; Castro-Tirado, A.J.; Chang, C.-H.; Chang, C.-Y.; Chang, Y.Y.; Chen, C.R.; Chen, P.; Cho, M.; Choi, H.S.; Choi, Y.J.; Connel, P.; Dagoret-Campagne, S.; Eyles, C.; Grossan, B.; Huang, J.J.

    2014-01-01

    The Ultra Fast Flash Observatory (UFFO) is a project to study early optical emissions from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). The primary scientific goal of UFFO is to see if GRBs can be calibrated with their rising times, so that they could be used as new standard candles. In order to minimize delay in optical follow-up measurements, which is now about 100 sec after trigger from the Swift experiment, we rotate a mirror to redirect light path so that optical measurement can be performed within a second after the trigger. We have developed a pathfinder mission, UFFO-pathfinder to launch on board the Lomonosov satellite in 2012. In this talk, I will present scientific motivations and descriptions of the design and development of UFFO-pathfinder

  7. Cuinse2 Thin Film For Solar Cell By Flash Evaporation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.H. Soepardjo

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Deposition of thin films for material solar cell CuInSe2 are relatively simple. In this research mainly focused on the use of flash evaporation method, and the material created can then be characterized by optical and electrical properties. The optical characterization is done by X-ray Diffraction (XRD, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS, and transmission and reflection by UV-VIS spectrophotometry. Electrical characterization is done by utilizing the Hall effect equipment. From these characterization, the atomic structure, absorption coefficient, energy gap, material type, composition of each elements and the mobility of CuInSe2 can be measured and determined. During process evaporation were carried out at substrate temperatures the range between 20ºC-415ºC.

  8. Spectral measurements of muzzle flash with multispectral and hyperspectral sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kastek, M.; Dulski, R.; Trzaskawka, P.; Piątkowski, T.; Polakowski, H.

    2011-08-01

    The paper presents some practical aspects of the measurements of muzzle flash signatures. Selected signatures of sniper shot in typical scenarios has been presented. Signatures registered during all phases of muzzle flash were analyzed. High precision laboratory measurements were made in a special ballistic laboratory and as a result several flash patterns were registered. The field measurements of a muzzle flash were also performed. During the tests several infrared cameras were used, including the measurement class devices with high accuracy and frame rates. The registrations were made in NWIR, SWIR and LWIR spectral bands simultaneously. An ultra fast visual camera was also used for visible spectra registration. Some typical infrared shot signatures were presented. Beside the cameras, the LWIR imaging spectroradiometer HyperCam was also used during the laboratory experiments and the field tests. The signatures collected by the HyperCam device were useful for the determination of spectral characteristics of the muzzle flash, whereas the analysis of thermal images registered during the tests provided the data on temperature distribution in the flash area. As a result of the measurement session the signatures of several types handguns, machine guns and sniper rifles were obtained which will be used in the development of passive infrared systems for sniper detection.

  9. Investigation of the evolution of nitrogen defects in flash-lamp-annealed InGaZnO films and their effects on transistor characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eom, Tae-Yil; Ahn, Chee-Hong; Kang, Jun-Gu; Saad Salman, Muhammad; Lee, Sun-Young; Kim, Yong-Hoon; Lee, Hoo-Jeong; Kang, Chan-Mo; Kang, Chiwon

    2018-06-01

    In this study, we show the evolution of nitrogen defects during a sol–gel reaction in flash-lamp-annealed InGaZnO (IGZO) films and their effects on the device characteristics of their thin-film transistors (TFTs). The flash lamp annealing (FLA) of the IGZO TFT for 16 s helps achieve a mobility of approximately 7 cm2 V‑1 s‑1. However, further extension of the annealing time results only in drastic increases in carrier concentration and off-current. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis of the N 1s peak unravels the presence of oxygen-vacancy-associated nitrogen defects and their evolution with annealing time, which is possibly responsible for the increase in carrier concentration.

  10. In-flight observation of long duration gamma-ray glows by aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kochkin, Pavlo; (Lex) van Deursen, A. P. J.; de Boer, Alte; Bardet, Michiel; Allasia, Cedric; Boissin, Jean Francois; Ostgaard, Nikolai

    2017-04-01

    The Gamma-Ray Glow is a long-lasting (several seconds to minutes) X- and gamma radiation presumably originated from high-electric field of thunderclouds. Such glows were previously observed by aircraft, balloons, and from the ground. When detected on ground with other particles, i.e. electrons and neutrons, they are usually called Thunderstorm Ground Enhancements (TGEs). Their measured spectra are often consistent with Relativistic Runaway Electron Avalanche (RREA) mechanism. That is why RREA is a commonly accepted explanation for their existence. The gamma-ray glows are observed to be interrupted by lightning discharge, which terminates the high-electric field region. In January 2016 an Airbus A340 factory test aircraft was performing intentional flights through thunderstorms over Northern Australia. The aircraft was equipped with a dedicated in-flight lightning detection system called ILDAS (http://ildas.nlr.nl). The system also contained two scintillation detectors each with 38x38 mm cylinder LaBr3 crystals. While being at 12 km altitude the system detected a gamma-ray flux enhancement 30 times the background counts. It lasted for 20 seconds and was abruptly terminated by a lightning flash. The flash hit the aircraft and its parameters were recorded with 10 ns sampling time including gamma radiation. Ground-based lightning detection network WWLLN detected 4 strikes in the nearby region, all in association with the same flash. The ILDAS system recorded the time-resolved spectrum of the glow. In 6 minutes, after making a U-turn, the aircraft passed the same glow region. Smaller gamma-ray enhancement was again detected. In this presentation we will show the mapped event timeline including airplane, gamma-ray glow, WWLLN, and cloud data. We will discuss the glow's properties, i.e. intensity and differential spectrum, and its possible origin. This result will also be compared to previously reported observations.

  11. A Conceptual Flash Flood Early Warning System for Africa, Based on Terrestrial Microwave Links and Flash Flood Guidance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joost C. B. Hoedjes

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available A conceptual flash flood early warning system for developing countries is described. The system uses rainfall intensity data from terrestrial microwave communication links and the geostationary Meteosat Second Generation satellite, i.e., two systems that are already in place and operational. Flash flood early warnings are based on a combination of the Flash Flood Guidance method and a hydrological model. The system will be maintained and operated through a public-private partnership, which includes a mobile telephone operator, a national meteorological service and an emergency relief service. The mobile telephone operator acts as both the supplier of raw input data and the disseminator of early warnings. The early warning system could significantly reduce the number of fatalities due to flash floods, improve the efficiency of disaster risk reduction efforts and play an important role in strengthening the resilience to climate change of developing countries in Africa. This paper describes the system that is currently being developed for Kenya.

  12. Modeling of X-ray Images and Energy Spectra Produced by Stepping Lightning Leaders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Wei; Marshall, Robert A.; Celestin, Sebastien; Pasko, Victor P.

    2017-11-01

    Recent ground-based measurements at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) have greatly improved our knowledge of the energetics, fluence, and evolution of X-ray emissions during natural cloud-to-ground (CG) and rocket-triggered lightning flashes. In this paper, using Monte Carlo simulations and the response matrix of unshielded detectors in the Thunderstorm Energetic Radiation Array (TERA), we calculate the energy spectra of X-rays as would be detected by TERA and directly compare with the observational data during event MSE 10-01. The good agreement obtained between TERA measurements and theoretical calculations supports the mechanism of X-ray production by thermal runaway electrons during the negative corona flash stage of stepping lightning leaders. Modeling results also suggest that measurements of X-ray bursts can be used to estimate the approximate range of potential drop of lightning leaders. Moreover, the X-ray images produced during the leader stepping process in natural negative CG discharges, including both the evolution and morphological features, are theoretically quantified. We show that the compact emission pattern as recently observed in X-ray images is likely produced by X-rays originating from the source region, and the diffuse emission pattern can be explained by the Compton scattering effects.

  13. Flash-Point prediction for binary partially miscible aqueous-organic mixtures

    OpenAIRE

    Liaw, Horng-Jang; Chen, Chien Tsun; Gerbaud, Vincent

    2008-01-01

    Flash point is the most important variable used to characterize fire and explosion hazard of liquids. Herein, partially miscible mixtures are presented within the context of liquid-liquid extraction processes and heterogeneous distillation processes. This paper describes development of a model for predicting the flash point of binary partially miscible mixtures of aqueous-organic system. To confirm the predictive efficiency of the derived flash points, the model was verified by comparing the ...

  14. Mutational analysis of FLASH and PTPN13 genes in colorectal carcinomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Eun Goo; Lee, Sung Hak; Yoo, Nam Jin; Lee, Sug Hyung

    2008-01-01

    The Fas-Fas ligand system is considered a major pathway for induction of apoptosis in cells and tissues. FLASH was identified as a pro-apoptotic protein that transmits apoptosis signal during Fas-mediated apoptosis. PTPN13 interacts with Fas and functions as both suppressor and inducer of Fas-mediated apoptosis. There are polyadenine tracts in both FLASH (A8 and A9 in exon 8) and PTPN13 (A8 in exon 7) genes that could be frameshift mutation targets in colorectal carcinomas. Because genes encoding proteins in Fas-mediated apoptosis frequently harbor somatic mutations in cancers, we explored the possibility as to whether mutations of FLASH and PTPN13 are a feature of colorectal carcinomas. We analysed human FLASH in exon 8 and PTPN13 in exon 7 for the detection of somatic mutations in 103 colorectal carcinomas by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)- based single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). We detected two mutations in FLASH gene, but none in PTPN13 gene. However, the two mutations were not frameshift (deletion or insertion) mutations in the polyadenine tracts of FLASH. The two mutations consisted of a deletion mutation (c.3734-3737delAGAA) and a missense mutation (c.3703A>C). These data indicate that frameshift mutation in the polyadenine tracts in both FLASH and PTPN13 genes is rare in colorectal carcinomas. Also, the data suggest that both FLASH and PTPN13 mutations in the polyadenine tracts may not have a crucial role in the pathogenesis of colorectal carcinomas.

  15. Miniature, mobile X-ray computed radiography system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Scott A; Rose, Evan A

    2017-03-07

    A miniature, portable x-ray system may be configured to scan images stored on a phosphor. A flash circuit may be configured to project red light onto a phosphor and receive blue light from the phosphor. A digital monochrome camera may be configured to receive the blue light to capture an article near the phosphor.

  16. Report on in-situ studies of flash sintering of uranium dioxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raftery, Alicia Marie [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-01-24

    Flash sintering is a novel type of field assisted sintering that uses an electric field and current to provide densification of materials on very short time scales. The potential for field assisted sintering techniques to be used in producing nuclear fuel is gaining recognition due to the potential economic benefits and improvements in material properties. The flash sintering behavior has so far been linked to applied and material parameters, but the underlying mechanisms active during flash sintering have yet to be identified. This report summarizes the efforts to investigate flash sintering of uranium dioxide using dilatometer studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory and two separate sets of in-situ studies at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s NSLS-II XPD-1 beamline. The purpose of the dilatometer studies was to understand individual parameter (applied and material) effects on the flash behavior and the purpose of the in-situ studies was to better understand the mechanisms active during flash sintering. As far as applied parameters, it was found that stoichiometry, or oxygen-to-metal ratio, has a significant effect on the flash behavior (time to flash and speed of flash). Composite systems were found to have degraded sintering behavior relative to pure UO2. The critical field studies are complete for UO2.00 and will be analyzed against an existing model for comparison. The in-situ studies showed that the strength of the field and current are directly related to the sample temperature, with temperature-driven phase changes occurring at high values. The existence of an ‘incubation time’ has been questioned, due to a continuous change in lattice parameter values from the moment that the field is applied. Some results from the in-situ experiments, which should provide evidence regarding ion migration, are still being analyzed. Some preliminary conclusions can be made from these results with regard to using field assisted sintering to

  17. The X-ray imager on AXO

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Budtz-Jørgensen, Carl; Kuvvetli, Irfan; Westergaard, Niels Jørgen Stenfeldt

    2001-01-01

    DSRI has initiated a development program of CZT X-ray and gamma-ray detectors employing strip readout techniques. A dramatic improvement of the energy response was found operating the detectors as the so-called drift detectors. For the electronic readout, modern ASIC chips were investigated....... Modular design and the low-power electronics will make large area detectors using the drift strip method feasible. The performance of a prototype CZT system will be presented and discussed. One such detector system has been proposed for future space missions: the X-Ray Imager (XRI) on the Atmospheric X-ray...... Observatory (AXO), which is a mission proposed to the Danish Small Satellite Program and is dedicated to observations of X-ray generating processes in the Earth's atmosphere. Of special interest will be simultaneous optical and X-ray observations of sprites that are flashes appearing directly above an active...

  18. Application of adobe flash media to optimize jigsaw learning model on geometry material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imam, P.; Imam, S.; Ikrar, P.

    2018-05-01

    This study aims to determine and describe the effectiveness of the application of adobe flash media for jigsaw learning model on geometry material. In this study, the modified jigsaw learning with adobe flash media is called jigsaw-flash model. This research was conducted in Surakarta. The research method used is mix method research with exploratory sequential strategy. The results of this study indicate that students feel more comfortable and interested in studying geometry material taught by jigsaw-flash model. In addition, students taught using the jigsaw-flash model are more active and motivated than the students who were taught using ordinary jigsaw models. This shows that the use of the jigsaw-flash model can increase student participation and motivation. It can be concluded that the adobe flash media can be used as a solution to reduce the level of student abstraction in learning mathematics.

  19. Characteristics of Laser Flash Technique for Thermal Diffusivity Measurement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, D. G.; Kim, H. M.; Hong, G. P

    2008-08-15

    In relation to selection of thermal conductivity measurement technology, various thermal conductivity measurement technique are investigated for characteristics of each technique and it's measurable range. For the related laser flash techniques, various technical characteristics are reviewed and discussed. Especially, Parker adiabatic model are reviewed because of importance for basic theory of the thermal diffusivity determination. Finite pulse time effect, heat loss effect and non-uniform heating effect, which are main technical factors for laser flash technique, are considered. Finally, characteristics of constituent elements for laser flash measurement system are reviewed and investigated in detail.

  20. Inessa Josing Flash Artis

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    1999-01-01

    'Flash Art'i' 1998. a. nov.-dets. numbris Rosa Martínezi artiklis suvisest Manifesta II näitusest Luxembourg'is on positiivselt mainitud ka Inessa Josingut. Illustratsiooniks toodud seitsmest fotost ühel on I. Josingu aknakujundus 'What Must I Do to be Saved?'

  1. A 'kilonova' associated with the short-duration γ-ray burst GRB 130603B

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tanvir, N. R.; Levan, A. J.; Fruchter, A. S.

    2013-01-01

    Short-duration γ-ray bursts are intense flashes of cosmic γ-rays, lasting less than about two seconds, whose origin is unclear. The favoured hypothesis is that they are produced by a relativistic jet created by the merger of two compact stellar objects (specifically two neutron stars or a neutron...... detection of gravitational waves....

  2. Characterizations of MoTiO5 flash memory devices with post-annealing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kao, Chyuan Haur; Chen, Hsiang; Chen, Su Zhien; Chen, Yu Jie; Chu, Yu Cheng

    2014-01-01

    In this study, high-K MoTiO 5 dielectrics were applied as charge trapping layers in fabricated metal-oxide-high-K MoTiO 5 -oxide-Si-type memory devices. Among the applied MoTiO 5 trapping layer treatment conditions, annealing at 900 °C yielded devices that exhibited superior memory performance, such as a larger memory window and faster programming/erasing speed. Multiple material analyses, namely X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy, confirmed that annealing at 900 °C can improve the material quality as a result of crystallization. The fabricated MoTiO 5 -based memory devices show potential for future commercial memory device applications. - Highlights: • MoTiO5-based flash memories have been fabricated. • MoTiO5 trapping layers could be formed by co-sputtering. • MoTiO5 layers with annealing exhibited a good memory performance. • Multiple material analyses confirm that annealing enhanced crystallization

  3. Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films grown by flash evaporation and subsequent annealing in Ar atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caballero, R.; Izquierdo-Roca, V.; Merino, J.M.; Friedrich, E.J.; Climent-Font, A.; Saucedo, E.; 2UB, Departament d'Electrònica, Universitat de Barcelona, C. Martí i Franquès 1, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain))" data-affiliation=" (IREC, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, C. Jardins de les Dones de Negre 1, Sant Adriá del Besòs, E-08930 Barcelona (Spain); IN2UB, Departament d'Electrònica, Universitat de Barcelona, C. Martí i Franquès 1, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain))" >Pérez-Rodríguez, A.; León, M.

    2013-01-01

    A study of Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 thin films grown by flash evaporation and subsequently annealed in Ar atmosphere has been carried out. Prior to thin film deposition, Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 bulk compounds with stoichiometric and Zn-rich compositions were synthesized as evaporation sources. The characteristics of the bulk compounds and thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and elastic back scattering. Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 deposited films contain lower concentrations of Zn than the bulk compounds used as evaporation sources, which is related to a preferential Zn re-evaporation during the deposition process. The desired kesterite composition for solar cell applications was achieved by using a Zn-rich compound as the evaporation source plus a thermal treatment at 620 °C in Ar atmosphere. - Highlights: ► Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) thin films by flash evaporation + annealing in Ar atmosphere ► Difficulty of growing a single phase kesterite material ► X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy to identify the different phases ► Importance of the starting film composition to get the desired CZTS material ► Annealing treatment to obtain the optimum material to be used for CZTS solar cells

  4. Flash trajectory imaging of target 3D motion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xinwei; Zhou, Yan; Fan, Songtao; He, Jun; Liu, Yuliang

    2011-03-01

    We present a flash trajectory imaging technique which can directly obtain target trajectory and realize non-contact measurement of motion parameters by range-gated imaging and time delay integration. Range-gated imaging gives the range of targets and realizes silhouette detection which can directly extract targets from complex background and decrease the complexity of moving target image processing. Time delay integration increases information of one single frame of image so that one can directly gain the moving trajectory. In this paper, we have studied the algorithm about flash trajectory imaging and performed initial experiments which successfully obtained the trajectory of a falling badminton. Our research demonstrates that flash trajectory imaging is an effective approach to imaging target trajectory and can give motion parameters of moving targets.

  5. Modeling of X-ray emissions produced by stepping lightning leaders

    OpenAIRE

    Xu , Wei; Celestin , Sebastien; Pasko , Victor P.

    2014-01-01

    International audience; Intense and brief bursts of X-ray emissions have been measured during the stepping processof both natural cloud-to-ground (CG) and rocket-triggered lightning flashes. In this paper, we investigatetheoretically the energy spectra of X-rays produced by the bremsstrahlung emission of thermal runawayelectrons accelerated in the inhomogeneous electric field produced around lightning leader tips. The X-rayenergy spectrum depends on the physical properties of the associated l...

  6. Flash-induced fading: Dependence on colour and shape similarity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vergeer, M.L.T.; Lier, R.J. van

    2005-01-01

    We investigated the effects of perceptual grouping by colour and shape similarity on flash-induced perceptual fading. This flash-induced fading effect (Kanai et al, 2003 Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 15 664 - 672) is considered as a time-locked variant of the Troxler effect. In the original

  7. Digital Device Architecture and the Safe Use of Flash Devices in Munitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, Richard B.; Flowers, David; Bergevin, Keith

    2017-01-01

    Flash technology is being utilized in fuzed munition applications and, based on the development of digital logic devices in the commercial world, usage of flash technology will increase. Digital devices of interest to designers include flash-based microcontrollers and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Almost a decade ago, a study was undertaken to determine if flash-based microcontrollers could be safely used in fuzes and, if so, how should such devices be applied. The results were documented in the Technical Manual for the Use of Logic Devices in Safety Features. This paper will first review the Technical Manual and discuss the rationale behind the suggested architectures for microcontrollers and a brief review of the concern about data retention in flash cells. An architectural feature in the microcontroller under study will be discussed and its use will show how to screen for weak or failed cells during manufacture, storage, or immediately prior to use. As was done for microcontrollers a decade ago, architectures for a flash-based FPGA will be discussed, showing how it can be safely used in fuzes. Additionally, architectures for using non-volatile (including flash-based) storage will be discussed for SRAM-based FPGAs.

  8. The afterglow, redshift and extreme energetics of the gamma-ray burst of 23 January 1999

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kulkarni, [No Value; Djorgovski, SG; Odewahn, SC; Bloom, JS; Gal, RR; Koresko, CD; Harrison, FA; Lubin, LM; Armus, L; Sari, R; Illingworth, GD; Kelson, DD; Magee, DK; van Dokkum, PG; Frail, DA; Mulchaey, JS; Malkan, MA; McClean, IS; Teplitz, HI; Koerner, D; Kirkpatrick, D; Kobayashi, N; Yadigaroglu, IA; Halpern, J; Piran, T; Goodrich, RW; Chaffee, FH; Feroci, M; Costa, E

    1999-01-01

    Long-lived emission, known as afterglow, has now been detected from about a dozen gamma-ray bursts. Distance determinations place the bursts at cosmological distances, with redshifts,z, ranging from similar to 1 to 3, The energy required to produce these bright gamma-ray flashes is enormous: up to

  9. Recovery of Flash Memories for Reliable Mobile Storages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daesung Moon

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available As the mobile appliance is applied to many ubiquitous services and the importance of the information stored in it is increased, the security issue to protect the information becomes one of the major concerns. However, most previous researches focused only on the communication security, not the storage security. Especially, a flash memory whose operational characteristics are different from those of HDD is used increasingly as a storage device for the mobile appliance because of its resistance to physical shock and lower power requirement. In this paper, we propose a flash memory management scheme targeted for guaranteeing the data integrity of the mobile storage. By maintaining the old data specified during the recovery window, we can recover the old data when the mobile appliance is attacked. Also, to reduce the storage requirement for the recovery, we restrict the number of versions to be copied, called Degree of Integrity (DoI. Especially, we consider both the reclaim efficiency and the wear leveling which is a unique characteristic of the flash memory. Based on the performance evaluation, we confirm that the proposed scheme can be acceptable to many applications as a flash memory management scheme for improving data integrity.

  10. Parietal disruption alters audiovisual binding in the sound-induced flash illusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamke, Marc R; Vieth, Harrison E; Cottrell, David; Mattingley, Jason B

    2012-09-01

    Selective attention and multisensory integration are fundamental to perception, but little is known about whether, or under what circumstances, these processes interact to shape conscious awareness. Here, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate the causal role of attention-related brain networks in multisensory integration between visual and auditory stimuli in the sound-induced flash illusion. The flash illusion is a widely studied multisensory phenomenon in which a single flash of light is falsely perceived as multiple flashes in the presence of irrelevant sounds. We investigated the hypothesis that extrastriate regions involved in selective attention, specifically within the right parietal cortex, exert an influence on the multisensory integrative processes that cause the flash illusion. We found that disruption of the right angular gyrus, but not of the adjacent supramarginal gyrus or of a sensory control site, enhanced participants' veridical perception of the multisensory events, thereby reducing their susceptibility to the illusion. Our findings suggest that the same parietal networks that normally act to enhance perception of attended events also play a role in the binding of auditory and visual stimuli in the sound-induced flash illusion. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Flash evaporator

    OpenAIRE

    1997-01-01

    A device and method for flash evaporating a reagent includes an evaporation chamber that houses a dome on which evaporation occurs. The dome is solid and of high thermal conductivity and mass, and may be heated to a temperature sufficient to vaporize a specific reagent. The reagent is supplied from an external source to the dome through a nozzle, and may be supplied as a continuous stream, as a shower, and as discrete drops. A carrier gas may be introduced into the evaporation chamber and cre...

  12. Mitochondrial flash as a novel biomarker of mitochondrial respiration in the heart.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Guohua; Liu, Xiaoyun; Zhang, Huiliang; Sheu, Shey-Shing; Wang, Wang

    2015-10-01

    Mitochondrial respiration through electron transport chain (ETC) activity generates ATP and reactive oxygen species in eukaryotic cells. The modulation of mitochondrial respiration in vivo or under physiological conditions remains elusive largely due to the lack of appropriate approach to monitor ETC activity in a real-time manner. Here, we show that ETC-coupled mitochondrial flash is a novel biomarker for monitoring mitochondrial respiration under pathophysiological conditions in cultured adult cardiac myocyte and perfused beating heart. Through real-time confocal imaging, we follow the frequency of a transient bursting fluorescent signal, named mitochondrial flash, from individual mitochondria within intact cells expressing a mitochondrial matrix-targeted probe, mt-cpYFP (mitochondrial-circularly permuted yellow fluorescent protein). This mt-cpYFP recorded mitochondrial flash has been shown to be composed of a major superoxide signal with a minor alkalization signal within the mitochondrial matrix. Through manipulating physiological substrates for mitochondrial respiration, we find a close coupling between flash frequency and the ETC electron flow, as measured by oxygen consumption rate in cardiac myocyte. Stimulating electron flow under physiological conditions increases flash frequency. On the other hand, partially block or slowdown electron flow by inhibiting the F0F1 ATPase, which represents a pathological condition, transiently increases then decreases flash frequency. Limiting electron entrance at complex I by knocking out Ndufs4, an assembling subunit of complex I, suppresses mitochondrial flash activity. These results suggest that mitochondrial electron flow can be monitored by real-time imaging of mitochondrial flash. The mitochondrial flash frequency could be used as a novel biomarker for mitochondrial respiration under physiological and pathological conditions. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  13. Flashing subdiffusive ratchets in viscoelastic media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kharchenko, Vasyl; Goychuk, Igor

    2012-01-01

    We study subdiffusive ratchet transport in periodically and randomly flashing potentials. A central Brownian particle is elastically coupled to the surrounding auxiliary Brownian quasi-particles, which account for the influence of the viscoelastic environment. Similar to standard dynamical modeling of Brownian motion, the external force influences only the motion of the central particle, not affecting directly the environmental degrees of freedom. Just a handful of auxiliary Brownian particles suffices to model subdiffusion over many temporal decades. Time modulation of the potential violates the symmetry of thermal detailed balance and induces an anomalous subdiffusive current which exhibits a remarkably small dispersion at low temperatures, as well as a number of other surprising features such as saturation at low temperatures, and multiple inversions of the transport direction upon a change of the driving frequency in the non-adiabatic regime. It is shown that the subdiffusive current is finite at zero temperature for random flashing and can be finite for periodic flashing for a certain frequency window. Our study generalizes classical Brownian motors towards operating in sticky viscoelastic environments such as the cytosol of biological cells or dense polymer solutions. (paper)

  14. Cardiac and vascular imaging with snapshot FLASH MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matthaei, D.; Haase, A.; Norris, D.; Leibfritz, D.; Henrich, D.; Duhmke, E.

    1989-01-01

    Acceleration of fast low-angle-shot (FLASH) MR imaging to about 200 msec measuring time on dedicated MR systems is called snapshot FLASH MR imaging. It snaps real-time series of MR images of the MR relaxation and of physiologic motions with nearly absent motion and susceptibility artifacts. Results in animals (4.7T) and human volunteers (2.0T) show plain vascular and cardiac snapshot FLASH MR images obtained as single shot, triggered reconstructed motion, or real-time films. The reduction of artifacts and the high resolution (triggered, three-dimensional moving heart images are possible) result in favorable applications in myocardial and great vascular disease

  15. Jaan Toomik Flash Artis

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    1999-01-01

    1999. a. mai-juuni 'Flash Artis' on ajakirja Eesti korrespondendi Ando Keskküla artikkel Jaan Toomikust. Jaan Toomik on kutsutud esinema Londoni The Photographers' Gallery grupinäitusele, tema videot 'Father and Son' näidatakse Londonis avataval näitusel 'Near and Elsewhere' 11.-24. juunini

  16. Theoretical investigation of flash vaporisation in a screw expander

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasuthevan, Hanushan; Brümmer, Andreas

    2017-08-01

    In the present study flash vaporisation of liquid injection in a twin screw expander for a Trilateral Flash Cycle (TFC) is examined theoretically. The TFC process comprises a pressure increase in the working fluid, followed by heating the liquid close to boiling point. The hot liquid is injected into the working chamber of a screw expander. During this process the pressure of the liquid drops below the saturation pressure, while the temperature of the liquid remains virtually constant. Hence the liquid is superheated and in a metastable state. The liquid jet seeks to achieve a stable state in thermodynamic equilibrium and is therefore partially vaporised. This effect is referred to as flash vaporisation. Accordingly, a two-phase mixture, consisting of vapour and liquid, exists in the working chamber. Thermodynamic simulations were carried out using water as the working fluid for representative screw expander geometry. The simulations presented are performed from two different aspects during the filling process of a screw expander. The first case is the vaporisation of the injected liquid in a state of thermodynamic equilibrium, whereby the two-phase mixture is treated entirely as a compressible and homogeneous gas. The second case considers flashing efficiency. It describes the quantity of flashed vapour and consists of a liquid and vapour domain. Both models are compared and analysed with respect to the operational behaviour of a screw expander.

  17. A novel method to alleviate flash-line defects in coining process

    KAUST Repository

    Xu, Jiangping

    2013-04-01

    We employ a finite element framework based on a dynamic explicit algorithm to predict the flash-line defects in the coining process. The distribution of the flash-line is obtained by building a radial friction work model at the element level. The elasto-plastic behavior of porous materials undergoing large deformations is considered where the constitutive level updates are the result of a local variational minimization problem. We study the material flow at different strokes of the die across the entire coining process and observe that the change in the flow direction of the material in the rim region may contribute to the flash lines. Our proposed framework shows that a part of the rim region in which the flash-line defects appear is consistent with the reported experimental results. We also propose a novel method of redesigning the rim geometry of the workpiece to alleviate the flash-line defects which also shows good agreement with experiments. © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Evaluating Non-In-Place Update Techniques for Flash-Based Transaction Processing Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yongkun; Goda, Kazuo; Kitsuregawa, Masaru

    Recently, flash memory is emerging as the storage device. With price sliding fast, the cost per capacity is approaching to that of SATA disk drives. So far flash memory has been widely deployed in consumer electronics even partly in mobile computing environments. For enterprise systems, the deployment has been studied by many researchers and developers. In terms of the access performance characteristics, flash memory is quite different from disk drives. Without the mechanical components, flash memory has very high random read performance, whereas it has a limited random write performance because of the erase-before-write design. The random write performance of flash memory is comparable with or even worse than that of disk drives. Due to such a performance asymmetry, naive deployment to enterprise systems may not exploit the potential performance of flash memory at full blast. This paper studies the effectiveness of using non-in-place-update (NIPU) techniques through the IO path of flash-based transaction processing systems. Our deliberate experiments using both open-source DBMS and commercial DBMS validated the potential benefits; x3.0 to x6.6 performance improvement was confirmed by incorporating non-in-place-update techniques into file system without any modification of applications or storage devices.

  19. The benefit of high-resolution operational weather forecasts for flash flood warning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Younis

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available In Mediterranean Europe, flash flooding is one of the most devastating hazards in terms of loss of human life and infrastructures. Over the last two decades, flash floods have caused damage costing a billion Euros in France alone. One of the problems of flash floods is that warning times are very short, leaving typically only a few hours for civil protection services to act. This study investigates if operationally available short-range numerical weather forecasts together with a rainfall-runoff model can be used for early indication of the occurrence of flash floods.

    One of the challenges in flash flood forecasting is that the watersheds are typically small, and good observational networks of both rainfall and discharge are rare. Therefore, hydrological models are difficult to calibrate and the simulated river discharges cannot always be compared with ground measurements. The lack of observations in most flash flood prone basins, therefore, necessitates the development of a method where the excess of the simulated discharge above a critical threshold can provide the forecaster with an indication of potential flood hazard in the area, with lead times of the order of weather forecasts.

    This study is focused on the Cévennes-Vivarais region in the Southeast of the Massif Central in France, a region known for devastating flash floods. This paper describes the main aspects of using numerical weather forecasting for flash flood forecasting, together with a threshold – exceedance. As a case study the severe flash flood event which took place on 8–9 September 2002 has been chosen.

    Short-range weather forecasts, from the Lokalmodell of the German national weather service, are used as input for the LISFLOOD model, a hybrid between a conceptual and physically based rainfall-runoff model. Results of the study indicate that high resolution operational weather forecasting combined with a rainfall-runoff model could be useful to

  20. Flash Floods Simulation using a Physical-Based Hydrological Model at Different Hydroclimatic Regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saber, Mohamed; Kamil Yilmaz, Koray

    2016-04-01

    Currently, flash floods are seriously increasing and affecting many regions over the world. Therefore, this study will focus on two case studies; Wadi Abu Subeira, Egypt as arid environment, and Karpuz basin, Turkey as Mediterranean environment. The main objective of this work is to simulate flash floods at both catchments considering the hydrometeorological differences between them which in turn effect their flash flood behaviors. An integrated methodology incorporating Hydrological River Basin Environmental Assessment Model (Hydro-BEAM) and remote sensing observations was devised. Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMAP) were compared with the rain gauge network at the target basins to estimate the bias in an effort to further use it effectively in simulation of flash floods. Based on the preliminary results of flash floods simulation on both basins, we found that runoff behaviors of flash floods are different due to the impacts of climatology, hydrological and topographical conditions. Also, the simulated surface runoff hydrographs are reasonably coincide with the simulated ones. Consequently, some mitigation strategies relying on this study could be introduced to help in reducing the flash floods disasters at different climate regions. This comparison of different climatic basins would be a reasonable implication for the potential impact of climate change on the flash floods frequencies and occurrences.

  1. Did A Galactic Gamma-Ray Burst Kill the Dinosaurs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brecher, K.

    1997-12-01

    Gamma-ray bursts now appear to be primarily of extragalactic origin. Statistically, assuming isotropic emission, the observed event rates and fluxes imply that one event occurs per 10(4) \\ - 10(6) \\ years per galaxy, with about 10(51) \\ - 10(53) \\ ergs in gamma-rays emitted per event. Unless the Milky Way is unusual, a gamma-ray burst should occur within 10(2) \\ - 10(3) \\ pc of the Sun in a time span of order 10(8) \\ years. Independent of the underlying cause of the event, it would irradiate the solar system with a brief flash of MeV gamma-rays with a fluence as large as 10(9) - 10(11) \\ erg cm(-2) . What is the effect of such an event on the Earth and objects nearby? Ruderman (\\underbar{Science}, 184, 1079, 1974) and subsequent authors have considered a number of effects of a flash of gamma-rays from a nearby supernova explosion on the Earth's atmosphere, and on its biota. However, with regard to the demise of the dinosaurs, it appears that there was a marked increase in the deposition rate of the rare earth iridium coincident with their extinction. For this reason, an asteroid-Earth impact has been considered the leading contender for the death of the dinosaurs. Here we consider a new mechanism for mass biological extinctions, caused by small comets nudged into the inner solar system by nearby gamma-ray bursts. If comets populate the Oort cloud with a wide distribution of masses, radii and orbital eccentricities, we find that small (extinctions.

  2. Characterization of the self magnetic pinch diode at high voltages for flash radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cordova, Steve Ray; Portillo, Salvador; Oliver, Bryan Velten; Ziska, Derek Raymond; Crotch, Ian; Threadgold, James R.

    2008-01-01

    The Sandia Laboratories Advanced Radiographic Technologies Department, in collaboration with the United Kingdom Atomic Weapons Establishment, has been conducting research into the development of the Self-Magnetic-Pinched diode as an x-ray source suitable for flash radiographic experiments. We have demonstrated that this source is capable of meeting and exceeding the initial requirements of 250 rads (measured at one meter) with a 2.75 mm source spot-size. Recent experiments conducted on the RITS-6 accelerator have demonstrated the ability of this diode to meet intermediate requirements with a sub 3 mm source spot size and a dose in excess of 400 rads at one meter

  3. Mathematical modeling of the flash converting process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sohn, H.Y.; Perez-Tello, M.; Riihilahti, K.M. [Utah Univ., Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

    1996-12-31

    An axisymmetric mathematical model for the Kennecott-Outokumpu flash converting process for converting solid copper matte to copper is presented. The model is an adaptation of the comprehensive mathematical model formerly developed at the University of Utah for the flash smelting of copper concentrates. The model incorporates the transport of momentum, heat, mass, and reaction kinetics between gas and particles in a particle-laden turbulent gas jet. The standard k-{epsilon} model is used to describe gas-phase turbulence in an Eulerian framework. The particle-phase is treated from a Lagrangian viewpoint which is coupled to the gas-phase via the source terms in the Eulerian gas-phase governing equations. Matte particles were represented as Cu{sub 2}S yFeS, and assumed to undergo homogeneous oxidation to Cu{sub 2}O, Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}, and SO{sub 2}. A reaction kinetics mechanism involving both external mass transfer of oxygen gas to the particle surface and diffusion of oxygen through the porous oxide layer is proposed to estimate the particle oxidation rate Predictions of the mathematical model were compared with the experimental data collected in a bench-scale flash converting facility. Good agreement between the model predictions and the measurements was obtained. The model was used to study the effect of different gas-injection configurations on the overall fluid dynamics in a commercial size flash converting shaft. (author)

  4. Mathematical modeling of the flash converting process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sohn, H Y; Perez-Tello, M; Riihilahti, K M [Utah Univ., Salt Lake City, UT (United States)

    1997-12-31

    An axisymmetric mathematical model for the Kennecott-Outokumpu flash converting process for converting solid copper matte to copper is presented. The model is an adaptation of the comprehensive mathematical model formerly developed at the University of Utah for the flash smelting of copper concentrates. The model incorporates the transport of momentum, heat, mass, and reaction kinetics between gas and particles in a particle-laden turbulent gas jet. The standard k-{epsilon} model is used to describe gas-phase turbulence in an Eulerian framework. The particle-phase is treated from a Lagrangian viewpoint which is coupled to the gas-phase via the source terms in the Eulerian gas-phase governing equations. Matte particles were represented as Cu{sub 2}S yFeS, and assumed to undergo homogeneous oxidation to Cu{sub 2}O, Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}, and SO{sub 2}. A reaction kinetics mechanism involving both external mass transfer of oxygen gas to the particle surface and diffusion of oxygen through the porous oxide layer is proposed to estimate the particle oxidation rate Predictions of the mathematical model were compared with the experimental data collected in a bench-scale flash converting facility. Good agreement between the model predictions and the measurements was obtained. The model was used to study the effect of different gas-injection configurations on the overall fluid dynamics in a commercial size flash converting shaft. (author)

  5. Efficacy of Escitalopram for Hot Flashes in Healthy Menopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, Ellen W.; Guthrie, Katherine A.; Caan, Bette; Sternfeld, Barbara; Cohen, Lee S.; Joffe, Hadine; Carpenter, Janet S.; Anderson, Garnet L.; Larson, Joseph C.; Ensrud, Kristine E.; Reed, Susan; Newton, Katherine M.; Sherman, Sheryl; Sammel, Mary D.; La Croix, Andrea Z.

    2011-01-01

    Context Concerns for the risks of hormone therapy have resulted in its decline and a demand for non-hormonal treatments with demonstrated efficacy for hot flashes. Objective Determine the efficacy and tolerability of 10–20 mg/day escitalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, in alleviating the frequency, severity and bother of menopausal hot flashes. Design, Setting and Patients Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel arm trial for 8 weeks in a sample stratified by race (African American n=95; white n=102) and conducted at 4 MsFlash network sites between July 2009 and June 2010. Of 205 women randomized, 194 (95%) completed week 8 (intervention endpoint), and 183 completed post-treatment follow-up. Main Outcome Measures Primary outcomes were the frequency and severity of hot flashes assessed by prospective daily diaries. Secondary outcomes were hot flash "bother" recorded on daily diaries and clinical improvement (hot flash frequency >=50% decrease from baseline). Results Hot flash frequency was 9.78/day (SD 5.60) at baseline. At week 8, reduction in hot flash frequency was greater in the escitalopram group versus placebo (−4.60, SD 4.28 and −3.20, SD 4.76, respectively, P=0.004). Fifty-five percent of the escitalopram group (versus 36% of the placebo group) reported >=50% decreases in hot flash frequency (P=0.009). Differences in decreases in the severity and bother of hot flashes were significant (P=0.003 and P=0.013, respectively), paralleling the decreases in hot flash frequency. Three weeks after treatment ended, hot flash frequency increased in the escitalopram group to the level of the placebo group, which remained stable in the follow-up interval (P=0.020). Overall discontinuation due to side effects was 4% (7 drug, 2 placebo). Conclusion Escitalopram 10–20 mg/day provides non-hormonal off-label treatment for menopausal hot flashes that is effective and well-tolerated in healthy women. PMID:21245182

  6. Flashing liquid jets and two-phase droplet dispersion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cleary, Vincent; Bowen, Phil; Witlox, Henk

    2007-01-01

    The large-scale release of a liquid contained at upstream conditions above its local atmospheric boiling point is a scenario often given consideration in process industry risk analysis. Current-hazard quantification software often employs simplistic equilibrium two-phase approaches. Scaled water experiments have been carried out measuring droplet velocity and droplet size distributions for a range of exit orifice aspect ratios (L/d) and conditions representing low to high superheat. 2D Phase-Doppler Anemometry has been utilised to characterise droplet kinematics and spray quality. Droplet size correlations have been developed for non-flashing, the transition between non-flashing and flashing, and fully flashing jets. Using high-speed shadowography, transition between regimes is defined in terms of criteria identified in the external flow structure. An overview companion paper provides a wider overview of the problem and reports implementation of these correlations into consequence models and subsequent validation. The fluid utilised throughout is water, hence droplet correlations are developed in non-dimensional form to allow extrapolation to other fluids through similarity scaling, although verification of model performance for other fluids is required in future studies. Data is reduced via non-dimensionalisation in terms of the Weber number and Jakob number, essentially representing the fluid mechanics and thermodynamics of the system, respectively. A droplet-size distribution correlation has also been developed, conveniently presented as a volume undersize distribution based on the Rosin-Rammler distribution. Separate correlations are provided for sub-cooled mechanical break-up and fully flashing jets. This form of correlation facilitates rapid estimates of likely mass rainout quantities, as well as full distribution information for more rigorous two-phase thermodynamic modelling in the future

  7. Implementation of Power Efficient Flash Analogue-to-Digital Converter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taninki Sai Lakshmi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available An efficient low power high speed 5-bit 5-GS/s flash analogue-to-digital converter (ADC is proposed in this paper. The designing of a thermometer code to binary code is one of the exacting issues of low power flash ADC. The embodiment consists of two main blocks, a comparator and a digital encoder. To reduce the metastability and the effect of bubble errors, the thermometer code is converted into the gray code and there after translated to binary code through encoder. The proposed encoder is thus implemented by using differential cascade voltage switch logic (DCVSL to maintain high speed and low power dissipation. The proposed 5-bit flash ADC is designed using Cadence 180 nm CMOS technology with a supply rail voltage typically ±0.85 V. The simulation results include a total power dissipation of 46.69 mW, integral nonlinearity (INL value of −0.30 LSB and differential nonlinearity (DNL value of −0.24 LSB, of the flash ADC.

  8. Boiling water reactor stability revisited: The effects of flashing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yadigaroglu, G.; Askari, B.

    2005-01-01

    There are numerous investigations of two-phase flow stability with particular emphasis to BWR stability; these have become increasingly sophisticated and complete over the years. The basic features of a new development and frequency-domain code capable of considering all the channels (bundles) in a BWR, flashing of the coolant at low pressure, full coupling with 3D, two-group neutronics, etc. are described. The basic thermal-hydraulic model is used to study the effects of flashing on stability in a BWR-like channel. The behavior of the channel is highly dynamic. Contrary to what could have been intuitively guessed, the effect of flashing is stabilizing; the reasons and mechanisms leading to this are discussed

  9. Boiling water reactor stability revisited: The effects of flashing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yadigaroglu, G. [Institute of Energy Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH, ETH-Zentrum, CLT-C1, CH-8092 Zurich (Switzerland)]. E-mail: yadi@ethz.ch; Askari, B. [Institute of Energy Technology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH, ETH-Zentrum, CLT-C1, CH-8092 Zurich (Switzerland)

    2005-05-01

    There are numerous investigations of two-phase flow stability with particular emphasis to BWR stability; these have become increasingly sophisticated and complete over the years. The basic features of a new development and frequency-domain code capable of considering all the channels (bundles) in a BWR, flashing of the coolant at low pressure, full coupling with 3D, two-group neutronics, etc. are described. The basic thermal-hydraulic model is used to study the effects of flashing on stability in a BWR-like channel. The behavior of the channel is highly dynamic. Contrary to what could have been intuitively guessed, the effect of flashing is stabilizing; the reasons and mechanisms leading to this are discussed.

  10. WMO World Record Lightning Extremes: Longest Reported Flash Distance and Longest Reported Flash Duration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Timothy J; Pédeboy, Stéphane; Rison, William; Cerveny, Randall S; Montanyà, Joan; Chauzy, Serge; MacGorman, Donald R; Holle, Ronald L; Ávila, Eldo E; Zhang, Yijun; Carbin, Gregory; Mansell, Edward R; Kuleshov, Yuriy; Peterson, Thomas C; Brunet, Manola; Driouech, Fatima; Krahenbuhl, Daniel S

    2017-06-01

    A World Meteorological Organization weather and climate extremes committee has judged that the world's longest reported distance for a single lightning flash occurred with a horizontal distance of 321 km (199.5 mi) over Oklahoma in 2007, while the world's longest reported duration for a single lightning flash is an event that lasted continuously for 7.74 seconds over southern France in 2012. In addition, the committee has unanimously recommended amendment of the AMS Glossary of Meteorology definition of lightning discharge as a "series of electrical processes taking place within 1 second" by removing the phrase "within one second" and replacing with "continuously." Validation of these new world extremes (a) demonstrates the recent and on-going dramatic augmentations and improvements to regional lightning detection and measurement networks, (b) provides reinforcement regarding the dangers of lightning, and (c) provides new information for lightning engineering concerns.

  11. Flashing evaporation under different pressure levels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liao, Yixiang; Lucas, Dirk; Krepper, Eckhard; Rzehak, Roland

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • CFD simulation based on two-fluid model for flashing boiling inside a vertical pipe. • Effect of pressure level on the maximum thermal energy available for evaporation. • Effect of presumed bubble size on the onset of flashing as well as evaporation rate. • Effect of pressure level on the critical bubble size that can start stable flashing. • Effect of pressure level on nucleation rate and mechanism. - Abstract: Flashing evaporation of water inside a vertical pipe under four pressure levels is investigated both experimentally and numerically. In the experiment depressurization is realized through a blow-off valve, and the evaporation rate is controlled by the opening rate and degree of the valve. In the CFD simulation phase change is assumed to be caused by thermal heat transfer between steam–water interface and the surrounding water. Consequently, the evaporation rate is determined by heat transfer coefficient, interfacial area density as well as liquid superheat degree. The simulated temporal course of cross-section averaged steam volume fraction is compared with the measured one. It is found that the increasing rate and maximum value of steam volume fraction is over-predicted under low-pressure conditions, which is mainly caused by the neglect of bubble growth in the mono-dispersed simulation. The agreement is notably improved by performing poly-dispersed simulations with the inhomogeneous MUSIG approach (IMUSIG). On the other hand an underestimation of the maximum steam volume fraction is observed in high-pressure cases, since the contribution of nucleation to the total steam generation rate becomes large as the system pressure increases. Reliable models for nucleation rate as well as bubble detachment size are indispensable for reliable predictions. An effect of the system pressure level on the nucleation mechanism is observed in the experiment

  12. Dynamic simulation of flash drums using rigorous physical property calculations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. M. Gonçalves

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available The dynamics of flash drums is simulated using a formulation adequate for phase modeling with equations of state (EOS. The energy and mass balances are written as differential equations for the internal energy and the number of moles of each species. The algebraic equations of the model, solved at each time step, are those of a flash with specified internal energy, volume and mole numbers (UVN flash. A new aspect of our dynamic simulations is the use of direct iterations in phase volumes (instead of pressure for solving the algebraic equations. It was also found that an iterative procedure previously suggested in the literature for UVN flashes becomes unreliable close to phase boundaries and a new alternative is proposed. Another unusual aspect of this work is that the model expressions, including the physical properties and their analytical derivatives, were quickly implemented using computer algebra.

  13. Introduction to FLASH 3.0, with application to supersonic turbulence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubey, A; Reid, L B; Fisher, R

    2008-01-01

    FLASH is a flexible, modular and parallel application code capable of simulating the compressible, reactive flows found in many astrophysical environments. It is a collection of inter-operable modules which can be combined to generate different applications. FLASH is gaining increasing recognition as a community code with a fairly wide external user base. Unlike other component-based codes that have historically met with varying degrees of success. FLASH started out as a more traditional scientific code and evolved into a modular one as insights were gained into manageability, extensibility and efficiency. As a result, the development of the code has been, and continues to be, driven by the dual goals of application requirements and modularity. In this tutorial paper, we give an overview of the FLASH code architecture and capabilities. We also include an example of a customized application adapted from the sample applications provided with the code distribution.

  14. A Novel Dual Traffic/Flash Flood Monitoring System Using Passive Infrared/Ultrasonic Sensors

    KAUST Repository

    Mousa, Mustafa

    2015-10-19

    Floods are the most common type of natural disaster, causing thousands of casualties every year. Among these events, urban flash floods are particularly deadly because of the short timescales on which they occur, and because of the high concentration of population in cities. Since most flash flood casualties are caused by a lack of information, it is critical to generate accurate and detailed warnings of flash floods. However, deploying an infrastructure that solely monitor flash floods makes little economic sense, since the average periodicity of catastrophic flash floods exceeds the lifetime of a typical sensor network. To address this issue, we propose a new sensing device that can simultaneously monitor urban flash floods and another phenomenon of interest (traffic congestion on the present case). This sensing device is based on the combination of an ultrasonic rangefinder with one or multiple remote temperature sensors. We show an implementation of this device, and illustrate its performance in both traffic flow and flash flood sensing. Field data shows that the sensor can detect vehicles with a 99% accuracy, in addition to estimating their speed and classifying them in function of their length. The same sensor can also monitor urban water levels with an accuracy of less than 2 cm. Two of the sensors have been deployed in a flood prone area, where they captured the only (minor) flash flood that occurred over the one-year test period, with no false detection, and an agreement in the estimated water level estimate (during the flash flood event) of about 2 cm.

  15. Efficacy of a biobehavioral intervention for hot flashes: a randomized controlled pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barton, Debra L; Schroeder, Kelliann C Fee; Banerjee, Tanima; Wolf, Sherry; Keith, Timothy Z; Elkins, Gary

    2017-07-01

    The need for effective nonhormonal treatments for hot flash management without unwanted side effects continues. The primary aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of combining a nonhormonal pharmacologic agent with a behavioral treatment for hot flash reduction. Seventy-one postmenopausal women were randomized to one of four groups: venlafaxine 75 mg + hypnosis (VH) versus venlafaxine 75 mg + sham hypnosis (VSH) versus a placebo pill + hypnosis (PH) versus placebo pill + sham hypnosis (PSH). Women recorded hot flash severity and frequency in a daily diary, in real time. The intrapatient difference in hot flash score (frequency × severity) at 8 weeks was analyzed using a General Estimating Equation model, using VSH as the referent arm, controlling for baseline hot flashes. The active arms including PH or VH were not statistically significantly different than VSH (P = 0.34, P = 0.05, respectively). Women in each active arm reported hot flash reductions of about 50%, with the PSH group reporting a 25% reduction. Women receiving the PSH reported statistically significantly smaller reductions in hot flash score than women in the referent VSH arm (P = 0.001). There were no significant negative side effects during the course of the study. Hypnosis alone reduced hot flashes equal to venlafaxine alone, but the combination of hypnosis and venlafaxine did not reduce hot flashes more than either treatment alone. More research is needed to clarify whether combining hypnosis with a different antidepressant would provide synergistic benefits.

  16. A Novel Dual Traffic/Flash Flood Monitoring System Using Passive Infrared/Ultrasonic Sensors

    KAUST Repository

    Mousa, Mustafa; Odat, Enas M.; Claudel, Christian

    2015-01-01

    Floods are the most common type of natural disaster, causing thousands of casualties every year. Among these events, urban flash floods are particularly deadly because of the short timescales on which they occur, and because of the high concentration of population in cities. Since most flash flood casualties are caused by a lack of information, it is critical to generate accurate and detailed warnings of flash floods. However, deploying an infrastructure that solely monitor flash floods makes little economic sense, since the average periodicity of catastrophic flash floods exceeds the lifetime of a typical sensor network. To address this issue, we propose a new sensing device that can simultaneously monitor urban flash floods and another phenomenon of interest (traffic congestion on the present case). This sensing device is based on the combination of an ultrasonic rangefinder with one or multiple remote temperature sensors. We show an implementation of this device, and illustrate its performance in both traffic flow and flash flood sensing. Field data shows that the sensor can detect vehicles with a 99% accuracy, in addition to estimating their speed and classifying them in function of their length. The same sensor can also monitor urban water levels with an accuracy of less than 2 cm. Two of the sensors have been deployed in a flood prone area, where they captured the only (minor) flash flood that occurred over the one-year test period, with no false detection, and an agreement in the estimated water level estimate (during the flash flood event) of about 2 cm.

  17. A Temporal Locality-Aware Page-Mapped Flash Translation Layer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Youngjae [ORNL; Gupta, Aayush [IBM Corporation, Almaden Research Center; Urgaonkar, Bhuvan [Pennsylvania State University

    2013-01-01

    The poor performance of random writes has been a cause of major concern which needs to be addressed to better utilize the potential of flash in enterprise-scale environments. We examine one of the important causes of this poor performance: the design of the flash translation layer (FTL) which performs the virtual-to-physical address translations and hides the erase-before-write characteristics of flash. We propose a complete paradigm shift in the design of the core FTL engine from the existing techniques with our Demand-Based Flash Translation Layer (DFTL) which selectively caches page- level address mappings. Our experimental evaluation using FlashSim with realistic enterprise-scale workloads endorses the utility of DFTL in enterprise-scale storage systems by demonstrating: 1) improved performance, 2) reduced garbage collection overhead and 3) better overload behavior compared with hybrid FTL schemes which are the most popular implementation methods. For example, a predominantly random-write dominant I/O trace from an OLTP application running at a large financial institution shows a 78% improvement in average response time (due to a 3-fold reduction in operations of the garbage collector), compared with the hybrid FTL scheme. Even for the well-known read-dominant TPC-H benchmark, for which DFTL introduces additional overheads, we improve system response time by 56%. Moreover, interestingly, when write-back cache on DFTL-based SSD is enabled, DFTL even outperforms the page-based FTL scheme, improving their response time by 72% in Financial trace.

  18. Jaan Toomik ajakirjas Flash Art

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    1999-01-01

    Kunstiajakirja "Flash Art" maikuu numbris Ando Keskküla artikkel, mis annab ülevaate J. Toomiku loomingust ja peatub pikemalt tema olulisematel töödel. 10. juunist J. Toomiku isiknäitus Londoni fotograafide galeriis. Eksponeeritud video "Uisutaja"

  19. A new family of ceramic X-ray tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berger, E.; Reiprich, S.

    1976-01-01

    The construction and performance of a family of metal-ceramic X-ray tubes are described. Four of these incorporate slanting anodes and one a plane anode giving directional and omnidirectional radiation characteristics respectively. The particular advantages of these tubes are their compactness, low weight, flash-over immunity and high thermal and mechanical stress tolerance. (orig.) [de

  20. Material density measurements from dynamic flash x-ray radiographs using axisymmetric tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fugelso, E.

    1981-03-01

    The axisymmetric version of the tomographic x-ray reconstruction procedures has been utilized to determine the material density for the impact of a cylinder on a steel plate. Derivations of the reconstruction algorithms relating x-ray radiographic intensities to the material densities are presented. Effects of noise, point spread functions, and motion blur are minimized

  1. High precision timing in a FLASH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoek, Matthias; Cardinali, Matteo; Dickescheid, Michael; Schlimme, Soeren; Sfienti, Concettina; Spruck, Bjoern; Thiel, Michaela [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    A segmented highly precise start counter (FLASH) was designed and constructed at the Institute for Nuclear Physics in Mainz. Besides determining a precise reference time, a Time-of-Flight measurement can be performed with two identical FLASH units. Thus, particle identification can be provided for mixed hadron beam environments. The detector design is based on the detection of Cherenkov light produced in fused silica radiator bars with fast multi-anode MCP-PMTs. The segmentation of the radiator improves the timing resolution while allowing a coarse position resolution along one direction. Both, the arrival time and the Time-over-Threshold are determined by the readout electronics, which enables walk correction of the arrival time. The performance of two FLASH units was investigated in test experiments at the Mainz Microton (MAMI) using an electron beam with an energy of 855 MeV and at CERN's PS T9 beam line with a mixed hadron beam with momenta between 3-8 GeV/c. Effective Time-walk correction methods based on Time-over-Threshold were developed for the data analysis. The achieved Time-Of-Flight resolution after applying all corrections was found to be 70 ps. Furthermore, the PID and position resolution capabilities are discussed in this contribution.

  2. Venlafaxine and desvenlafaxine in the management of menopausal hot flashes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johnson ED

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Vasomotor flushes are common complaints of women during and after menopause, affecting about 75 percent of this population. Estrogen therapy is the most effective treatment for hot flashes. However, there are a significant number of women who have contraindications or choose not to use estrogen due to potential risks such as breast cancer and thromboembolic disorders. These women need alternative options. The selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, venlafaxine and desvenlafaxine, have shown efficacy in alleviating hot flashes.Objective: The purpose of this review is to assess the efficacy and tolerability of these two agents for treatment of hot flashes in healthy postmenopausal women.Methods: A literature search of the MEDLINE and Ovid databases from inception to June 2011 was conducted. Randomized controlled trials, published in English, with human participants were included. Studies included postmenopausal women, and trials with breast cancer only populations were excluded.Results: Venlafaxine reduced hot flashes by 37 to 61 percent and desvenlafaxine by 55 to 69 percent. Both agents were well tolerated. The most common adverse effects were headache, dry mouth, nausea, insomnia, somnolence, and dizziness.Conclusion: Based on the evidence, venlafaxine and desvenlafaxine are both viable options for reducing the frequency and severity of hot flashes.

  3. Ingmar Muusikuse foto Flash Artis

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    1999-01-01

    Flash Arti 1999. a. oktoobrinumbris virtuaalse näituse rubriigis Ando Keskküla artikkel radikaalsemast eesti kunstist ja kunstielust postsotsialistlikul ajastul. Illustratsiooniks Liina Siibi fotokompositsioonid, Ingmar Muusikuse foto Raoul Kurvitza, Ene-Liis Semperi ja Kiwa Eesti Panga performance'ist

  4. A comparison of colour, shape, and flash induced illusory line motion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamm, Jeff P

    2017-04-01

    When a bar suddenly appears between two boxes, the bar will appear to shoot away from the box that matches it in colour or in shape-a phenomenon referred to as attribute priming of illusory line motion (ILM; colour ILM and shape ILM, respectively). If the two boxes are identical, ILM will still occur away from a box if it changes luminance shortly before the presentation of the bar ( flash ILM). This flash condition has been suggested to produce the illusory motion due to the formation of an attentional gradient surrounding the flashed location. However, colour ILM and shape ILM cannot be explained by an attentional gradient as there is no way for attention to select the matching box prior to the presentation of the bar. These findings challenge the attentional gradient explanation for ILM, but only if it is assumed that ILM arises for the same underlying reason. Two experiments are presented that address the question of whether or not flash ILM is the same as colour ILM or shape ILM. The results suggest that while colour ILM and shape ILM reflect a common illusion, flash ILM arises for a different reason. Therefore, the attentional gradient explanation for flash ILM is not refuted by the occurrence of colour ILM or shape ILM, which may reflect transformational apparent motion (TAM).

  5. 'Jet breaks' and 'missing breaks' in the X-Ray afterglow of Gamma Ray Bursts

    CERN Document Server

    Dado, Shlomo; De Rújula, Alvaro

    2008-01-01

    The X-ray afterglows (AGs) of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) and X-Ray Flashes (XRFs) have, after the fast decline phase of their prompt emission, a temporal behaviour varying between two extremes. A large fraction of these AGs has a 'canonical' light curve which, after an initial shallow-decay 'plateau' phase, 'breaks smoothly' into a fast power-law decline. Very energetic GRBs, contrariwise, appear not to have a 'break', their AG declines like a power-law from the start of the observations. Breaks and 'missing breaks' are intimately related to the geometry and deceleration of the jets responsible for GRBs. In the frame of the 'cannonball' (CB) model of GRBs and XRFs, we analyze the cited extreme behaviours (canonical and pure power-law) and intermediate cases spanning the observed range of X-ray AG shapes. We show that the entire panoply of X-ray light-curve shapes --measured with Swift and other satellites-- are as anticipated, on very limpid grounds, by the CB model. We test the expected correlations between the...

  6. Model of UV flashes due to gigantic blue jets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milikh, G M; Shneider, M N

    2008-01-01

    Analysis of UV flashes observed by the UV detector on board the 'Tatiana' microsatellite suggests, based on their location, pulse width and energy of the source of the photons, that the flashes were generated by gigantic blue jets (GBJs). Presented in this paper is a numerical model of UV flashes due to a bunch of long streamers which form a leader, a prong such as that observed in a GBJ. Using a previously developed model of upward propagation of a long streamer in the exponential atmosphere the paper describes temporal evolution of the UV flux generated by a bunch of long streamers, in the given spectral range 300-400 nm used by the UV detector on board 'Tatiana'. The model is in agreement with the observations.

  7. The Use of MCNP in Flash Radiographic Applications at AWE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quillin, S.; Crotch, I.; McAlpin, S.; O'Malley, J.

    AWE performs experiments to investigate the hydrodynamic behavior of explosive metal systems in order to underwrite the UK nuclear deterrent. The experiments involve the manufacture of a device to mock up some aspect of the weapon. Inert simulant materials replace fissile weapon components. The device is then detonated under remote control within specially designed explosive containment buildings called firing chambers. During the experiment a very brief, intense, collimated flash of high energy x-rays are used to take a snapshot of the implosion (see Fig. 1). Prom the resulting image measurements of the dynamic configuration and density distribution of the components in the device are inferred. These are then used to compare with calculations of the hydrodynamic operation of the weapon and understand how the device would perform under various conditions. This type of experiment is known as a core punch experiment.

  8. FLASH Technology: Full-Scale Hospital Waste Water Treatments Adopted in Aceh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rame; Tridecima, Adeodata; Pranoto, Hadi; Moesliem; Miftahuddin

    2018-02-01

    A Hospital waste water contains a complex mixture of hazardous chemicals and harmful microbes, which can pose a threat to the environment and public health. Some efforts have been carried out in Nangroe Aceh Darussalam (Aceh), Indonesia with the objective of treating hospital waste water effluents on-site before its discharge. Flash technology uses physical and biological pre-treatment, followed by advanced oxidation process based on catalytic ozonation and followed by GAC and PAC filtration. Flash Full-Scale Hospital waste water Treatments in Aceh from different district have been adopted and investigated. Referring to the removal efficiency of macro-pollutants, the collected data demonstrate good removal efficiency of macro-pollutants using Flash technologies. In general, Flash technologies could be considered a solution to the problem of managing hospital waste water.

  9. Flash Builder 4 and Flex 4 Bible

    CERN Document Server

    Gassner, David

    2010-01-01

    A complete and thorough reference for developers on the new Flex 4 platform. Create desktop applications that behave identically on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux with Adobe's new Flash Builder 4 platform and this in-depth guide. The book's tutorials and explanations walk you step-by-step through Flash Builder's new, faster tools; the new framework for generating code; how to connect to popular application servers; upgrading from Flex 3; and much more.: Shows you how to create rich applications for the Web and desktop with the very latest version of Flex, with detailed coverage for both new and

  10. Flash combustion synthesis and characterisation of nanosized proton conducting Yttria-doped barium cerate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacquin, M.; Jing, Y.; Essoumhi, A.; Taillades, G.; Jones, D.J.; Roziere, J. [Montpellier Univ., Montpellier (France). Lab. des Agregats Moleculaires et Materiaux Inorganiques

    2007-10-15

    The high conversion efficiency of proton ceramic fuel cells renders them a promising technology for electric power conversion. They also function in an intermediate temperature range (400 to 600 degrees C) where the problem of thermal ageing can be avoided. This paper presented a newly developed flash combustion method for the preparation of proton conducting yttrium-doped barium cerate nanopowders. This quick, safe and low cost route takes advantage of the exothermic and self-sustaining redox reaction between high oxygen content metal salts and a suitable fuel that acts as a reducing agent. The parameters that influence the reaction product are the type of fuel, the fuel to oxidizer ratio, and the ignition temperature. Use of suitable fuel in combustion syntheses ensures stability of the chemical composition and high quality of products, and produces non-toxic gases. In this study, the flash combustion synthesis method was used to ignite the mixture at 600 degrees C. The resulting fine powder was characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The resulting nano-sized crystallites allow for the preparation of fully densified materials with densities up to 98 per cent. Water uptake was examined in compressed and sintered samples of BaCe{sub 0.9}Y{sub 0.1}O{sub 2.95} (BCY10). Bulk and total conductivities were determined with impedance spectroscopy in the range 300 to 600 degrees C. Densified yttria doped barium cerate materials show a bulk conductivity of 2.3 x 10{sup -2} S/cm and a total conductivity of 1.2 x 10{sup -2} S/cm at 500 degrees C. The temperature dependence was close to that of the bulk. It was concluded that flash combustion is an interesting alternative method for preparing proton conducting oxides for intermediate temperature fuel cells. 28 refs., 1 tab., 10 figs.

  11. Acupuncture as Treatment of Hot Flashes and the Possible Role of Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna-Clara E. Spetz Holm

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The mechanisms behind hot flashes in menopausal women are not fully understood. The flashes in women are probably preceded by and actually initiated by a sudden downward shift in the set point for the core body temperature in the thermoregulatory center that is affected by sex steroids, β-endorphins, and other central neurotransmitters. Treatments that influence these factors may be expected to reduce hot flashes. Since therapy with sex steroids for hot flashes has appeared to cause a number of side effects and risks and women with hot flashes and breast cancer as well as men with prostate cancer and hot flashes are prevented from sex steroid therapy there is a great need for alternative therapies. Acupuncture affecting the opioid system has been suggested as an alternative treatment option for hot flashes in menopausal women and castrated men. The heat loss during hot flashes may be mediated by the potent vasodilator and sweat gland activator calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP the concentration of which increases in plasma during flashes in menopausal women and, according to one study, in castrated men with flushes. There is also evidence for connections between the opioid system and the release of CGRP. In this paper we discuss acupuncture as a treatment alternative for hot flashes and the role of CGRP in this context.

  12. Flash Study Analysis and the Music Learning Pro-Files Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cremata, Radio; Pignato, Joseph; Powell, Bryan; Smith, Gareth Dylan

    2016-01-01

    This paper introduces the Music Learning Profiles Project, and its methodological approach, flash study analysis. Flash study analysis is a method that draws heavily on extant qualitative approaches to education research, to develop broad understandings of music learning in diverse contexts. The Music Learning Profiles Project (MLPP) is an…

  13. Motorist actions at a crosswalk with an in-pavement flashing light system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karkee, Ganesh J; Nambisan, Shashi S; Pulugurtha, Srinivas S

    2010-12-01

    An in-pavement flashing light system is used at crosswalks to alert motorists and pedestrians of possible conflicts and to influence their behavior to enhance safety. The relative behaviors of the drivers and the pedestrians affect safety. An evaluation of motorist behavior at a pedestrian crosswalk with an in-pavement flashing light system is presented in this manuscript. Field observations provide the basis to evaluate motorist behavior at a crosswalk with an in-pavement flashing light system. Outcomes of pedestrian and motorists actions were observed to quantify measures of effectiveness (MOEs) such as yielding behavior of motorists, vehicle speeds, and yielding distance from the crosswalk. A before-and-after study design was used. The before condition was prior to the activation of the in-pavement flashing light system and the after condition was after the activation of the in-pavement flashing light system. The study was conducted on a relatively low-volume roadway located in the Henderson, Nevada. The significance of the differences in the MOEs between the 2 study periods was evaluated using statistical analysis tools such as a one-tailed test for proportions and the Welch-Satterthwaite t-test. The results show that the installation of the in-pavement flashing light system increased the yielding behavior of motorists significantly (P pavement flashing light system is seen to be effective to improve motorists' yielding behavior and the speeds of vehicles were also observed to decrease in the presence of pedestrians.

  14. Comparison cosmic ray irradiation simulation and particle beam test on UFFO Burst Alert & Trigger telescope(UBAT) detectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeong, H. M.; Jeong, S.; Kim, M. B.

    2017-01-01

    Ultra-Fast Flash Observatory pathfinder(UFFO-p) was launched onboard Lomonosov on 28th of April, 2016, and now is under various types of calibration for detection of Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). Since last September UFFO-p has taken X-ray data in space with UFFO Burst Alert &Trigger telescope (UBAT),...

  15. Measuring the electron bunch timing with femtosecond resolution at FLASH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bock, Marie Kristin

    2013-03-01

    Bunch arrival time monitors (BAMs) are an integral part of the laser-based synchronisation system which is being developed at the Free Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH).The operation principle comprises the measurement of the electron bunch arrival time relative to the optical timing reference, which is provided by actively length-stabilised fibre-links of the synchronisation system. The monitors are foreseen to be used as a standard diagnostic tool, not only for FLASH but also for the future European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (European XFEL). The present bunch arrival time monitors have evolved from proof-of-principle experiments to beneficial diagnostic devices, which are almost permanently available during standard machine operation. This achievement has been a major objective of this thesis. The developments went in parallel to improvements in the reliable and low-maintenance operation of the optical synchronisation system. The key topics of this thesis comprised the characterisation and optimisation of the opto-mechanical front-ends of both, the fibre-links and the BAMs. The extent of applications involving the bunch arrival time information has been enlarged, providing automated measurements for properties of the RF acceleration modules, for instance, the RF on-crest phase determination and the measurement of energy fluctuations. Furthermore, two of the currently installed BAMs are implemented in an active phase and gradient stabilisation of specific modules in order to minimise the arrival time jitter of the electron bunches at the location of the FEL undulators, which is crucial for a high timing resolution of pump-probe experiments.

  16. Measuring the electron bunch timing with femtosecond resolution at FLASH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bock, Marie Kristin

    2013-03-15

    Bunch arrival time monitors (BAMs) are an integral part of the laser-based synchronisation system which is being developed at the Free Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH).The operation principle comprises the measurement of the electron bunch arrival time relative to the optical timing reference, which is provided by actively length-stabilised fibre-links of the synchronisation system. The monitors are foreseen to be used as a standard diagnostic tool, not only for FLASH but also for the future European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (European XFEL). The present bunch arrival time monitors have evolved from proof-of-principle experiments to beneficial diagnostic devices, which are almost permanently available during standard machine operation. This achievement has been a major objective of this thesis. The developments went in parallel to improvements in the reliable and low-maintenance operation of the optical synchronisation system. The key topics of this thesis comprised the characterisation and optimisation of the opto-mechanical front-ends of both, the fibre-links and the BAMs. The extent of applications involving the bunch arrival time information has been enlarged, providing automated measurements for properties of the RF acceleration modules, for instance, the RF on-crest phase determination and the measurement of energy fluctuations. Furthermore, two of the currently installed BAMs are implemented in an active phase and gradient stabilisation of specific modules in order to minimise the arrival time jitter of the electron bunches at the location of the FEL undulators, which is crucial for a high timing resolution of pump-probe experiments.

  17. The lightning flash

    CERN Document Server

    Cooray, Vernon

    2014-01-01

    With contributions from today's leading lightning engineers and researchers, this updated 2nd edition of Vernon Cooray's classic text, The Lightning Flash provides the reader with an essential introduction to lightning and its impact on electrical and electronic equipment. Providing the reader with a thorough background into almost every aspect of lightning and its impact on electrical and electronic equipment, this new edition is updated throughout and features eight new chapters that bring the science up to date.

  18. Metabolic activity in the insular cortex and hypothalamus predicts hot flashes: an FDG-PET study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joffe, Hadine; Deckersbach, Thilo; Lin, Nancy U; Makris, Nikos; Skaar, Todd C; Rauch, Scott L; Dougherty, Darin D; Hall, Janet E

    2012-09-01

    Hot flashes are a common side effect of adjuvant endocrine therapies (AET; leuprolide, tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors) that reduce quality of life and treatment adherence in breast cancer patients. Because hot flashes affect only some women, preexisting neurobiological traits might predispose to their development. Previous studies have implicated the insula during the perception of hot flashes and the hypothalamus in thermoregulatory dysfunction. The aim of the study was to understand whether neurobiological factors predict hot flashes. [18F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) brain scans coregistered with structural magnetic resonance imaging were used to determine whether metabolic activity in the insula and hypothalamic thermoregulatory and estrogen-feedback regions measured before and in response to AET predict hot flashes. Findings were correlated with CYP2D6 genotype because of CYP2D6 polymorphism associations with tamoxifen-induced hot flashes. We measured regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose uptake (rCMRglu) in the insula and hypothalamus on FDG-PET. Of 18 women without hot flashes who began AET, new-onset hot flashes were reported by 10 (55.6%) and were detected objectively in nine (50%) participants. Prior to the use of all AET, rCMRglu in the insula (P ≤ 0.01) and hypothalamic thermoregulatory (P = 0.045) and estrogen-feedback (P = 0.007) regions was lower in women who reported developing hot flashes. In response to AET, rCMRglu was further reduced in the insula in women developing hot flashes (P ≤ 0.02). Insular and hypothalamic rCMRglu levels were lower in intermediate than extensive CYP2D6 metabolizers. Trait neurobiological characteristics predict hot flashes. Genetic variability in CYP2D6 may underlie the neurobiological predisposition to hot flashes induced by AET.

  19. Tutorial Pengenalan Adobe Photoshop Menggunakan Adobe Flash CS3

    OpenAIRE

    Mayoka, Rio

    2011-01-01

    Kajian ini bertujuan untuk membangun sebuah aplikasi yang dapat menjadi alat bantu dalam pembelajaran Adobe Photoshop, dimana terdapat beberapa materi pengenalan dasar Adobe Photoshop. Aplikasi ini suatu gagasan dengan membuat tutorial beranimasi yang interatif. Aplikasi ini dibuat dengan menggunakan Adobe Flash CS3 dan dapat dijalankan dengan Flash player. Aplikasi ini dapat membantu para penggunanya dalam memahami pengenalan Adobe Photoshop, terutama pengenalan tool pada Adob...

  20. The Adjoint Method for Gradient-based Dynamic Optimization of UV Flash Processes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ritschel, Tobias Kasper Skovborg; Capolei, Andrea; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a novel single-shooting algorithm for gradient-based solution of optimal control problems with vapor-liquid equilibrium constraints. Dynamic optimization of UV flash processes is relevant in nonlinear model predictive control of distillation columns, certain two-phase flow pro......-component flash process which demonstrate the importance of the optimization solver, the compiler, and the linear algebra software for the efficiency of dynamic optimization of UV flash processes....

  1. Flash flood disasters analysis and evaluation: a case study of Yiyang County in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Haichen; Zhang, Xiaolei; Li, Qing; Qin, Tao; Lei, Xiaohui

    2018-03-01

    Global climate change leads to the more extreme precipitation and more flash flood disasters, which is a serious threat to the mountain inhabitants. To prevent flash flood disasters, China started flash flood disaster control planning and other projects from 2006. Among those measures, non-engineering measures are effective and economical. This paper introduced the framework of flash flood disaster analysis and evaluation in China, followed by a case study of Yiyang County.

  2. Does underwater flash photography affect the behaviour, movement and site persistence of seahorses?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harasti, D; Gladstone, W

    2013-11-01

    The effect of flash photography on seahorse species has never been tested. An experiment was established to test the effect of flash photography and the handling of Hippocampus whitei, a medium-sized seahorse species endemic to Australia, on their behavioural responses, movements and site persistence. A total of 24 H. whitei were utilized in the experiment with eight in each of the three treatments (flash photography, handling and control). The effect of underwater flash photography on H. whitei movements was not significant; however, the effect of handling H. whitei to take a photograph had a significant effect on their short-term behavioural responses to the photographer. Kaplan-Meier log-rank test revealed that there was no significant difference in site persistence of H. whitei from each of the three treatments and that flash photography had no long-term effects on their site persistence. It is concluded that the use of flash photography by divers is a safe and viable technique with H. whitei, particularly if photographs can be used for individual identification purposes. © 2013 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  3. Prediction of the Flash Point of Binary and Ternary Straight-Chain Alkane Mixtures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    X. Li

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The flash point is an important physical property used to estimate the fire hazard of a flammable liquid. To avoid the occurrence of fire or explosion, many models are used to predict the flash point; however, these models are complex, and the calculation process is cumbersome. For pure flammable substances, the research for predicting the flash point is systematic and comprehensive. For multicomponent mixtures, especially a hydrocarbon mixture, the current research is insufficient to predict the flash point. In this study, a model was developed to predict the flash point of straight-chain alkane mixtures using a simple calculation process. The pressure, activity coefficient, and other associated physicochemical parameters are not required for the calculation in the proposed model. A series of flash points of binary and ternary mixtures of straight-chain alkanes were determined. The results of the model present consistent experimental results with an average absolute deviation for the binary mixtures of 0.7% or lower and an average absolute deviation for the ternary mixtures of 1.03% or lower.

  4. Flash flood modeling with the MARINE hydrological distributed model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estupina-Borrell, V.; Dartus, D.; Ababou, R.

    2006-11-01

    Flash floods are characterized by their violence and the rapidity of their occurrence. Because these events are rare and unpredictable, but also fast and intense, their anticipation with sufficient lead time for warning and broadcasting is a primary subject of research. Because of the heterogeneities of the rain and of the behavior of the surface, spatially distributed hydrological models can lead to a better understanding of the processes and so on they can contribute to a better forecasting of flash flood. Our main goal here is to develop an operational and robust methodology for flash flood forecasting. This methodology should provide relevant data (information) about flood evolution on short time scales, and should be applicable even in locations where direct observations are sparse (e.g. absence of historical and modern rainfalls and streamflows in small mountainous watersheds). The flash flood forecast is obtained by the physically based, space-time distributed hydrological model "MARINE'' (Model of Anticipation of Runoff and INondations for Extreme events). This model is presented and tested in this paper for a real flash flood event. The model consists in two steps, or two components: the first component is a "basin'' flood module which generates flood runoff in the upstream part of the watershed, and the second component is the "stream network'' module, which propagates the flood in the main river and its subsidiaries. The basin flash flood generation model is a rainfall-runoff model that can integrate remotely sensed data. Surface hydraulics equations are solved with enough simplifying hypotheses to allow real time exploitation. The minimum data required by the model are: (i) the Digital Elevation Model, used to calculate slopes that generate runoff, it can be issued from satellite imagery (SPOT) or from French Geographical Institute (IGN); (ii) the rainfall data from meteorological radar, observed or anticipated by the French Meteorological Service (M

  5. Adobe Flash as a medium for online experimentation: a test of reaction time measurement capabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reimers, Stian; Stewart, Neil

    2007-08-01

    Adobe Flash can be used to run complex psychological experiments over the Web. We examined the reliability of using Flash to measure reaction times (RTs) using a simple binary-choice task implemented both in Flash and in a Linux-based system known to record RTs with millisecond accuracy. Twenty-four participants were tested in the laboratory using both implementations; they also completed the Flash version on computers of their own choice outside the lab. RTs from the trials run on Flash outside the lab were approximately 20 msec slower than those from trials run on Flash in the lab, which in turn were approximately 10 msec slower than RTs from the trials run on the Linux-based system (baseline condition). RT SDs were similar in all conditions, suggesting that although Flash may overestimate RTs slightly, it does not appear to add significant noise to the data recorded.

  6. Synoptic-scale atmospheric conditions associated with flash flooding in watersheds of the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teale, N. G.; Quiring, S. M.

    2015-12-01

    Understanding flash flooding is important in unfiltered watersheds, such as portions of the New York City water supply system (NYCWSS), as water quality is degraded by turbidity associated with flooding. To further understand flash flooding in watersheds of the NYCWSS, synoptic-scale atmospheric conditions most frequently associated with flash flooding between 1987 and 2013 were examined. Flash floods were identified during this time period using USGS 15-minute discharge data at the Esopus Creek near Allaben, NY and Neversink River at Claryville, NY gauges. Overall, 25 flash floods were detected, occurring over 17 separate flash flood days. These flash flood days were compared to the days on which flash flood warnings encompassing the study area was issued by the National Weather Service. The success rate for which the flash flood warnings for Ulster County coincided with flash flood in the study watershed was 0.09, demonstrating the highly localized nature of flash flooding in the Catskill Mountain region. The synoptic-scale atmospheric patterns influencing the study area were characterized by a principal component analysis and k-means clustering of NCEP/NCAR 500 mb geopotential height reanalysis data. This procedure was executed in Spatial Synoptic Typer Tools 4.0. While 17 unique synoptic patterns were identified, only 3 types were strongly associated with flash flooding events. A strong southwesterly flow suggesting advection of moisture from the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico is shown in composites of these 3 types. This multiscalar study thereby links flash flooding in the NYCWSS with synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation.Understanding flash flooding is important in unfiltered watersheds, such as portions of the New York City water supply system (NYCWSS), as water quality is degraded by turbidity associated with flooding. To further understand flash flooding in watersheds of the NYCWSS, synoptic-scale atmospheric conditions most frequently associated with

  7. New constraints on neutron star models of gamma-ray bursts. II - X-ray observations of three gamma-ray burst error boxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boer, M.; Hurley, K.; Pizzichini, G.; Gottardi, M.

    1991-01-01

    Exosat observations are presented for 3 gamma-ray-burst error boxes, one of which may be associated with an optical flash. No point sources were detected at the 3-sigma level. A comparison with Einstein data (Pizzichini et al., 1986) is made for the March 5b, 1979 source. The data are interpreted in the framework of neutron star models and derive upper limits for the neutron star surface temperatures, accretion rates, and surface densities of an accretion disk. Apart from the March 5b, 1979 source, consistency is found with each model.

  8. Preliminary research results for generation and application of high power ion beams on FLASh II accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Hailiang; Qiu Aici; Zhang Jiasheng; He Xiaoping; Sun Jianfeng; Peng Jianchang; Tang Junping; Ren Shuqing; Ouyang Xiaoping; Zhang Guoguang; Huang Jianjun; Yang Li; Wang Haiyang; Li Jingya; Li Hongyu

    2004-01-01

    Preliminary results for the generation and application of the high power ion beam (HPIB) on the FLASH II accelerator are reported. The structure and principle of the pinch reflex ion beam diode are introduced. The equation of parapotential flow is corrected for the reduction of diode A-K gap due to the motion of cathode and anode plasma. The HPIB peak current of ∼160 kA is obtained with a peak energy of ∼500 keV. Experimental investigations of generating 6-7 MeV quasi-monoenergetic pulsed γ-rays with high power ion (proton) beams striking 19 F target are presented. In addition, the results of the thermal-mechanical effects on the material irradiated with HPIB, which are applied to the simulation of 1 keV black body radiation x-rays, are also discussed

  9. A Self-consistent Model for a Full Cycle of Recurrent Novae—Wind Mass-loss Rate and X-Ray Luminosity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kato, Mariko [Department of Astronomy, Keio University, Hiyoshi, Yokohama 223-8521 (Japan); Saio, Hideyuki [Astronomical Institute, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578 (Japan); Hachisu, Izumi, E-mail: mariko.kato@hc.st.keio.ac.jp [Department of Earth Science and Astronomy, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902 (Japan)

    2017-04-01

    An unexpectedly slow evolution in the pre-optical-maximum phase was suggested in the very short recurrence period of nova M31N 2008-12a. To obtain reasonable nova light curves we have improved our calculation method by consistently combining optically thick wind solutions of hydrogen-rich envelopes with white dwarf (WD) structures calculated by a Henyey-type evolution code. The wind mass-loss rate is properly determined with high accuracy. We have calculated light curve models for 1.2 M {sub ⊙} and 1.38 M {sub ⊙} WDs with mass accretion rates corresponding to recurrence periods of 10 yr and 1 yr, respectively. The outburst lasts 590/29 days, in which the pre-optical-maximum phase is 82/16 days, for 1.2/1.38 M {sub ⊙}, respectively. Optically thick winds start at the end of the X-ray flash and cease at the beginning of the supersoft X-ray phase. We also present supersoft X-ray light curves including a prompt X-ray flash and later supersoft X-ray phase.

  10. Reduced order modeling of flashing two-phase jets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gurecky, William, E-mail: william.gurecky@utexas.edu; Schneider, Erich, E-mail: eschneider@mail.utexas.edu; Ballew, Davis, E-mail: davisballew@utexas.edu

    2015-12-01

    Highlights: • Accident simulation requires ability to quickly predict two-phase flashing jet's damage potential. • A reduced order modeling methodology informed by experimental or computational data is described. • Zone of influence volumes are calculated for jets of various upstream thermodynamic conditions. - Abstract: In the event of a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) in a pressurized water reactor, the escaping coolant produces a highly energetic flashing jet with the potential to damage surrounding structures. In LOCA analysis, the goal is often to evaluate many break scenarios in a Monte Carlo style simulation to evaluate the resilience of a reactor design. Therefore, in order to quickly predict the damage potential of flashing jets, it is of interest to develop a reduced order model that relates the damage potential of a jet to the pressure and temperature upstream of the break and the distance from the break to a given object upon which the jet is impinging. This work presents framework for producing a Reduced Order Model (ROM) that may be informed by measured data, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations, or a combination of both. The model is constructed by performing regression analysis on the pressure field data, allowing the impingement pressure to be quickly reconstructed for any given upstream thermodynamic condition within the range of input data. The model is applicable to both free and fully impinging two-phase flashing jets.

  11. Evaluation of Dietary Intake of Various Vitamins in Menopausal Women with Hot Flashes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aytekin Tokmak

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: Menopausal hot flashes affect the majority of women. Hormone replacement therapy to reduce the severity of hot flashes is the most effective method. Today, however, due to a number of side effects of hormone therapy more women are seeking alternative treatments such as vitamin pills and herbal products. Previously, various vitamins, minerals and trace elements were studied for this purpose. In this study, our aim was to determine the level of dietary intake of various vitamins in women with hot flashes and to compare them with women who had no complaints. Material and Method: One hundred and seven consecutive women who attended the menopause clinic of our hospital for routine follow up were included in this study. All of the participants were asked about the occurrence of specific menopausal symptoms and completed 92-itm antioxidant nutrient questionnaire developed by Satia. The main parameters recorded for each woman were; age, obstetrical characteristics, body mass index, smoking status, educational level, type of menopause (surgical or natural, duration of menopause, menopausal symptoms, and number and duration of hot flashes. According to the computerized analysis of questionnaire, dietary intake of water-soluble vitamins; B complex and vitamin C, and fat-soluble vitamins; vitamin, A D, E, K were calculated. Results: Patients were divided into two groups with regard to presence of hot flashes, those with hot flashes constituted the study groups (n:75, and others without hot flashes constituted the control group (n:32. The mean age of patients was statistically significantly lower in the study group (p<0,001. The mean duration of menopause was also lower in this group (p<0,001. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of obstetrical characteristics, body mass index, smoking status, educational level, type of menopause (p>0,05. Night sweats and sleep disorders were more common in women with hot flashes

  12. Evaluation of Dietary Intake of Various Vitamins in Menopausal Women with Hot Flashes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aytekin Tokmak

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Aim: Menopausal hot flashes affect the majority of women. Hormone replacement therapy to reduce the severity of hot flashes is the most effective method. Today, however, due to a number of side effects of hormone therapy more women are seeking alternative treatments such as vitamin pills and herbal products. Previously, various vitamins, minerals and trace elements were studied for this purpose. In this study, our aim was to determine the level of dietary intake of various vitamins in women with hot flashes and to compare them with women who had no complaints. Material and Method: One hundred and seven consecutive women who attended the menopause clinic of our hospital for routine follow up were included in this study. All of the participants were asked about the occurrence of specific menopausal symptoms and completed 92-itm antioxidant nutrient questionnaire developed by Satia. The main parameters recorded for each woman were; age, obstetrical characteristics, body mass index, smoking status, educational level, type of menopause (surgical or natural, duration of menopause, menopausal symptoms, and number and duration of hot flashes. According to the computerized analysis of questionnaire, dietary intake of water-soluble vitamins; B complex and vitamin C, and fat-soluble vitamins; vitamin, A D, E, K were calculated. Results: Patients were divided into two groups with regard to presence of hot flashes, those with hot flashes constituted the study groups (n:75, and others without hot flashes constituted the control group (n:32. The mean age of patients was statistically significantly lower in the study group (p<0,001. The mean duration of menopause was also lower in this group (p<0,001. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of obstetrical characteristics, body mass index, smoking status, educational level, type of menopause (p>0,05. Night sweats and sleep disorders were more common in women with hot flashes

  13. Void fraction measurements by means of flash x-ray radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelini, S.; Theofanous, T.G.

    1998-01-01

    In this paper we discuss X-ray radiography as a means of obtaining quantitative space distributions of void fractions in highly-transient, multiphase flows. The technique and the calibration of the instrument are discussed in detail, and its application in the MAGICO-2000 experiments is used to illustrate its potential in providing unique information about the interactions. (author)

  14. Electrical Safety and Arc Flash Protections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    R. Camp

    2008-03-04

    Over the past four years, the Electrical Safety Program at PPPL has evolved in addressing changing regulatory requirements and lessons learned from accident events, particularly in regards to arc flash hazards and implementing NFPA 70E requirements. This presentation will discuss PPPL's approaches to the areas of electrical hazards evaluation, both shock and arc flash; engineered solutions for hazards mitigation such as remote racking of medium voltage breakers, operational changes for hazards avoidance, targeted personnel training and hazard appropriate personal protective equipment. Practical solutions for nominal voltage identification and zero voltage checks for lockout/tagout will also be covered. Finally, we will review the value of a comprehensive electrical drawing program, employee attitudes expressed as a personal safety work ethic, integrated safety management, and sustained management support for continuous safety improvement.

  15. Electrical Safety and Arc Flash Protections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Camp, R.

    2008-01-01

    Over the past four years, the Electrical Safety Program at PPPL has evolved in addressing changing regulatory requirements and lessons learned from accident events, particularly in regards to arc flash hazards and implementing NFPA 70E requirements. This presentation will discuss PPPL's approaches to the areas of electrical hazards evaluation, both shock and arc flash; engineered solutions for hazards mitigation such as remote racking of medium voltage breakers, operational changes for hazards avoidance, targeted personnel training and hazard appropriate personal protective equipment. Practical solutions for nominal voltage identification and zero voltage checks for lockout/tagout will also be covered. Finally, we will review the value of a comprehensive electrical drawing program, employee attitudes expressed as a personal safety work ethic, integrated safety management, and sustained management support for continuous safety improvement.

  16. Development of virtual photobioreactor for microalgae culture considering turbulent flow and flashing light effect

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sato, Toru; Hirabayashi, Shinichiro [Department of Ocean Technology, Policy, and Environment, University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwa-no-ha, Kashiwa 277-8563 (Japan); Yamada, Daiki [Department of Systems Innovation, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8563 (Japan)

    2010-06-15

    A virtual photobioreactor for mass-culturing microalgae was developed. This is a computer model system combining a numerical simulation code for two-phase turbulent flow of bubbles and continuous medium and a photosynthesis model that can express the flashing light effect. The flashing light effect should be considered because turbulent flow in the reactor gives microalgae a chance to come close to the irradiated surface in the opaque medium at irregular frequency and this intermittent illumination enhances photosynthesis of the algae. The two-phase flow model output the time history of light pass along light ray between the irradiated wall surface of the reactor and the individual algal cell, which was passively moved by turbulent flow. When the history of light intensity, which was calculated from that of the light pass and the Beer-Lambert law, experienced by the cell was given, the photosynthesis model output the amount of O{sub 2} emitted from the cell in every small time interval. Finally, the harvest of the alga was estimated from the amount of the O{sub 2}. As a result, the present model system successfully predicted the algal concentration optimal for the largest O{sub 2} emission at the given light intensity and simulated the growth curve of Chaetoceros gracili. (author)

  17. Development of virtual photobioreactor for microalgae culture considering turbulent flow and flashing light effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Toru; Yamada, Daiki; Hirabayashi, Shinichiro

    2010-01-01

    A virtual photobioreactor for mass-culturing microalgae was developed. This is a computer model system combining a numerical simulation code for two-phase turbulent flow of bubbles and continuous medium and a photosynthesis model that can express the flashing light effect. The flashing light effect should be considered because turbulent flow in the reactor gives microalgae a chance to come close to the irradiated surface in the opaque medium at irregular frequency and this intermittent illumination enhances photosynthesis of the algae. The two-phase flow model output the time history of light pass along light ray between the irradiated wall surface of the reactor and the individual algal cell, which was passively moved by turbulent flow. When the history of light intensity, which was calculated from that of the light pass and the Beer-Lambert law, experienced by the cell was given, the photosynthesis model output the amount of O 2 emitted from the cell in every small time interval. Finally, the harvest of the alga was estimated from the amount of the O 2 . As a result, the present model system successfully predicted the algal concentration optimal for the largest O 2 emission at the given light intensity and simulated the growth curve of Chaetoceros gracili.

  18. Design of High-Security USB Flash Drives Based on Chaos Authentication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teh-Lu Liao

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to propose a novel design of high-security USB flash drives with the chaos authentication. A chaos authentication approach with the non-linear encryption and decryption function design is newly proposed and realized based on the controller design of chaos synchronization. To complete the design of high-security USB flash drives, first, we introduce six parameters into the original Henon map to adjust and obtain richer chaotic state responses. Then a discrete sliding mode scheme is proposed to solve the synchronization problem of discrete hyperchaotic Henon maps. The proposed sliding mode controller can ensure the synchronization of the master-slave Henon maps. The selection of the switching surface and the existence of the sliding motion are also addressed. Finally, the obtained results are applied to design a new high-security USB flash drive with chaos authentication. We built discrete hyperchaotic Henon maps in the smartphone (master and microcontroller (slave, respectively. The Bluetooth module is used to communicate between the master and the slave to achieve chaos synchronization such that the same random and dynamical chaos signal can be simultaneously obtained at both the USB flash drive and smartphone, and pass the chaos authentication. When users need to access data in the flash drive, they can easily enable the encryption APP in the smartphone (master for chaos authentication. After completing the chaos synchronization and authentication, the ARM-based microcontroller allows the computer to access the data in the high-security USB flash drive.

  19. Inception and development of voids in flashing liquids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, O.C. Jr.

    1979-06-01

    Recent work aimed at correctly describing nonequilibrium vapor generation rates in flashing liquids in decompressing flows similar to those which might be encountered in a loss of coolant accident in a nuclear reactor is summarized. Analysis is reviewed which describes the flashing inception superheat in terms of the turbulence intensity for a given expansion rate and initial temperature, and interfacial area density and interfacial heat flux, and the volumetric vapor generation rates. Comparisons with existing data are included and further experiments being undertaken are described, including typical recent results

  20. New principle of feeding for flash evaporation MOCVD devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaul, A.R.; Seleznev, B.V.

    1993-01-01

    A novel scheme of flash evaporation feeding for MOCVD processes of multi-component oxide films deposition is proposed. The scheme comprises 1) microdozage of organic solution of solid volatile precursors on the glass fiber belt, 2) evaporation of the solvent and 3) flash evaporation of MOC microdoses from the belt. The functioning of the designed feeder is described and the features of proposed scheme in comparison to existing feeding principles are discussed. (orig.)

  1. Interactions of numerical and temporal stimulus characteristics on the control of response location by brief flashes of light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fetterman, J Gregor; Killeen, P Richard

    2011-09-01

    Pigeons pecked on three keys, responses to one of which could be reinforced after 3 flashes of the houselight, to a second key after 6, and to a third key after 12. The flashes were arranged according to variable-interval schedules. Response allocation among the keys was a function of the number of flashes. When flashes were omitted, transitions occurred very late. Increasing flash duration produced a leftward shift in the transitions along a number axis. Increasing reinforcement probability produced a leftward shift, and decreasing reinforcement probability produced a rightward shift. Intermixing different flash rates within sessions separated allocations: Faster flash rates shifted the functions sooner in real time, but later in terms of flash count, and conversely for slower flash rates. A model of control by fading memories of number and time was proposed.

  2. pyXSIM: Synthetic X-ray observations generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    ZuHone, John A.; Hallman, Eric. J.

    2016-08-01

    pyXSIM simulates X-ray observations from astrophysical sources. X-rays probe the high-energy universe, from hot galaxy clusters to compact objects such as neutron stars and black holes and many interesting sources in between. pyXSIM generates synthetic X-ray observations of these sources from a wide variety of models, whether from grid-based simulation codes such as FLASH (ascl:1010.082), Enzo (ascl:1010.072), and Athena (ascl:1010.014), to particle-based codes such as Gadget (ascl:0003.001) and AREPO, and even from datasets that have been created “by hand”, such as from NumPy arrays. pyXSIM can also manipulate the synthetic observations it produces in various ways and export the simulated X-ray events to other software packages to simulate the end products of specific X-ray observatories. pyXSIM is an implementation of the PHOX (ascl:1112.004) algorithm and was initially the photon_simulator analysis module in yt (ascl:1011.022); it is dependent on yt.

  3. Nonlinear dynamic model of a gear-rotor-bearing system considering the flash temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gou, Xiangfeng; Zhu, Lingyun; Qi, Changjun

    2017-12-01

    The instantaneous flash temperature is an important factor for gears in service. To investigate the effect of the flash temperature of a tooth surface on the dynamics of the spur gear system, a modified nonlinear dynamic model of a gear-rotor-bearing system is established. The factors such as the contact temperature of the tooth surface, time-varying stiffness, tooth surface friction, backlash, the comprehensive transmission error and so on are considered. The flash temperature of a tooth surface of pinion and gear is formulated according to Blok's flash temperature theory. The mathematical expression of the contact temperature of the tooth surface varied with time is derived and the tooth profile deformation caused by the change of the flash temperature of the tooth surface is calculated. The expression of the mesh stiffness varied with the flash temperature of the tooth surface is derived based on Hertz contact theory. The temperature stiffness is proposed and added to the nonlinear dynamic model of the system. The influence of load on the flash temperature of the tooth surface is analyzed in the parameters plane. The variation of the flash temperature of the tooth surface is studied. The numerical results indicate that the calculated method of the flash temperature of the gear tooth surface is effective and it can reflect the rules for the change of gear meshing temperature and sliding of the gear tooth surface. The effects of frequency, backlash, bearing clearance, comprehensive transmission error and time-varying stiffness on the nonlinear dynamics of the system are analyzed according to the bifurcation diagrams, Top Lyapunov Exponent (TLE) spectrums, phase portraits and Poincaré maps. Some nonlinear phenomena such as periodic bifurcation, grazing bifurcation, quasi-periodic bifurcation, chaos and its routes to chaos are investigated and the critical parameters are identified. The results provide an understanding of the system and serve as a useful reference

  4. Flash Extraction and Physicochemical Characterization of Oil from Elaeagnus mollis Diels Seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kan, Lina; Wang, Lin; Ding, Qingzhen; Wu, Yanwen; Ouyang, Jie

    2017-04-03

    A flash extraction method was used to isolate Elaeagnus mollis oil (EMO). The optimal extraction parameters, sample/solvent ratio and extraction temperature, were determined to be 1:10 (g/mL) and 40°C, respectively. Especially, the extraction yield reached 49.30% when the extraction time was as short as 2 min. No obvious difference was observed in fatty acid composition, iodine value, saponification number, total phenolic content and tocopherol content between flash-extracted EMO and Soxhlet-extracted EMO, but their physicochemical values were lower than those of cold-pressed EMO. Cold-pressed EMO had higher oxidation stability, DPPH (1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and hydroxyl radical-scavenging activities than flash-extracted EMO and Soxlet extracted EMO. The flash extraction is demonstrated to be an alternative, efficient method for the vegetable oil production.

  5. Thermal-hydraulics stability of natural circulation BWR under startup. Flashing effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Rui; Kazimi, Mujid S.

    2009-01-01

    To help achieve the necessary natural circulation flow, a fairly long chimney is installed in a boiling natural circulation reactor like the ESBWR. In such systems, thermal-hydraulic stability during low pressure start-up should be examined while considering the flashing induced by the pressure drop in the channel and the chimney due to gravity head. In this work, a BWR stability analysis code in the frequency domain, named FISTAB (Flashing-Induced STability Analysis for BWR), was developed to address the issue of flashing-induced instability. A thermal-hydraulics non-homogeneous equilibrium model (NHEM) based on a drift flux formulation along with a lumped fuel dynamics model is incorporated in the work. The vapor generation rate is derived from the mixture energy conservation equation while considering the effect of flashing. The functionality of the FISTAB code was confirmed by comparison to experimental results from SIRIUS-N facility at CRIEPI, Japan. Both stationary and perturbation results agree well with the experimental results. (author)

  6. Flash pyrolysis, a process for utilizing contaminated wood; Flash-Pyrolyse - eine Moeglichkeit der stofflichen Verwertung von kontaminiertem Holz

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meier, D; Wehlte, S; Faix, O [Bundesforschungsanstalt fuer Forst- und Holzwirtschaft, Hamburg (Germany). Inst. fuer Holzchemie und Chemische Technologie des Holzes

    1997-12-31

    Flash pyrolysis of wood treated with common pesticides poses no technical probelms. Product yields, with a maximum oil yield at 475 C, are similar to those of untreated wood. Most of the heavy metals are retained by the coal while a small part aheres to the coal layer of the sand bed. The resulting pyrolysis oil contains neither chromium nor copper. (orig) [Deutsch] Die Flash-Pyrolyse der mit den gaengigsten Schutzmitteln behandelten Hoelzer bereitet verfahrenstechnisch keine Probleme. Auch die Produktausbeuten, mit einem oelmaximum bei 475 C, aehneln denen von naturbelassenem Holz. Der groesste Teil der Schwermetalle wurde an die Kohle gebunden, ein geringer Teil blieb auf der Kohleschicht des Sandes haften. Im Hauptprodukt Pyrolyseoel konnten weder Chrom noch Kupfer nachgewiesen werden. (orig)

  7. Flash pyrolysis, a process for utilizing contaminated wood; Flash-Pyrolyse - eine Moeglichkeit der stofflichen Verwertung von kontaminiertem Holz

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meier, D.; Wehlte, S.; Faix, O. [Bundesforschungsanstalt fuer Forst- und Holzwirtschaft, Hamburg (Germany). Inst. fuer Holzchemie und Chemische Technologie des Holzes

    1996-12-31

    Flash pyrolysis of wood treated with common pesticides poses no technical probelms. Product yields, with a maximum oil yield at 475 C, are similar to those of untreated wood. Most of the heavy metals are retained by the coal while a small part aheres to the coal layer of the sand bed. The resulting pyrolysis oil contains neither chromium nor copper. (orig) [Deutsch] Die Flash-Pyrolyse der mit den gaengigsten Schutzmitteln behandelten Hoelzer bereitet verfahrenstechnisch keine Probleme. Auch die Produktausbeuten, mit einem oelmaximum bei 475 C, aehneln denen von naturbelassenem Holz. Der groesste Teil der Schwermetalle wurde an die Kohle gebunden, ein geringer Teil blieb auf der Kohleschicht des Sandes haften. Im Hauptprodukt Pyrolyseoel konnten weder Chrom noch Kupfer nachgewiesen werden. (orig)

  8. X-ray bursts: Observation versus theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewin, W. H. G.

    1981-01-01

    Results of various observations of common type I X-ray bursts are discussed with respect to the theory of thermonuclear flashes in the surface layers of accreting neutron stars. Topics covered include burst profiles; irregular burst intervals; rise and decay times and the role of hydrogen; the accuracy of source distances; accuracy in radii determination; radius increase early in the burst; the super Eddington limit; temperatures at burst maximum; and the role of the magnetic field.

  9. Flash Points of Secondary Alcohol and n-Alkane Mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esina, Zoya N; Miroshnikov, Alexander M; Korchuganova, Margarita R

    2015-11-19

    The flash point is one of the most important characteristics used to assess the ignition hazard of mixtures of flammable liquids. To determine the flash points of mixtures of secondary alcohols with n-alkanes, it is necessary to calculate the activity coefficients. In this paper, we use a model that allows us to obtain enthalpy of fusion and enthalpy of vaporization data of the pure components to calculate the liquid-solid equilibrium (LSE) and vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE). Enthalpy of fusion and enthalpy of vaporization data of secondary alcohols in the literature are limited; thus, the prediction of these characteristics was performed using the method of thermodynamic similarity. Additionally, the empirical models provided the critical temperatures and boiling temperatures of the secondary alcohols. The modeled melting enthalpy and enthalpy of vaporization as well as the calculated LSE and VLE flash points were determined for the secondary alcohol and n-alkane mixtures.

  10. Study of coal flash hydropyrolysis denitrogenation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, Lihua; Zhu, Zibin; Zhu, Hongbin; Zhang, Chengfang [Research Institute of Inorganic Chemical Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237 (China)

    2003-05-15

    The hydrodenitrogenation efficiency of 14 types of coals and the reaction mechanism of Zalainouer coal were studied in an experimental entrained bed reactor by flash hydropyrolysis (FHP). The results showed that flash hydropyrolysis is an efficient method for denitrogenation, and that the denitrogenation percentage increases with an increase in temperature and hydrogen pressure. For example, the denitrogenation percentage can reach up to about 60% for Zalainouer coal at 700 C and 6.0 MPa hydrogen pressure. The denitrogenation efficiency of different coal types is related to H/C. According to the conclusion of the study, the denitrogenation percentage increases with the increase in H/C ratio, reaching about 12% when H/C is equal to 0.6, and 40-55% when H/C is above 1.0. The results indicate that FHP is an efficient technique for removing nitrogen in coal.

  11. Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} thin films grown by flash evaporation and subsequent annealing in Ar atmosphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caballero, R., E-mail: raquel.caballero@uam.es [Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Departamento de Física Aplicada, M12, C/Francisco Tomás y Valiente 7, E-28049 Madrid (Spain); Izquierdo-Roca, V. [IREC, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, C. Jardins de les Dones de Negre 1, Sant Adriá del Besòs, E-08930 Barcelona (Spain); Merino, J.M.; Friedrich, E.J. [Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Departamento de Física Aplicada, M12, C/Francisco Tomás y Valiente 7, E-28049 Madrid (Spain); Climent-Font, A. [Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Departamento de Física Aplicada, M12, C/Francisco Tomás y Valiente 7, E-28049 Madrid (Spain); CMAM, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Faraday 3, E-28049, Madrid (Spain); Saucedo, E. [IREC, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, C. Jardins de les Dones de Negre 1, Sant Adriá del Besòs, E-08930 Barcelona (Spain); Pérez-Rodríguez, A. [IREC, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, C. Jardins de les Dones de Negre 1, Sant Adriá del Besòs, E-08930 Barcelona (Spain); IN" 2UB, Departament d' Electrònica, Universitat de Barcelona, C. Martí i Franquès 1, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); León, M. [Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Departamento de Física Aplicada, M12, C/Francisco Tomás y Valiente 7, E-28049 Madrid (Spain)

    2013-05-01

    A study of Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} thin films grown by flash evaporation and subsequently annealed in Ar atmosphere has been carried out. Prior to thin film deposition, Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} bulk compounds with stoichiometric and Zn-rich compositions were synthesized as evaporation sources. The characteristics of the bulk compounds and thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and elastic back scattering. Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} deposited films contain lower concentrations of Zn than the bulk compounds used as evaporation sources, which is related to a preferential Zn re-evaporation during the deposition process. The desired kesterite composition for solar cell applications was achieved by using a Zn-rich compound as the evaporation source plus a thermal treatment at 620 °C in Ar atmosphere. - Highlights: ► Cu{sub 2}ZnSnS{sub 4} (CZTS) thin films by flash evaporation + annealing in Ar atmosphere ► Difficulty of growing a single phase kesterite material ► X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy to identify the different phases ► Importance of the starting film composition to get the desired CZTS material ► Annealing treatment to obtain the optimum material to be used for CZTS solar cells.

  12. Development of a precipitation-area curve for warning criteria of short-duration flash flood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Deg-Hyo; Lee, Moon-Hwan; Moon, Sung-Keun

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents quantitative criteria for flash flood warning that can be used to rapidly assess flash flood occurrence based on only rainfall estimates. This study was conducted for 200 small mountainous sub-catchments of the Han River basin in South Korea because South Korea has recently suffered many flash flood events. The quantitative criteria are calculated based on flash flood guidance (FFG), which is defined as the depth of rainfall of a given duration required to cause frequent flooding (1-2-year return period) at the outlet of a small stream basin and is estimated using threshold runoff (TR) and antecedent soil moisture conditions in all sub-basins. The soil moisture conditions were estimated during the flooding season, i.e., July, August and September, over 7 years (2002-2009) using the Sejong University Rainfall Runoff (SURR) model. A ROC (receiver operating characteristic) analysis was used to obtain optimum rainfall values and a generalized precipitation-area (P-A) curve was developed for flash flood warning thresholds. The threshold function was derived as a P-A curve because the precipitation threshold with a short duration is more closely related to basin area than any other variables. For a brief description of the P-A curve, generalized thresholds for flash flood warnings can be suggested for rainfall rates of 42, 32 and 20 mm h-1 in sub-basins with areas of 22-40, 40-100 and > 100 km2, respectively. The proposed P-A curve was validated based on observed flash flood events in different sub-basins. Flash flood occurrences were captured for 9 out of 12 events. This result can be used instead of FFG to identify brief flash flood (less than 1 h), and it can provide warning information to decision-makers or citizens that is relatively simple, clear and immediate.

  13. An early warning system for flash floods in hyper-arid Egypt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cools, J.; Vanderkimpen, P.; El Afandi, G.; Abdelkhalek, A.; Fockedey, S.; El Sammany, M.; Abdallah, G.; El Bihery, M.; Bauwens, W.; Huygens, M.

    2012-02-01

    An early warning system (EWS) for flash floods has been developed for part of the Sinai peninsula of Egypt, an hyper-arid area confronted with limited availability of field data, limited understanding of the response of the wadi to rainfall, and a lack of correspondence between rainfall data and observed flash flood events. This paper shows that an EWS is not a "mission impossible" when confronted with large technical and scientific uncertainties and limited data availability. Firstly, the EWS has been developed and tested based on the best available information, this being quantitative data (field measurements, simulations and remote sensing images) complemented with qualitative "expert opinion" and local stakeholders' knowledge. Secondly, a set of essential parameters has been identified to be estimated or measured under data-poor conditions. These are: (1) an inventory of past significant rainfall and flash flood events, (2) the spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall events and (3) transmission and infiltration losses and (4) thresholds for issuing warnings. Over a period of 30 yr (1979-2010), only 20 significant rain events have been measured. Nine of these resulted in a flash flood. Five flash floods were caused by regional storms and four by local convective storms. The results for the 2010 flash flood show that 90% of the total rainfall volume was lost to infiltration and transmission losses. Finally, it is discussed that the effectiveness of an EWS is only partially determined by technological performance. A strong institutional capacity is equally important, especially skilled staff to operate and maintain the system and clear communication pathways and emergency procedures in case of an upcoming disaster.

  14. Ultra-fast flash observatory for detecting the early photons from gamma-ray bursts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lim, H.; Jeong, S.; Ahn, K.-B.

    ) for the fast measurement of the UV-optical photons from GRBs, and a gamma-ray monitor for energy measurement. The triggering is done by the UFFO burst Alert & Trigger telescope (UBAT) using the hard X-ray from GRBs and the UV/optical Trigger Assistant Telescope (UTAT) using the UV/optical photons from GRBs...

  15. Flash floods warning technique based on wireless communication networks data

    Science.gov (United States)

    David, Noam; Alpert, Pinhas; Messer, Hagit

    2010-05-01

    Flash floods can occur throughout or subsequent to rainfall events, particularly in cases where the precipitation is of high-intensity. Unfortunately, each year these floods cause severe property damage and heavy casualties. At present, there are no sufficient real time flash flood warning facilities found to cope with this phenomenon. Here we show the tremendous potential of flash floods advanced warning based on precipitation measurements of commercial microwave links. As was recently shown, wireless communication networks supply high resolution precipitation measurements at ground level while often being situated in flood prone areas, covering large parts of these hazardous regions. We present the flash flood warning potential of the wireless communication system for two different cases when floods occurred at the Judean desert and at the northern Negev in Israel. In both cases, an advanced warning regarding the hazard could have been announced based on this system. • This research was supported by THE ISRAEL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (grant No. 173/08). This work was also supported by a grant from the Yeshaya Horowitz Association, Jerusalem. Additional support was given by the PROCEMA-BMBF project and by the GLOWA-JR BMBF project.

  16. Implementation of the laser-based femtosecond precision synchronization system at FLASH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schulz, Sebastian

    2011-05-01

    FLASH, the high-gain free-electron laser (FEL) in Hamburg, enables the generation of light pulses with wavelengths in the soft X-ray region and durations down to a few femtoseconds. To fully exploit this capability in time-resolved pump-probe experiments, and for the projected externally seeded operation, the critical components of the accelerator and several external laser systems have to be synchronized with a temporal accuracy at least in the same order of magnitude. This can not be realized purely with established RF-based systems and therefore, an optical, laser-based synchronization system is required. In this thesis, the optical synchronization system of FLASH has been, based on previous successful proof-of-principle experiments, massively extended. One major topic is the comprehensive characterization of the timing reference of the system and a comparison of different types of such master laser oscillators, as well as studies on their short- and long-term stability. Similar investigations have been carried out for the upgraded and newly installed length-stabilized fiber links, which connect the remote locations at the accelerator to the optical timing reference. The successful demonstration of an all-optical synchronization of a Ti:sapphire oscillator with sub-10 femtosecond timing jitter and the connection of the photo injector laser system to the synchronization system mark further important key experiments of this thesis. The robustness of the actual implementations played a key role, as the synchronization system forms the basis for the future, operator-friendly arrival time feedback.

  17. Modeling of X-ray images and energy spectra produced by stepping lightning leaders

    OpenAIRE

    Xu , Wei; Marshall , Robert A.; Celestin , Sébastien; Pasko , Victor P.

    2017-01-01

    International audience; Recent ground-based measurements at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) have greatly improved our knowledge of the energetics, fluence, and evolution of X-ray emissions during natural cloud-to-ground (CG) and rocket-triggered lightning flashes. In this paper, using Monte Carlo simulations and the response matrix of unshielded detectors in the Thunderstorm Energetic Radiation Array (TERA), we calculate the energy spectra of X-rays as woul...

  18. Time Correlations of Lightning Flash Sequences in Thunderstorms Revealed by Fractal Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gou, Xueqiang; Chen, Mingli; Zhang, Guangshu

    2018-01-01

    By using the data of lightning detection and ranging system at the Kennedy Space Center, the temporal fractal and correlation of interevent time series of lightning flash sequences in thunderstorms have been investigated with Allan factor (AF), Fano factor (FF), and detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) methods. AF, FF, and DFA methods are powerful tools to detect the time-scaling structures and correlations in point processes. Totally 40 thunderstorms with distinguishing features of a single-cell storm and apparent increase and decrease in the total flash rate were selected for the analysis. It is found that the time-scaling exponents for AF (αAF) and FF (αFF) analyses are 1.62 and 0.95 in average, respectively, indicating a strong time correlation of the lightning flash sequences. DFA analysis shows that there is a crossover phenomenon—a crossover timescale (τc) ranging from 54 to 195 s with an average of 114 s. The occurrence of a lightning flash in a thunderstorm behaves randomly at timescales τc but shows strong time correlation at scales >τc. Physically, these may imply that the establishment of an extensive strong electric field necessary for the occurrence of a lightning flash needs a timescale >τc, which behaves strongly time correlated. But the initiation of a lightning flash within a well-established extensive strong electric field may involve the heterogeneities of the electric field at a timescale τc, which behave randomly.

  19. Flash Flood Type Identification within Catchments in Beijing Mountainous Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nan, W.

    2017-12-01

    Flash flood is a common type of disaster in mountainous area, Flash flood with the feature of large flow rate, strong flushing force, destructive power, has periodically caused loss to life and destruction to infrastructure in mountainous area. Beijing as China's political, economic and cultural center, the disaster prevention and control work in Beijing mountainous area has always been concerned widely. According to the transport mechanism, sediment concentration and density, the flash flood type identification within catchment can provide basis for making the hazards prevention and mitigation policy. Taking Beijing as the study area, this paper extracted parameters related to catchment morphological and topography features respectively. By using Bayes discriminant, Logistic regression and Random forest, the catchments in Beijing mountainous area were divided into water floods process, fluvial sediment transport process and debris flows process. The results found that Logistic regression analysis showed the highest accuracy, with the overall accuracy of 88.2%. Bayes discriminant and Random forest had poor prediction effects. This study confirmed the ability of morphological and topography features to identify flash flood process. The circularity ratio, elongation ratio and roughness index can be used to explain the flash flood types effectively, and the Melton ratio and elevation relief ratio also did a good job during the identification, whereas the drainage density seemed not to be an issue at this level of detail. Based on the analysis of spatial patterns of flash flood types, fluvial sediment transport process and debris flow process were the dominant hazards, while the pure water flood process was much less. The catchments dominated by fluvial sediment transport process were mainly distributed in the Yan Mountain region, where the fault belts were relatively dense. The debris flow process prone to occur in the Taihang Mountain region thanks to the abundant

  20. Effect of thermal annealing on structural properties of SrGa2S4:Ce thin films prepared by flash evaporation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gambarov, E.F.; Bayramov, A.I.

    2009-01-01

    In the present report the preparation technology and structural characterization of Ce 3 +activated SrGa 2 S 4 thin films are given. SrGa 2 S 4 : e thin films are prepared by so called flash evaporation which is simple and inexpensive method for thin film deposition. X-ray diffraction shows that the as deposited films exhibit amorphous behavior, but after annealing in H S stream, the polycrystalline one. EPMA results indicate nearly stoichiometric composition of the thin films

  1. System of ispFlash configuration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourrion, Olivier

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this module is to allow the use of FPGA components instead of EPLD components which for an equivalent or even inferior capacity are more expensive. For instance, the idea is to replace CPLD components having 512 macro-cells by one FPGA spartan II of Xilinx. However, due to the configuration's volatility, one configuration means is needed to put under voltage. A solution appears to be the using of a high capacity Flash memory coupled to a CPLD of small size to comply with the FPGA configuration protocol; also, one has to provide an in situ configuration means for this memory. Obviously, a product having an equivalent functionality already exists, since Xilinx and ALTERA supply PROMs of serial configuration. Unfortunately, they are expensive and a dealer is implied while the FLASH, the small CPLD and the FPGA spartan II are currently available. In conclusion, by using this assembly, which requires a small supplementary surface and a delay of upmost 240 ms (for the largest FPGA 1 Mbit), one obtains a solution cheaper and more performing than an EPLD of high capacity

  2. MR study of intracranial disease with three-dimensional FLASH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Runge, V.M.; Wood, M.L.; Kaufman, D.M.; Nelson, K.L.; Traill, M.R.; Wolpert, S.M.

    1987-01-01

    A three-dimensional FLASH technique was used to study 36 patients with intracranial disease at 1 T (Siemens Magnetom). This included 15 cases of intracranial neoplastic disease, four with the application of intravenous Gd-DTPA. Contiguous thin sections (1-2 mm thick) were acquired of the entire intracranial contents using one acquisition (scan time of 5-15 minutes). A MIPRON (KONTRON Instruments) image processing work station was used for rapid image display and 3D reconstruction. 3D FLASH was found to be superior to spin-echo imaging at 1 T for the detection of hemorrhage. 3D acquisition also provided superior localization of neoplastic disease. The T1 contrast achieved was comparable to spin-echo technique with a repetition time/echo time of .6/17. The advantages in terms of lesion localization and thin-section imaging with high spatial resolution of the entire brain may lead to use of 3D FLASH in place of conventional spin-echo imaging

  3. X-ray tube transformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-01-01

    An X-ray generator is described which comprises a transmission line transformer including an electrical conductor with a cavity and a second electrical conductor including helical windings disposed along a longitudinal axis within the cavity of the first conductor. The windings have a pitch which varies per unit length along the axis. There is dielectric material in the cavity for insulation and to couple electromagnetically the two conductors in response to an electric current flowing through the conductors, which have an impedance between them; this varies with distance along the axis of the helix of the second conductor. An X-ray tube is disposed along the longitudinal axis within the cavity, for radiating X-rays. The invention increases the voltage of applied voltage pulses at the remote tube-head with a transformer formed by using a spiral delay line geometry to give a tapered-impedance coaxial high voltage multiplier for pulse voltage operation. This transformer is smaller and lighter than previous designs for the same high peak voltage and power ratings. This is important because the penetration capabilities of Flash X-ray equipment increase with voltage, particularly in heavy materials such as steel. (U.K.)

  4. Effect of FEL induced ionization on X-ray reflectivity of multilayers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ksenzov, Dmitriy; Grigorian, Souren; Pietsch, Ullrich [University of Siegen (Germany)

    2009-07-01

    The VUV-FEL in Hamburg (FLASH) emits short-pulse radiation with wavelengths from 6 to 30 nm and a pulse length of 10-50 fs. The FLASH wavelength allows x-ray diffraction experiments at periodical multilayer's structures acting as 1D crystal. The probe of depth selective interaction of the high-intense x-ray short pulse with these objects can be used to obtain information about possible electronic excitation and various recombination processes inside multilayers. As known from recent experiments at FLASH, the later ones are most likely using highly intense FEL radiation. The ML reflectivity is analyzed for case of that the optical parameters are changing as function of the depth of the penetrating incident pulse into the multilayer. The response is studied for the model system La/B{sub 4}C using two experimental conditions both at fixed incidence angle: 1) the energy of the incident pulses, E, coincides with the energy of the 1st order multilayer Bragg peak, E{sub B}, of the reflection curve, and 2) the energy of incident pulse differs by a small dE from E{sub B}. The ML response to a given sub-pulse differs for both conditions. However, there is a clear fingerprint of ionization for both conditions for the case that E is close to the K-absorption edge of B-atoms. Our results support respective efforts to measure the optical parameters of solids under high-intense FEL radiation.

  5. In-Flight Observation of Gamma Ray Glows by ILDAS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kochkin, Pavlo; van Deursen, A. P. J.; Marisaldi, M.; Ursi, A.; de Boer, A. I.; Bardet, M.; Allasia, C.; Boissin, J.-F.; Flourens, F.; Østgaard, N.

    2017-12-01

    An Airbus A340 aircraft flew over Northern Australia with the In-Flight Lightning Damage Assessment System (ILDAS) installed onboard. A long-duration gamma ray emission was detected. The most intense emission was observed at 12 km altitude and lasted for 20 s. Its intensity was 20 times the background counts, and it was abruptly terminated by a distant lightning flash. In this work we reconstruct the aircraft path and event timeline. The glow-terminating flash triggered a discharge from the aircraft wing that was recorded by a video camera operating onboard. Another count rate increase was observed 6 min later and lasted for 30 s. The lightning activity as reported by ground networks in this region was analyzed. The measured spectra characteristics of the emission were estimated.

  6. Deconstructing continuous flash suppression

    OpenAIRE

    Yang, Eunice; Blake, Randolph

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we asked to what extent the depth of interocular suppression engendered by continuous flash suppression (CFS) varies depending on spatiotemporal properties of the suppressed stimulus and CFS suppressor. An answer to this question could have implications for interpreting the results in which CFS influences the processing of different categories of stimuli to different extents. In a series of experiments, we measured the selectivity and depth of suppression (i.e., elevation in co...

  7. Coherent imaging at FLASH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapman, H N; Bajt, S; Duesterer, S; Treusch, R; Barty, A; Benner, W H; Bogan, M J; Frank, M; Hau-Riege, S P; Woods, B W; Boutet, S; Cavalleri, A; Hajdu, J; Iwan, B; Seibert, M M; Timneanu, N; Marchesini, S; Sakdinawat, A; Sokolowski-Tinten, K

    2009-01-01

    We have carried out high-resolution single-pulse coherent diffractive imaging at the FLASH free-electron laser. The intense focused FEL pulse gives a high-resolution low-noise coherent diffraction pattern of an object before that object turns into a plasma and explodes. In particular we are developing imaging of biological specimens beyond conventional radiation damage resolution limits, developing imaging of ultrafast processes, and testing methods to characterize and perform single-particle imaging.

  8. Effects of tunnel oxide process on SONOS flash memory characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Dong Hua; Park, Il Han; Yun, Jang-Gn; Park, Byung-Gook

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, various process conditions of tunnel oxides are applied in SONOS flash memory to investigate their effects on charge transport during the program/erase operations. We focus the key point of analysis on Fermi-level (E F ) variation at the interface of silicon substrate and tunnel oxide. The Si-O chemical bonding information which describes the interface oxidation states at the Si/SiO 2 is obtained by the core-level X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, relative E F position is determined by measuring the Si 2p energy shift from XPS spectrums. Experimental results from memory characteristic measurement show that MTO tunnel oxide structure exhibits faster erase speed, and larger memory window during P/E cycle compared to FTO and RTO tunnel oxide structures. Finally, we examine long-term charge retention characteristic and find that the memory windows of all the capacitors remain wider than 2 V after 10 5 s.

  9. Suppression of COTR in electron beam imaging diagnosis at FLASH

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yan, Minjie

    2012-05-15

    The Free-Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) demands electron beams with high peak current to generate high-brilliant, coherent X-ray pulses. Magnetic chicanes are used for longitudinal compression of the electron bunches to achieve the required high peak current. During bunch compression process, microstructures with a modulation length comparable to the visible light can be induced inside the bunch. This leads to coherent emission of optical transition radiation (OTR), which may impede the widely used beam diagnostic based on OTR imaging. In this thesis, two methods of using incoherent scintillation light are proposed to circumvent the problem of coherence effects in beam imaging diagnostics. The method of temporal separation has been proved experimentally to have successfully suppressed coherence effects. The longitudinal beam profiles measured using this method are in good agreement with reference measurements, verifying further the reliability of the method. The method of spatial separation has been investigated in preparation studies, from which an improved experimental setup has been designed.

  10. Suppression of COTR in electron beam imaging diagnosis at FLASH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, Minjie

    2011-12-01

    The Free-Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) demands electron beams with high peak current to generate high-brilliant, coherent X-ray pulses. Magnetic chicanes are used for longitudinal compression of the electron bunches to achieve the required high peak current. During bunch compression process, microstructures with a modulation length comparable to the visible light can be induced inside the bunch. This leads to coherent emission of optical transition radiation (OTR), which may impede the widely used beam diagnostic based on OTR imaging. In this thesis, two methods of using incoherent scintillation light are proposed to circumvent the problem of coherence effects in beam imaging diagnostics. The method of temporal separation has been proved experimentally to have successfully suppressed coherence effects. The longitudinal beam profiles measured using this method are in good agreement with reference measurements, verifying further the reliability of the method. The method of spatial separation has been investigated in preparation studies, from which an improved experimental setup has been designed.

  11. Undergraduate Separations Utilizing Flash Chromatography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horowitz, G.

    2000-02-01

    This article describes the procedures used to carry out four flash chromatography experiments: the isolation of the carotenes, chlorophylls and xanthophylls from a spinach extract; the separation of ß-carotene from tetraphenyl cyclopentadienone; the isolation of (+) and (-) carvone from caraway and spearmint oil; and the purification of benzil from benzoin. Apparatus used is nonbreakable, easy to use, and inexpensive.

  12. Conformational detection of p53's oligomeric state by FlAsH Fluorescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webber, Tawnya M; Allen, Andrew C; Ma, Wai Kit; Molloy, Rhett G; Kettelkamp, Charisse N; Dow, Caitlin A; Gage, Matthew J

    2009-06-19

    The p53 tumor suppressor protein is a critical checkpoint in prevention of tumor formation, and the function of p53 is dependent on proper formation of the active tetramer. In vitro studies have shown that p53 binds DNA most efficiently as a tetramer, though inactive p53 is predicted to be monomeric in vivo. We demonstrate that FlAsH binding can be used to distinguish between oligomeric states of p53, providing a potential tool to explore p53 oligomerization in vivo. The FlAsH tetra-cysteine binding motif has been incorporated along the dimer and tetramer interfaces in the p53 tetramerization domain to create reporters for the dimeric and tetrameric states of p53, though the geometry of the four cysteines is critical for efficient FlAsH binding. Furthermore, we demonstrate that FlAsH binding can be used to monitor tetramer formation in real-time. These results demonstrate the potential for using FlAsH fluorescence to monitor protein-protein interactions in vivo.

  13. Hypnosis for Hot Flashes and Associated Symptomsin Women with Breast Cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, R Lynae; Na, Hyeji; Yek, Ming Hwei; Elkins, Gary

    2017-10-01

    Women with breast cancer experience a host of physical and psychological symptoms, including hot flashes, sleep difficulties, anxiety, and depression. Therefore, treatment for women with breast cancer should target these symptoms and be individualized to patients' specific presentations. The current article reviews the common symptoms associated with breast cancer in women, then examines clinical hypnosis as a treatment for addressing these symptoms and improving the quality of life of women with breast cancer. Clinical hypnosis is an effective, nonpharmaceutical treatment for hot flashes and addressing many symptoms typically experienced by breast cancer patients. A case example is provided to illustrate the use of clinical hypnosis for the treatment of hot flashes with a patient with breast cancer.

  14. Continuous background light significantly increases flashing-light enhancement of photosynthesis and growth of microalgae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Ghosh, Said; Fixler, Dror; Dubinsky, Zvy; Iluz, David

    2015-01-01

    Under specific conditions, flashing light enhances the photosynthesis rate in comparison to continuous illumination. Here we show that a combination of flashing light and continuous background light with the same integrated photon dose as continuous or flashing light alone can be used to significantly enhance photosynthesis and increase microalgae growth. To test this hypothesis, the green microalga Dunaliella salina was exposed to three different light regimes: continuous light, flashing light, and concomitant application of both. Algal growth was compared under three different integrated light quantities; low, intermediate, and moderately high. Under the combined light regime, there was a substantial increase in all algal growth parameters, with an enhanced photosynthesis rate, within 3days. Our strategy demonstrates a hitherto undescribed significant increase in photosynthesis and algal growth rates, which is beyond the increase by flashing light alone. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Short Hard Gamma Ray Bursts And Their Afterglows

    CERN Document Server

    Dado, Shlomo

    2009-01-01

    Long duration gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and X-ray flashes (XRFs) are produced by highly- relativistic jets ejected in core-collapse supernova explosions. The origin of short hard gamma-ray bursts (SHBs) has not been established. They may be produced by highly relativistic jets ejected in various processes: mergers of compact stellar objects; large-mass accretion episodes onto compact stars in close binaries or onto intermediate-mass black holes in dense stellar regions; phase transition of compact stars. Natural environments of such events are the dense cores of globular clusters, superstar clusters and young supernova remnants. We have used the cannonball model of GRBs to analyze all Swift SHBs with a well-sampled X-ray afterglow. We show that their prompt gamma-ray emission can be explained by inverse Compton scattering (ICS) of the progenitor's glory light, and their extended soft emission component by ICS of high density light or synchrotron radiation (SR) in a high density interstellar medium within the cl...

  16. Turbulent spots and scalar flashes in pipe transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adrian, Ronald; Wu, Xiaohua; Moin, Parviz

    2017-11-01

    Recent study (Wu et al., PNAS, 1509451112, 2015) demonstrated the feasibility and accuracy of direct computation of the Osborne Reynolds' pipe transition experiment without the unphysical axially periodic boundary condition. Here we use this approach to address three questions: (1) What are the dynamics of turbulent spot generation in pipe transition? (2) How is the succession of scalar flashes, as observed and sketched by Osborne Reynolds, created? (3) What happens to the succession of flashes further downstream? In this study, the inlet disturbance is of radial-mode type imposed through a narrow, three-degree numerical wedge; and the simulation Reynolds number is 6500. Numerical dye is introduced at the inlet plane locally very close to the pipe axis, similar to the needle injection by O. Reynolds. Inception of infant turbulent spots occurs when normal, forward inclined hairpin packets form near the walls from the debris of the inlet perturbations. However, the young and mature turbulent spots consist almost exclusively of reverse, backward leaning hairpin vortices. Scalar flashes appear successively downstream and persist well into the fully-developed turbulent region. Their creation mechanism is addressed. RJA gratefully acknowledges support of the National Science Foundation with NSF Award CBET-0933848.

  17. Visualization on triangle concept using Adobe Flash Professional SC6

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagita, Laela; Ratih Kusumarini, Adha

    2017-12-01

    The purpose of this paper is to develop teaching aids using Adobe Flash Professional CS6 emphasize on Triangle concept. A new alternative way to deliver a basic concept in geometry with visualization is software Adobe Flash Professional CS 6. Research method is research and development with 5 phase of Ploom’s model, namely (1) preliminary, (2) design, (3) realization/ construction, (4) test, evaluation and revision, and 5) implementation. The results showed that teaching aids was valid, practice, and effective. Validity: expert judgement for material score is 3.95 and media expert judgement produce an average score of 3,2, both in the category are valid. Practically: the average of questionnaire response is 4,04 (good). Effectiveness: n-gain test value is 0,36 (medium). It concluded that developed of teaching aids using Adobe Flash CS6 on triangle can improve student achievement.

  18. The Animated Gamma-ray Sky Revealed by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grenier, Isabelle

    2009-01-01

    The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been observing the sky in gamma-rays since August 2008. In addition to breakthrough capabilities in energy coverage (20 MeV-300 GeV) and angular resolution, the wide field of view of the Large Area Telescope enables observations of 20% of the sky at any instant, and of the whole sky every three hours. It has revealed a very animated sky with bright gamma-ray bursts flashing and vanishing in minutes, powerful active galactic nuclei flaring over hours and days, many pulsars twinkling in the Milky Way, and X-ray binaries shimmering along their orbit. Most of these variable sources had not been seen by the Fermi predecessor, EGRET, and the wealth of new data already brings important clues to the origin of the high-energy emission and particles powered by the compact objects. The telescope also brings crisp images of the bright gamma-ray emission produced by cosmic-ray interactions in the interstellar medium, thus allowing to measure the cosmic nuclei and electron spectra across the Galaxy, to weigh interstellar clouds, in particular in the dark-gas phase. The telescope sensitivity at high energy will soon provide useful constraints on dark-matter annihilations in a variety of environments. I will review the current results and future prospects of the Fermi mission.

  19. Risk of long-term hot flashes after natural menopause: evidence from the Penn Ovarian Aging Study cohort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, Ellen W; Sammel, Mary D; Sanders, Richard J

    2014-09-01

    This study aims to estimate the risk of hot flashes relative to natural menopause and to evaluate the associations of hormone levels, behavioral variables, and demographic variables with the risk of hot flashes after menopause. We performed annual assessment of 255 women who were premenopausal at baseline and reached natural menopause within 16 years of follow-up. The prevalence of moderate/severe hot flashes increased in each premenopausal year, reaching a peak of 46% in the first 2 years after the final menstrual period (FMP). Hot flashes decreased slowly after menopause and did not return to premenopausal levels until 9 years after the FMP. The mean (SD) duration of moderate/severe hot flashes after the FMP was 4.6 (2.9) years (for any hot flashes, 4.9 [3.1] y). One third of women at 10 years or more after menopause continued to experience moderate/severe hot flashes. African-American women (obese and nonobese) and obese white women had significantly greater risks of hot flashes compared with nonobese white women (interaction, P = 0.01). In multivariable analysis, increasing follicle-stimulating hormone levels before the FMP (P menopause; more than one third of women observed for 10 years or more after menopause have moderate/severe hot flashes. Continuation of hot flashes for more than 5 years after menopause underscores the importance of determining individual risks/benefits when selecting hormone or nonhormone therapy for menopausal symptoms.

  20. X-ray bursters and the X-ray sources of the galactic bulge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewin, W. H. G.; Joss, P. C.

    An attempt is made to distill from observational and theoretical information on the galactic bulge X-ray sources in general, and on the X-ray burst sources in particular, those aspects which seem to have the greatest relevance to the understanding of these sources. Galactic bulge sources appear to be collapsed objects of roughly solar mass, in most cases neutron stars, which are accreting matter from low-mass stellar companions. Type I bursts seem to result from thermonuclear flashes in the surface layers of some of these neutron stars, while the type II bursts from the Rapid Burster are almost certainly due to an instability in the accretion flow onto a neutron star. It is concluded that the studies cited offer a new and powerful observational handle on the fundamental properties of neutron stars and of the interacting binary systems in which they are often contained.

  1. Physics Flash December 2016

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kippen, Karen Elizabeth [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). ADEPS Communications

    2016-12-01

    This is the December 2016 issue of Physics Flash, the newsletter of the Physics Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). In this issue, the following topics are covered: Novel liquid helium technique to aid highly sensitive search for a neutron electrical dipole moment; Silverleaf: Prototype Red Sage experiments performed at Q-site; John L. Kline named 2016 APS Fellow; Physics students in the news; First Entropy Engine quantum random number generator hits the market; and celebrating service.

  2. The Role of Serotonin in Hot Flashes after Breast Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-01

    physiological mechanisms involved in hot flashes c.fter breast cancer will enable us to develop more targeted behavioral and/or pharmacological therapi ...s to be used in lieu of, or in addition to, currently available therapies so that we can eradicate hot flashes and improve the quality of life for...flavorings were most palatable - chocolate mint and orange. We rejected a lemon flavoring as being unpalatable. We eliminated the mid-day snack per

  3. [Contact shot from infantry weapons with a flash-suppressor].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perdekamp, Markus Grosse; Braunwarth, Roland; Schmidt, Ulrike; Schmidt, Wolfgang; Pollak, Stefan

    2003-01-01

    The number of reports on contact shots from firearms with a flash suppressor attached to the muzzle is small. On the basis of a case report (suicidal shot to the forehead with a Kalschnikow AKMS 47 assault rifle) the morphological peculiarities (characteristics soot pattern, relatively small powder cavity and only minor skin tears in the presence of a bony support) are presented and the conclusions to be drawn from the findings regarding the flash-suppressor, the shot distance, the angle of the shot and the way of holding the weapon are discussed.

  4. Economic assessment of flash co-pyrolysis of short rotation coppice and biopolymer waste streams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuppens, T; Cornelissen, T; Carleer, R; Yperman, J; Schreurs, S; Jans, M; Thewys, T

    2010-12-01

    The disposal problem associated with phytoextraction of farmland polluted with heavy metals by means of willow requires a biomass conversion technique which meets both ecological and economical needs. Combustion and gasification of willow require special and costly flue gas treatment to avoid re-emission of the metals in the atmosphere, whereas flash pyrolysis mainly results in the production of (almost) metal free bio-oil with a relatively high water content. Flash co-pyrolysis of biomass and waste of biopolymers synergistically improves the characteristics of the pyrolysis process: e.g. reduction of the water content of the bio-oil, more bio-oil and less char production and an increase of the HHV of the oil. This research paper investigates the economic consequences of the synergistic effects of flash co-pyrolysis of 1:1 w/w ratio blends of willow and different biopolymer waste streams via cost-benefit analysis and Monte Carlo simulations taking into account uncertainties. In all cases economic opportunities of flash co-pyrolysis of biomass with biopolymer waste are improved compared to flash pyrolysis of pure willow. Of all the biopolymers under investigation, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is the most promising, followed by Eastar, Biopearls, potato starch, polylactic acid (PLA), corn starch and Solanyl in order of decreasing profits. Taking into account uncertainties, flash co-pyrolysis is expected to be cheaper than composting biopolymer waste streams, except for corn starch. If uncertainty increases, composting also becomes more interesting than flash co-pyrolysis for waste of Solanyl. If the investment expenditure is 15% higher in practice than estimated, the preference for flash co-pyrolysis compared to composting biopolymer waste becomes less clear. Only when the system of green current certificates is dismissed, composting clearly is a much cheaper processing technique for disposing of biopolymer waste. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Coupling Radar Rainfall Estimation and Hydrological Modelling For Flash-flood Hazard Mitigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borga, M.; Creutin, J. D.

    Flood risk mitigation is accomplished through managing either or both the hazard and vulnerability. Flood hazard may be reduced through structural measures which alter the frequency of flood levels in the area. The vulnerability of a community to flood loss can be mitigated through changing or regulating land use and through flood warning and effective emergency response. When dealing with flash-flood hazard, it is gener- ally accepted that the most effective way (and in many instances the only affordable in a sustainable perspective) to mitigate the risk is by reducing the vulnerability of the involved communities, in particular by implementing flood warning systems and community self-help programs. However, both the inherent characteristics of the at- mospheric and hydrologic processes involved in flash-flooding and the changing soci- etal needs provide a tremendous challenge to traditional flood forecasting and warning concepts. In fact, the targets of these systems are traditionally localised like urbanised sectors or hydraulic structures. Given the small spatial scale that characterises flash floods and the development of dispersed urbanisation, transportation, green tourism and water sports, human lives and property are exposed to flash flood risk in a scat- tered manner. This must be taken into consideration in flash flood warning strategies and the investigated region should be considered as a whole and every section of the drainage network as a potential target for hydrological warnings. Radar technology offers the potential to provide information describing rain intensities almost contin- uously in time and space. Recent research results indicate that coupling radar infor- mation to distributed hydrologic modelling can provide hydrologic forecasts at all potentially flooded points of a region. Nevertheless, very few flood warning services use radar data more than on a qualitative basis. After a short review of current under- standing in this area, two

  6. Extension of modified RAND to multiphase flash specifications based on state functions other than (T,P)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paterson, Duncan; Michelsen, Michael Locht; Yan, Wei

    2017-01-01

    The recently proposed modified RAND formulation is extended from isothermal multiphase flash to several other state function based flash specifications. The obtained general formulation is applicable to chemical equilibrium although this study is focused on flash with only phase equilibrium. It i...

  7. Simultaneous emissions of X-rays and microwaves from long laboratory sparks and downward lightning leaders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montanya, J.; Oscar, V. D. V.; Tapia, F. F.

    2017-12-01

    Since the discovery of the Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes more than 20 years ago, investigations on high energy emissions from natural lightning and high voltage laboratory sparks gained significant interest. X-ray emissions from lightning as well from high voltage laboratory sparks have in common the role played by negative leaders/streamers. On the other hand, negative leaders are well known to produce much more VHF and microwave radiation than positive leaders. Moreover, in previous works, microwave emissions from lightning leaders have been attributed to Bremsstrahlung process. The object of this work is to investigate if X-rays and RF microwave emissions share the same origin. We present simultaneous measurements of X-rays and microwaves in high voltage sparks and natural lightning. The instrumentation consists on a NaI(Tl) and LaBr3 scintillation detectors and two different receivers. One is fix tuned at 2.4 GHz with a bandwidth of 5.5 MHz. The second can be tuned at any frequency up to 18 GHz with different selectable bandwidths of 10 MHz, 40 MHz and 100 MHz. In the laboratory, results have shown that all the sparks presented microwave radiation before the breakdown of the gap, either X-rays were detected or not. In the cases where X-rays were identified, microwave emissions peaked at the same time (in the microsecond scale). We found that the power amplitudes of the microwave emissions are related to the applied voltage to the gap. In the same configuration, those cases where X-rays were detected microwave emissions presented higher power levels. The results suggest that in some part of the discharge electrons are very fast accelerated allowing, in some cases, to reach enought energy to produce X-rays. In the field, we have found similar results. On 13th of June of 2015 a bipolar cloud-to-ground flash struck 200 m close to the Eagle Nest instrumented tower (Spanish Pyrenees, 2536 m ASL). The flash presented four strokes and, in all of them, microwave

  8. A Search for Microsecond Gamma Ray Bursts From Primordial Black Holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krennrich, Frank

    2004-01-01

    The project is called SGARFACE (Short Gamma Ray Front Air Cherenkov Experiment) and is an atmospheric Cherenkov detector to provide sensitivity to short bursts of gamma rays of extraterrestrial origin. The detector is an addition to the Whipple 10m gamma ray telescope on Mt. Hopkins in southern Arizona and uses a digital trigger module for recognizing Cherenkov light flashes from gamma ray bursts. The digital trigger modules have been designed, tested and constructed at Iowa State University and have been installed at the Whipple 10m telescope. Operation of the experiment started in March 2003 and data collecting will likely continue until spring of 2005. A final results paper addressing a search for primordial black holes is likely to be finished by summer of 2005

  9. Speeding up the flash calculations in two-phase compositional flow simulations - The application of sparse grids

    KAUST Repository

    Wu, Yuanqing

    2015-03-01

    Flash calculations have become a performance bottleneck in the simulation of compositional flow in subsurface reservoirs. We apply a sparse grid surrogate model to substitute the flash calculation and thus try to remove the bottleneck from the reservoir simulation. So instead of doing a flash calculation in each time step of the simulation, we just generate a sparse grid approximation of all possible results of the flash calculation before the reservoir simulation. Then we evaluate the constructed surrogate model to approximate the values of the flash calculation results from this surrogate during the simulations. The execution of the true flash calculation has been shifted from the online phase during the simulation to the offline phase before the simulation. Sparse grids are known to require only few unknowns in order to obtain good approximation qualities. In conjunction with local adaptivity, sparse grids ensure that the accuracy of the surrogate is acceptable while keeping the memory usage small by only storing a minimal amount of values for the surrogate. The accuracy of the sparse grid surrogate during the reservoir simulation is compared to the accuracy of using a surrogate based on regular Cartesian grids and the original flash calculation. The surrogate model improves the speed of the flash calculations and the simulation of the whole reservoir. In an experiment, it is shown that the speed of the online flash calculations is increased by about 2000 times and as a result the speed of the reservoir simulations has been enhanced by 21 times in the best conditions.

  10. X-ray testing for short-time dynamic applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurfiss, Malte; Moser, Stefan; Popko, Gregor; Nau, Siegfried

    2017-01-01

    For nondestructive testing purposes new challenges are short-time dynamic processes. The application of x-ray flash tubes and modern high-speed cameras allows the observation of the opening of air-bags or the energy absorption of compressed tubes as occurring during a vehicle crash. Special algorithms designed for computerized tomography analyses allow the 3D reconstruction at individual time points of the dynamic process. Possibilities and limitations of the actual techniques are discussed.

  11. Dislocation Motion and the Microphysics of Flash Heating and Weakening of Faults during Earthquakes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Spagnuolo

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Earthquakes are the result of slip along faults and are due to the decrease of rock frictional strength (dynamic weakening with increasing slip and slip rate. Friction experiments simulating the abrupt accelerations (>>10 m/s2, slip rates (~1 m/s, and normal stresses (>>10 MPa expected at the passage of the earthquake rupture along the front of fault patches, measured large fault dynamic weakening for slip rates larger than a critical velocity of 0.01–0.1 m/s. The dynamic weakening corresponds to a decrease of the friction coefficient (defined as the ratio of shear stress vs. normal stress up to 40%–50% after few millimetres of slip (flash weakening, almost independently of rock type. The microstructural evolution of the sliding interfaces with slip may yield hints on the microphysical processes responsible for flash weakening. At the microscopic scale, the frictional strength results from the interaction of micro- to nano-scale surface irregularities (asperities which deform during fault sliding. During flash weakening, the visco-plastic and brittle work on the asperities results in abrupt frictional heating (flash heating and grain size reduction associated with mechano-chemical reactions (e.g., decarbonation in CO2-bearing minerals such as calcite and dolomite; dehydration in water-bearing minerals such as clays, serpentine, etc. and phase transitions (e.g., flash melting in silicate-bearing rocks. However, flash weakening is also associated with grain size reduction down to the nanoscale. Using focused ion beam scanning and transmission electron microscopy, we studied the micro-physical mechanisms associated with flash heating and nanograin formation in carbonate-bearing fault rocks. Experiments were conducted on pre-cut Carrara marble (99.9% calcite cylinders using a rotary shear apparatus at conditions relevant to seismic rupture propagation. Flash heating and weakening in calcite-bearing rocks is associated with a shock-like stress

  12. Real time event selection and flash analog-to-digital converters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imori, Masatosi

    1983-01-01

    In high-energy particle experiments, high-speed analog logic is employed to select events on a real-time basis. Flash analog-to-digital converters replace the high-speed analog logic with digital logic. The digital logic gives great flexibility to the scheme for real-time event selection. This paper proposes the use of flash A/D converters for the logic used to obtain the total sum of the energy deposited in individual counters in a shower detector. (author)

  13. Looking for the best flash floods indicators in Mediterranean Region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llasat, Maria-Carmen; Llasat-Botija, Montserrat; Turco, Marco

    2010-05-01

    Flash floods are a recurrent hazard in Mediterranean Region. From a global point of view, a distinction between two kinds of floods can be made (Llasat, 2009): a) Short-lived and strongly convective events (cases recorded between 2005 and 2006. This sample has been increased with some selected cases of the European project HYDRATE. Information from all the flash-floods recorded in Catalonia (Spain) since 1982, completed with data about population density and so on, has also been considered.

  14. NO signatures from lightning flashes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stith, J.; Dye, J.; Ridley, B.; Laroche, P.; Defer, E.; Baumann, K.; Hübler, G.; Zerr, R.; Venticinque, M.

    1999-07-01

    In situ measurements of cloud properties, NO, and other trace gases were made in active thunderstorms by two research aircraft. Concurrent measurements from a three-dimensional (3-D) VHF interferometer and the 2-D National Lightning Detection Network were used to determine lightning frequency and location. The CHILL Doppler radar and the NOAA-WP-3D Orion X band Doppler radar were also used to measure storm characteristics. Two case studies from the (STERAO) Stratosphere-Troposphere Experiments: Radiation, Aerosols, and Ozone project in northeastern Colorado during the summer of 1996 are presented. Narrow spikes (0.11-0.96 km across), containing up to 19 ppbv of NO, were observed in the storms. Most were located in or downwind of electrically active regions where the NO produced by lightning would be expected. However, it was difficult to correlate individual flashes with NO spikes. A simple model of the plume of NO from lightning is used to estimate NO production from the mean mixing ratio measured in these spikes. The estimates range from 2.0×1020 to 1.0×1022 molecules of NO per meter of flash length.

  15. MemFlash device: floating gate transistors as memristive devices for neuromorphic computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riggert, C.; Ziegler, M.; Schroeder, D.; Krautschneider, W. H.; Kohlstedt, H.

    2014-10-01

    Memristive devices are promising candidates for future non-volatile memory applications and mixed-signal circuits. In the field of neuromorphic engineering these devices are especially interesting to emulate neuronal functionality. Therefore, new materials and material combinations are currently investigated, which are often not compatible with Si-technology processes. The underlying mechanisms of the device often remain unclear and are paired with low device endurance and yield. These facts define the current most challenging development tasks towards a reliable memristive device technology. In this respect, the MemFlash concept is of particular interest. A MemFlash device results from a diode configuration wiring scheme of a floating gate transistor, which enables the persistent device resistance to be varied according to the history of the charge flow through the device. In this study, we investigate the scaling conditions of the floating gate oxide thickness with respect to possible applications in the field of neuromorphic engineering. We show that MemFlash cells exhibit essential features with respect to neuromorphic applications. In particular, cells with thin floating gate oxides show a limited synaptic weight growth together with low energy dissipation. MemFlash cells present an attractive alternative for state-of-art memresitive devices. The emulation of associative learning is discussed by implementing a single MemFlash cell in an analogue circuit.

  16. MemFlash device: floating gate transistors as memristive devices for neuromorphic computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riggert, C; Ziegler, M; Kohlstedt, H; Schroeder, D; Krautschneider, W H

    2014-01-01

    Memristive devices are promising candidates for future non-volatile memory applications and mixed-signal circuits. In the field of neuromorphic engineering these devices are especially interesting to emulate neuronal functionality. Therefore, new materials and material combinations are currently investigated, which are often not compatible with Si-technology processes. The underlying mechanisms of the device often remain unclear and are paired with low device endurance and yield. These facts define the current most challenging development tasks towards a reliable memristive device technology. In this respect, the MemFlash concept is of particular interest. A MemFlash device results from a diode configuration wiring scheme of a floating gate transistor, which enables the persistent device resistance to be varied according to the history of the charge flow through the device. In this study, we investigate the scaling conditions of the floating gate oxide thickness with respect to possible applications in the field of neuromorphic engineering. We show that MemFlash cells exhibit essential features with respect to neuromorphic applications. In particular, cells with thin floating gate oxides show a limited synaptic weight growth together with low energy dissipation. MemFlash cells present an attractive alternative for state-of-art memresitive devices. The emulation of associative learning is discussed by implementing a single MemFlash cell in an analogue circuit. (paper)

  17. The X-ray and MRI diagnosis of osteochondritis dissecans in the knee joint

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ge Xihong; Wang Bin; Sun Xihe; Chang Guanghui

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the X-ray and MRI manifestations of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and to compare the sensitivity of detection among different sequences. Methods: Thirty-six OCD cases (thirty-eight knees) with complete data were selected and analyzed. The sagittal and coronal images were acquired on T 1 WI, T 2 WI, PDWI and FLASH T 2 WI. MRI manifestations were analyzed retrospectively with double blind contrast method. The radiography were obtained on the same day. The sensitivity of detection among different sequences was also compared. Results: (1) The medial femoral condyle was the most commonly affected location in the knee (63.2%). The proportion of classical type, expanded type, and infero-central type was 55.3%, 15.8% and 28.9%, respectively. (2) On radiographs, the lesions typically appeared as a well circumscribed area of sclerotic subchondral bone separated from the remainder of the epiphysis by a radiolucent line. (3) Subchondral bone lesion was displayed as small and crescent-shaped (n = 38) on the sagittal image and as wedge (14) or short bar (24) shape on coronal image. The signal of the lesion was hypointense or isointense on T 1 WI, surrounded by a hypointense or hyperintense (FLASH T 2 WI, T 2 WI) line. The subchondral plate disappeared or became thinner. Interruption or disappearance of the hyaline cartilage could be seen sometimes. (4) The detection rate on T 1 WI was higher than that of PDWI, T 2 WI and FLASH T 2 WI. Conclusion: (1) Osteochondritis dissecans has specific X-ray and MRI manifestations. The abnormality of the hyaline cartilage and the subchondral bone can be displayed by MRI. Thus a proper diagnosis can be made. (2) The detection rate on T 1 WI is higher than that of PDWI, T 2 WI and FLASH T 2 WI

  18. Collecting response times using Amazon Mechanical Turk and Adobe Flash.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simcox, Travis; Fiez, Julie A

    2014-03-01

    Crowdsourcing systems like Amazon's Mechanical Turk (AMT) allow data to be collected from a large sample of people in a short amount of time. This use has garnered considerable interest from behavioral scientists. So far, most experiments conducted on AMT have focused on survey-type instruments because of difficulties inherent in running many experimental paradigms over the Internet. This study investigated the viability of presenting stimuli and collecting response times using Adobe Flash to run ActionScript 3 code in conjunction with AMT. First, the timing properties of Adobe Flash were investigated using a phototransistor and two desktop computers running under several conditions mimicking those that may be present in research using AMT. This experiment revealed some strengths and weaknesses of the timing capabilities of this method. Next, a flanker task and a lexical decision task implemented in Adobe Flash were administered to participants recruited with AMT. The expected effects in these tasks were replicated. Power analyses were conducted to describe the number of participants needed to replicate these effects. A questionnaire was used to investigate previously undescribed computer use habits of 100 participants on AMT. We conclude that a Flash program in conjunction with AMT can be successfully used for running many experimental paradigms that rely on response times, although experimenters must understand the limitations of the method.

  19. Ultrafast Coherent Diffraction Imaging with X-ray Free-Electron Lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapman, H N; Bajt, S; Barty, A; Benner, W; Bogan, M; Frank, M; Hau-Riege, S; London, R; Marchesini, S; Spiller, E; Szoke, A; Woods, B; Boutet, S; Hodgson, K; Hajdu, J; Bergh, M; Burmeister, F; Caleman, C; Huldt, G; Maia, F; Seibert, M M; der Spoel, D v

    2006-01-01

    The ultrafast pulses from X-ray free-electron lasers will enable imaging of non-periodic objects at near-atomic resolution [1, Neutze]. These objects could include single molecules, protein complexes, or virus particles. The specimen would be completely destroyed by the pulse in a Coulomb explosion, but that destruction will only happen after the pulse. The scattering from the sample will give structural information about the undamaged object. There are many technical challenges that must be addressed before carrying out such experiments at an XFEL, which we are doing so with experiments at FLASH, the soft-X-ray FEL at DESY

  20. Flash Mob Science - Increasing Seismic Hazard Awareness and Preparedness in Oregon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, J. S.; Lownsbery, D. S.

    2015-12-01

    Living in a region of imminent threat of a magnitude-9.0 (M­­­w ≈ ­9) earthquake is a daily reality for the millions of people predicted to be directly affected by a full rupture of the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ), a fault line extending for hundreds of miles off the western coast of North America. Many coastal residents and visitors will also be affected by the tsunami caused by the rupture. How can the scientific community effectively communicate with those who are unaware of the threat and unprepared to respond? We are studying the effects of a novel approach to science outreach we have called Flash Mob Science. You have probably seen examples of flash mobs staging dynamic musical and dance routines to unsuspecting audiences. Similarly, Flash Mob Science takes the challenging (and often avoided) topic of earthquake and tsunami awareness and preparedness to unsuspecting audiences. However, Flash Mob Science seeks to move beyond having an audience of observers by engaging others as participants who enact important roles in an unfolding drama. We simulate the effects of seismic and tsunami events (e.g., prolonged surface shaking, falling debris, repeated tsunami surges) and model best practices in response (e.g., "Drop, Cover, Hold On" and moving quickly to high ground). True to the general flash mob model, when the Cascadia event inevitably does occur, it will come suddenly, and everyone affected will unavoidably be involved as actors in a real-life drama of immense scale. We seek to embed the learning of basic understandings and practices for an actual Cascadia event in a very small-scale, memorable, and sometimes even humorous, dramatization. We present here the lessons we have learned in the background, planning, and implementation of Flash Mob Science. We highlight the successes, limitations, and preliminary results evaluating the effectiveness of this outreach in developing learners' understandings and preparedness in an Oregon community affected by

  1. Medium range forecasting of Hurricane Harvey flash flooding using ECMWF and social vulnerability data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pillosu, F. M.; Jurlina, T.; Baugh, C.; Tsonevsky, I.; Hewson, T.; Prates, F.; Pappenberger, F.; Prudhomme, C.

    2017-12-01

    During hurricane Harvey the greater east Texas area was affected by extensive flash flooding. Their localised nature meant they were too small for conventional large scale flood forecasting systems to capture. We are testing the use of two real time forecast products from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in combination with local vulnerability information to provide flash flood forecasting tools at the medium range (up to 7 days ahead). Meteorological forecasts are the total precipitation extreme forecast index (EFI), a measure of how the ensemble forecast probability distribution differs from the model-climate distribution for the chosen location, time of year and forecast lead time; and the shift of tails (SOT) which complements the EFI by quantifying how extreme an event could potentially be. Both products give the likelihood of flash flood generating precipitation. For hurricane Harvey, 3-day EFI and SOT products for the period 26th - 29th August 2017 were used, generated from the twice daily, 18 km, 51 ensemble member ECMWF Integrated Forecast System. After regridding to 1 km resolution the forecasts were combined with vulnerable area data to produce a flash flood hazard risk area. The vulnerability data were floodplains (EU Joint Research Centre), road networks (Texas Department of Transport) and urban areas (Census Bureau geographic database), together reflecting the susceptibility to flash floods from the landscape. The flash flood hazard risk area forecasts were verified using a traditional approach against observed National Weather Service flash flood reports, a total of 153 reported flash floods have been detected in that period. Forecasts performed best for SOT = 5 (hit ratio = 65%, false alarm ratio = 44%) and EFI = 0.7 (hit ratio = 74%, false alarm ratio = 45%) at 72 h lead time. By including the vulnerable areas data, our verification results improved by 5-15%, demonstrating the value of vulnerability information within

  2. Foundation ActionScript 3.0 for Flash and Flex

    CERN Document Server

    Richardson, Darren

    2009-01-01

    In this book, you'll: *Learn the fundamentals of ActionScript 3.0 using both the Flash IDE and Flex *Use ActionScript 3.0's object-oriented features *Manipulate sound and video to produce exciting modern web applications *Work with XML as your data source ActionScript 3.0, the latest version of the Flash Platform's scripting language, offers many new and powerful features. ActionScript is now a full-fledged programming language, with complete object-oriented capabilities, improved event handling, sound and video support, drawing capabilities, support for regular expressions, and much more. Whe

  3. Fenomena Kerak Dalam Desalinasi Dengan Multi Stage Flash Distillation (Msf)

    OpenAIRE

    Alimah, Siti

    2006-01-01

    SCALING PHENOMENA IN DESALINATION WITH MULTI STAGE FLASH DISTILLATION (MSF). Assessment of scaling phenomena in MSF desalination has been carried out. Scale is one of predominantly problem in multi stage flash (MSF) desalination installation. The main types of scale in MSF are carbonat calcium (CaC03), hydroxide magnesium (Mg(OH)2) dan sulphate calcium (CaS04). CaC03 dan Mg(OH)2 scales result from the thermal decomposition of bicarbonate ion, however sulphate calcium scale result from reactio...

  4. Sn whiskers removed by energy photo flashing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, N.; Yang, M.; Novak, J.; Igor, P.; Osterman, M.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Sn whiskers were sintered by intense light flashing (Photosintering). ► Photosintering can effectively eliminate Sn whiskers. ► Photosintering would not damage electronic devices. ► Photosintering is a very promising approach to improve Sn-based electronic surface termination. - Abstract: Sn whiskers have been known to be the major issue resulting in electronic circuit shorts. In this study, we present a novel energy photo flashing approach (photosintering) to shorten and eliminate Sn whiskers. It has been found that photosintering is very effective to modify and remove Sn whiskers; only a sub-millisecond duration photosintering can amazingly get rid of over 90 vol.% of Sn whiskers. Moreover, this photosintering approach has also been proved to cause no damages to electronic devices, suggesting it is a potentially promising way to improve Sn-based electronic surface termination.

  5. Generation of attosecond soft X-ray pulses in a longitudinal space charge amplifier

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dohlus, M.; Schneidmiller, E.A.; Yurkov, M.V. [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2011-03-15

    A longitudinal space charge amplifier (LSCA), operating in soft X-ray regime, was recently proposed. Such an amplifier consists of a few amplification cascades (focusing channel and chicane) and a short radiator undulator in the end. Broadband nature of LSCA supports generation of few-cycle pulses as well as wavelength compression. In this paper we consider an application of these properties of LSCA for generation of attosecond X-ray pulses. It is shown that a compact and cheap addition to the soft X-ray free electron laser facility FLASH would allow to generate 60 attosecond (FWHM) long X-ray pulses with the peak power at 100 MW level and a contrast above 98%. (orig.)

  6. Generation of attosecond soft X-ray pulses in a longitudinal space charge amplifier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dohlus, M.; Schneidmiller, E.A.; Yurkov, M.V.

    2011-03-01

    A longitudinal space charge amplifier (LSCA), operating in soft X-ray regime, was recently proposed. Such an amplifier consists of a few amplification cascades (focusing channel and chicane) and a short radiator undulator in the end. Broadband nature of LSCA supports generation of few-cycle pulses as well as wavelength compression. In this paper we consider an application of these properties of LSCA for generation of attosecond X-ray pulses. It is shown that a compact and cheap addition to the soft X-ray free electron laser facility FLASH would allow to generate 60 attosecond (FWHM) long X-ray pulses with the peak power at 100 MW level and a contrast above 98%. (orig.)

  7. An Evaluation of Lightning Flash Rate Parameterizations Based on Observations of Colorado Storms during DC3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basarab, B.; Fuchs, B.; Rutledge, S. A.

    2013-12-01

    Predicting lightning activity in thunderstorms is important in order to accurately quantify the production of nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) by lightning (LNOx). Lightning is an important global source of NOx, and since NOx is a chemical precursor to ozone, the climatological impacts of LNOx could be significant. Many cloud-resolving models rely on parameterizations to predict lightning and LNOx since the processes leading to charge separation and lightning discharge are not yet fully understood. This study evaluates predicted flash rates based on existing lightning parameterizations against flash rates observed for Colorado storms during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Experiment (DC3). Evaluating lightning parameterizations against storm observations is a useful way to possibly improve the prediction of flash rates and LNOx in models. Additionally, since convective storms that form in the eastern plains of Colorado can be different thermodynamically and electrically from storms in other regions, it is useful to test existing parameterizations against observations from these storms. We present an analysis of the dynamics, microphysics, and lightning characteristics of two case studies, severe storms that developed on 6 and 7 June 2012. This analysis includes dual-Doppler derived horizontal and vertical velocities, a hydrometeor identification based on polarimetric radar variables using the CSU-CHILL radar, and insight into the charge structure using observations from the northern Colorado Lightning Mapping Array (LMA). Flash rates were inferred from the LMA data using a flash counting algorithm. We have calculated various microphysical and dynamical parameters for these storms that have been used in empirical flash rate parameterizations. In particular, maximum vertical velocity has been used to predict flash rates in some cloud-resolving chemistry simulations. We diagnose flash rates for the 6 and 7 June storms using this parameterization and compare

  8. Miniature ambulatory skin conductance monitor and algorithm for investigating hot flash events

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bahr, Dennis E; Webster, John G; Shults, Mark [Department of Research and Development, Bahr Management, Inc., Middleton, WI 53562 (United States); Grady, Deborah; Creasman, Jennifer; Macer, Judy [Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115 (United States); Kronenberg, Fredi [School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94305 (United States); Tyler, Mitchell; Zhou, Xin [Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706 (United States)

    2014-02-15

    A skin conductance monitoring system was developed and shown to reliably acquire and record hot flash events in both supervised laboratory and unsupervised ambulatory conditions. The 7.2 × 3.8 × 1.2 cm{sup 3} monitor consists of a disposable adhesive patch supporting two hydrogel electrodes and a reusable, miniaturized, enclosed electronic circuit board that snaps onto the electrodes. The monitor measures and records the skin conductance for seven days without external wires or telemetry and has an event marker that the subject can press whenever a hot flash is experienced. The accuracy of the system was demonstrated by comparing the number of hot flashes detected by algorithms developed during this research with the number identified by experts in hot flash studies. Three methods of detecting hot flash events were evaluated, but only two were fully developed. The two that were developed were an artificial neural network and a matched filter technique with multiple kernels implemented as a sliding form of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. Both algorithms were trained on a ‘development’ cohort of 17 women and then validated using a second similar ‘validation’ cohort of 20. All subjects were between the ages of 40 and 60 and self-reported ten or more hot flashes per day over a three day period. The matched filter was the most accurate with a mean sensitivity of 0.92 and a mean specificity of 0.90 using the data from the development cohort and a mean sensitivity of 0.92 and a mean specificity of 0.87 using the data from the validation cohort. The matched filter was the method implemented in our processing software. (paper)

  9. X-ray equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Redmayne, I.G.B.

    1988-01-01

    The patent concerns a warning and protection system for mobile x-ray equipment used for 'on site' radiography, so that workers in the vicinity of such a working unit can be alerted to its presence. The invention is a local repeater warning system which gives a preliminary warning that energisation of the tubehead is imminent, as well as a switch near the tubehead to abort or inhibit energisation. The latter switch allows personnel caught in the vicinity of the tubehead to prevent energisation. The preliminary warning may be flashing lamps or by a klaxon. The control unit for the equipment may include a monitoring circuit to detect failure of the warning light or klaxon. (U.K.)

  10. X-ray equipment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Redmayne, I.G.B.

    1988-01-06

    The patent concerns a warning and protection system for mobile x-ray equipment used for 'on site' radiography, so that workers in the vicinity of such a working unit can be alerted to its presence. The invention is a local repeater warning system which gives a preliminary warning that energisation of the tubehead is imminent, as well as a switch near the tubehead to abort or inhibit energisation. The latter switch allows personnel caught in the vicinity of the tubehead to prevent energisation. The preliminary warning may be flashing lamps or by a klaxon. The control unit for the equipment may include a monitoring circuit to detect failure of the warning light or klaxon. (U.K.).

  11. Flash of the Cathode Rays: A History of J J Thomson's Electron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rechenberg, Helmut

    1997-01-01

    The author, a senior physicist from Berkeley having some experience in historical accounts, covers well the standard story of J J Thomson's discovery of the electron, one hundred years ago. Starting from the investigations of cathode rays in Germany, France and mainly England, the successful path of J J is covered in some detail using available information (letters, notebooks, diaries, publications), as well as his later work on positive rays and the atomic model. Lesser emphasis is given to the parallel developments connected with the Zeeman effect. However, a synopsis of the story of β-rays, the measurement of the elementary charge and the rise of the Rutherford - Bohr nuclear model of the atom is included. Dahl presents the physical contents from the standard literature in a clear and convincing way. He illustrates the narrative with (well-chosen and well-reproduced) portraits of the people involved and sketches of their original apparatus. Hence the book can be recommended highly to physicists, who will be reminded of one of the most important events in the earlier history of their field. A broader public, including other scientists, and perhaps attentive high school graduates, might also benefit from the book, not to mention professional science historians (who may appreciate the detailed, reliable description of subtle experiments and their tricky interpretation). The author succeeds far less well in providing the general background (in the history of physics and beyond) of the Thomson story. The electron as a fundamental concept existed and was applied long before J Pluecker's discovery of cathodes rays (for example, by A-M Ampere and his successors), and the importance of the work by W Weber, F Neumann and R Clausius (to mention just a few scientists in the 19th century) is mainly suppressed. Dahl's treatment of P Lenard's work around 1900, for which Lenard won the Nobel prize before Thomson, is quite unfair. Further, Chapter 14 on the French N-rays and

  12. In Situ Flash Pyrolysis of Straw

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bech, Niels

    In-Situ Flash Pyrolysis of Straw Ph.D. dissertation by Niels Bech Submitted: April 2007. Supervisors: Professor Kim Dam-Johansen, Associate Professor Peter Arendt Jensen Erfaringerne med forbrænding af halm opnået gennem et årti har vist, at en proces der kan koncentrere energien på marken, fjerne...

  13. Use of MLCM3 Software for Flash Flood Modeling and Forecasting

    OpenAIRE

    Inna Pivovarova; Daria Sokolova; Artur Batyrov; Vadim Kuzmin; Ngoc Anh Tran; DinhKha Dang; Kirill V. Shemanaev

    2018-01-01

    Accurate and timely flash floods forecasting, especially, in ungauged and poorly gauged basins, is one of the most important and challenging problems to be solved by the international hydrological community. In changing climate and variable anthropogenic impact on river basins, as well as due to low density of surface hydrometeorological network, flash flood forecasting based on “traditional” physically based, or conceptual, or statistical hydrological models often becomes inefficient. Unfort...

  14. Gas detectors for x-ray lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tiedtke, K.; Feldhaus, J.; Hahn, U.; Jastrow, U.; Nunez, T.; Tschentscher, T.; Bobashev, S. V.; Sorokin, A. A.; Hastings, J. B.; Moeller, S.; Cibik, L.; Gottwald, A.; Hoehl, A.; Kroth, U.; Krumrey, M.; Schoeppe, H.; Ulm, G.; Richter, M.

    2008-01-01

    We have developed different types of photodetectors that are based on the photoionization of a gas at a low target density. The almost transparent devices were optimized and tested for online photon diagnostics at current and future x-ray free-electron laser facilities on a shot-to-shot basis with a temporal resolution of better than 100 ns. Characterization and calibration measurements were performed in the laboratory of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt at the electron storage ring BESSY II in Berlin. As a result, measurement uncertainties of better than 10% for the photon-pulse energy and below 20 μm for the photon-beam position were achieved at the Free-electron LASer in Hamburg (FLASH). An upgrade for the detection of hard x-rays was tested at the Sub-Picosecond Photon Source in Stanford

  15. Gas detectors for x-ray lasers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiedtke, K.; Feldhaus, J.; Hahn, U.; Jastrow, U.; Nunez, T.; Tschentscher, T.; Bobashev, S. V.; Sorokin, A. A.; Hastings, J. B.; Möller, S.; Cibik, L.; Gottwald, A.; Hoehl, A.; Kroth, U.; Krumrey, M.; Schöppe, H.; Ulm, G.; Richter, M.

    2008-05-01

    We have developed different types of photodetectors that are based on the photoionization of a gas at a low target density. The almost transparent devices were optimized and tested for online photon diagnostics at current and future x-ray free-electron laser facilities on a shot-to-shot basis with a temporal resolution of better than 100 ns. Characterization and calibration measurements were performed in the laboratory of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt at the electron storage ring BESSY II in Berlin. As a result, measurement uncertainties of better than 10% for the photon-pulse energy and below 20 μm for the photon-beam position were achieved at the Free-electron LASer in Hamburg (FLASH). An upgrade for the detection of hard x-rays was tested at the Sub-Picosecond Photon Source in Stanford.

  16. Increasing the computational speed of flash calculations with applications for compositional, transient simulations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Claus P.; Krejbjerg, Kristian; Michelsen, Michael Locht

    2006-01-01

    Approaches are presented for reducing the computation time spent on flash calculations in compositional, transient simulations. In a conventional flash calculation, the majority of the simulation time is spent on stability analysis, even for systems far into the single-phase region. A criterion has...

  17. An integrated lithography concept with application on 45-nm ½ pitch flash memory devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dusa, Mircea; Engelen, Andre; Finders, Jo

    2006-03-01

    It is well accepted to judge imaging capability of an exposure tool primarily on printing equal line-spaces, at a minimum ½ pitch. Further on, combining line-space minimum ½ pitches with scanner maximum NA, defines the process k I. From a lithographer viewpoint, flash memory device is the perfect candidate to achieve lowest k I lithography for a given NA. This is justified by flash layout specific, with regular and relative simple 1-D topology of the critical layers that look like line-space gratings. In reality, flash layout presents a subtle topology and cannot be considered a simple 1-D line-space problem. Uniqueness to flash layout is the array-end zones, where pattern regularity is broken up by features with dimensions and separation of n x ½ pitch, where n is an integer number that we used in this work to manipulate litho process latitudes. Integrated lithography concept seeks to tweak flash pattern details and tune it with scanner control parameters. We introduce feature-center placement through focus and dose as the metric to characterize a cross-coupling phenomena occurring between adjacent features located at array-end of typical flash poly wordline layer. We comparedthe metric behavior with usual litho process window parameters and identified interactions with scanner CDU control parameters. We show how feature-center placement errors are direct functions of optical and physical characteristics of mask materials, attenuated PSM or binary, and of layout array-end topology. Imaging at extreme low-k I, effects from layout specifics and mask materials are best characterized by full vector, rigorous EM simulation, instead of scalar approach, typically used for OPC treatment. Predicted CDU performance of 1.2NA scanner, based on integrated lithography concept, matched very well the experimental results in printing 45nm ½ pitch flash wordline layer. Results show that 1.2NA scanner, operating at 0.28 k I could be an effective lithography solution for 45nm

  18. Establishing a rainfall threshold for flash flood warnings based on the DFFG method in Yunnan province, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, M.; Wang, H.; Chen, Y.; Tang, G.; Hong, Z.; Zhang, K.; Hong, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Flash floods, one of the deadliest natural hazards worldwide due to their multidisciplinary nature, rank highly in terms of heavy damage and casualties. Such as in the United States, flash flood is the No.1 cause of death and the No. 2 most deadly weather-related hazard among all storm-related hazards, with approximately 100 lives lost each year. According to China Floods and Droughts Disasters Bullet in 2015 (http://www.mwr.gov.cn/zwzc/hygb/zgshzhgb), about 935 deaths per year on average were caused by flash floods from 2000 to 2015, accounting for 73 % of the fatalities due to floods. Therefore, significant efforts have been made toward understanding flash flood processes as well as modeling and forecasting them, it still remains challenging because of their short response time and limited monitoring capacity. This study advances the use of high-resolution Global Precipitation Measurement forecasts (GPMs), disaster data obtained from the government officials in 2011 and 2016, and the improved Distributed Flash Flood Guidance (DFFG) method combining the Distributed Hydrologic Model and Soil Conservation Service Curve Numbers. The objectives of this paper are (1) to examines changes in flash flood occurrence, (2) to estimate the effect of the rainfall spatial variability ,(2) to improve the lead time in flash floods warning and get the rainfall threshold, (3) to assess the DFFG method applicability in Dongchuan catchments, and (4) to yield the probabilistic information about the forecast hydrologic response that accounts for the locational uncertainties of the GPMs. Results indicate: (1) flash flood occurrence increased in the study region, (2) the occurrence of predicted flash floods show high sensitivity to total infiltration and soil water content, (3) the DFFG method is generally capable of making accurate predictions of flash flood events in terms of their locations and time of occurrence, and (4) the accumulative rainfall over a certain time span is an

  19. Dendrogeomorphic analysis of flash floods in a small ungauged mountain catchment (Central Spain)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz-Villanueva, Virginia; Díez-Herrero, Andrés; Stoffel, Markus; Bollschweiler, Michelle; Bodoque, José M.; Ballesteros, Juan A.

    2010-06-01

    Flash floods represent one of the most significant natural hazards with serious death tolls and economic damage at a worldwide level in general and in Mediterranean mountain catchments in particular. In these environments, systematic data is often lacking and analyses have to be based on alternative approaches such as dendrogeomorphology. In this study, we focus on the identification of flash floods based on growth disturbances (GD) observed in 98 heavily affected Mediterranean pine trees ( Pinus pinaster Ait.) located in or next to the torrential channel of the Pelayo River in the Spanish Central System. Flash floods are quite common in this catchment and are triggered by heavy storms, with high discharge and debris transport rates favoured by high stream gradients. Comparison of the anomalies in tree morphology and the position of the trees in the channel showed that the intensity of the disturbance clearly depends on geomorphology. The dating of past flash flood events was based on the number and intensity of GD observed in the tree-ring series and on the spatial distribution of affected trees along the torrent, thus allowing seven flash flood events during the last 50 years to be dated, namely in 1963, 1966, 1973, 1976, 1996, 2000, and 2005.

  20. Violation of Bloch's Law That Specifies Reciprocity of Intensity and Duration with Brief Light Flashes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ernest Greene

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available For more than a century researchers have been reporting that the visual impact of a very brief flash is determined by the quantity of photons that the flash delivers. This has been variously described as the Bunsen-Roscoe Law or Bloch's Law, often specified as reciprocity of intensity × duration. Prior research found no evidence for such reciprocity when microsecond-duration flashes from a light-emitting diode array were used to display the major contours of nameable shapes. The present work tested with flash durations ranging up to 100 ms and also found no reciprocity. This departure from classic principles might be due to the specific range of wavelengths of the light-emitting diodes and to a mesopic level of ambient light, which together would preclude activation of rods. The reciprocity of intensity and duration may only be valid with full dark adaptation and very dim flashes that activate rods.

  1. Optimized K (alpha) x-ray flashes from femtosecond-laser-irradiated foils

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lu, W.; Nicoul, M.; Shymanovich, U.; Tarasevitch, A.; Zhou, P.; Sokolowski-Tinten, K.; von der Linde, D.; Mašek, Martin; Gibbon, P.; Teubner, U.

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 80, č. 2 (2009), 026404/1-026404/10 ISSN 1539-3755 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC528 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100523 Keywords : copper * electron density * high-speed optical techniques * plasma density * plasma production by laser * plasma simulation * plasma x-ray sources * titanium Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics Impact factor: 2.400, year: 2009

  2. Diurnal rhythm and concordance between objective and subjective hot flashes: the Hilo Women's Health Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sievert, Lynnette L; Reza, Angela; Mills, Phoebe; Morrison, Lynn; Rahberg, Nichole; Goodloe, Amber; Sutherland, Michael; Brown, Daniel E

    2010-01-01

    The aims of this study were to test for a diurnal pattern in hot flashes in a multiethnic population living in a hot, humid environment and to examine the rates of concordance between objective and subjective measures of hot flashes using ambulatory and laboratory measures. Study participants aged 45 to 55 years were recruited from the general population of Hilo, HI. Women wore a Biolog hot flash monitor (UFI, Morro Bay, CA), kept a diary for 24 hours, and also participated in 3-hour laboratory measures (n = 199). Diurnal patterns were assessed using polynomial regression. For each woman, objectively recorded hot flashes that matched subjective experience were treated as true-positive readings. Subjective hot flashes were considered the standard for computing false-positive and false-negative readings. True-positive, false-positive, and false-negative readings were compared across ethnic groups by chi analyses. Frequencies of sternal, nuchal, and subjective hot flashes peaked at 1500 +/- 1 hours with no difference by ethnicity. Laboratory results supported the pattern seen in ambulatory monitoring. Sternal and nuchal monitoring showed the same frequency of true-positive measures, but nonsternal electrodes picked up more false-positive readings. Laboratory monitoring showed very low frequencies of false negatives. There were no ethnic differences in the frequency of true-positive or false-positive measures. Women of European descent were more likely to report hot flashes that were not objectively demonstrated (false-negative measures). The diurnal pattern and peak in hot flash occurrence in the hot humid environment of Hilo were similar to results from more temperate environments. Lack of variation in sternal versus nonsternal measures and in true-positive measures across ethnicities suggests no appreciable effect of population variation in sweating patterns.

  3. A comparative study on the effect of "black cohosh" and "evening primrose oil" on menopausal hot flashes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrpooya, Maryam; Rabiee, Soghra; Larki-Harchegani, Amir; Fallahian, Amir-Mohammad; Moradi, Abbas; Ataei, Sara; Javad, Masoumeh Taravati

    2018-01-01

    Hot flashes are considered to be a common experience for menopausal women and they can compromise the quality of life. The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of Cimicifuga racemosa in comparison with evening primrose oil (EPO) in postmenopausal women with menopause-related symptoms. This study was performed on 80 postmenopausal women with hot flashes. The participants were randomly divided into two groups by blocked randomization. The participants of one group received black cohosh and the other group received EPO for 8 weeks. The severity and number of hot flashes and quality of life were measured by four-point scale, and the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire at pre-intervention, 1 st , 4 th , and 8 th weeks after treatment. Data were analyzed in SPSS Version 16 using independent t -test, Chi-square, and Fisher's exact test. Average severity of hot flashes in both groups and number of hot flashes in black cohosh group in 8 th week were significantly lower than 1 st week ( P hot flashes in primrose oil group in 8 th week showed no significant differences ( P = 0.32). The number of hot flashes and quality of life score in black cohosh arm compared to EPO showed a significant decrease in the 8 th week ( P hot flashes and improvement of the quality of life, but it seems that black cohosh is more effective than primrose oil because it was able to reduce the number of hot flashes too.

  4. Rh-flash acquisition card

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourrion, O.

    2003-01-01

    The rh-flash card main purpose is to convert and store the image of the analog data present at input into an output buffer, namely in a given timing window besides a stop signal (like a digital oscilloscope). It is conceived in VME format 1U wide with an additional connector. Novelty of this card is its ability to sample at a high frequency, due to flash coders, and this at a high repetition rate. To do that the card allows the storage of the data considered 'useful' and that is done by storing only the data exceeding a certain threshold. This can be useful for instance for viewing peaks in a spectrum, and obtaining their relative location. The goal is to stock and process the data sampled before and after the arrival of a stop signal (what entails a storage depth). A threshold is defined and any peak exceeding its level will really be stored in the output buffer which is readable through the VME bus. The peak values will be stored as well as m preceding and n subsequent values (both programmable). Obviously, if the threshold is zero the system of data processing is off and all data will be stored. The document is structured on six sections titled: 1. Description; 2. Specifications; 3. Explaining the design of channels; 4. Explaining the shared part of the design; 5. Addressing (→ user guide); 6. Software precautions. (author)

  5. Effect of capacitor loss on discharging characteristics of xenon flash lamp

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Chu; Lin Dejiang; Xu Chunmei; Shen Hongbin; Chen Xiaohan

    2012-01-01

    The effect of storage capacitor's loss on the discharging characteristics of the xenon flash lamp was studied, and the xenon flash lamp discharging circuit was analyzed and improved. The capacitor can be equivalent to a series of an ideal capacitor and loss resistance. The improved formula of the xenon lamp discharging characteristics was given when actual capacitance loss is not zero, and the xenon lamp discharging current and discharging power are calculated and analyzed in detail with the increase of the capacitor loss. The results show that the increase of loss will lead to the decrease of xenon lamp discharging current and peak power and the xenon lamp flash time, and influence laser pumping efficiency. The loss will also lead to the capacitor inverse charging in LC discharging circuit; this will influence normal working of the capacitor and decrease the lift of the xenon lamp. The actual energy storage capacitor charging and discharging experiments show that the increase of capacitor loss will lead to the decrease of xenon lamp light-emitting waveform peak, shortening of the flash time and increase of the electrode sputter, thus verity, the reasonableness of theoretical analysis. In addition, the experiments show that environmental factors have very significant impact on the increase of the storage capacitor loss. (authors)

  6. Flash floods in Catalonia: a recurrent situation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llasat, M. C.; Lindbergh, S.; Llasat-Botija, M.; Rodríguez, A.; Zaragoza, A.

    2009-09-01

    A database with information about the social impact produced by all the flood events recorded in Catalonia between 1982 and 2007 has been built. Original information comes from the INUNGAMA database (1900-2000) presented by Barnolas and Llasat (2007), the PRESSGAMA database (1982-2007) (Llasat et al., in rev.) and information from different published works (Barriendos et al, 2003; Barriendos and Pomés, 1993). Social impact has been obtained systematically in basis to news press data and, occasionally, in basis to insurance data. Flood events have been classified in ordinary floods, extraordinary floods and catastrophic ones, following the proposal of Llasat et al (2005). However, having in mind the flash floods effects, some new categories concerning casualties and car damages have also been introduced. The spatial and temporal distribution of these flood events has been analysed. Results have been compared with those obtained for the period 1900-2000 (Barnolas and Llasat, 2007) and 1350-2000 (Barrera et al, 2006). In order to better estimate the social impact and vulnerability some indicators have been defined and analyzed for some specific cases and a specific region. Besides the indicators applied in the INUNCAT Plan to obtain a cartography of flood risk in Catalonia, other ones like the number of cars affected or the number of request received by the meteorological service, has been also taken into account. These indicators allow analyzing global and temporal trends as well as characterizing the events. The selected region has been the Maresme, which is a flood prone region with a great density of population and that experiences every year one or more flash floods. The annual number of floods shows a positive trend that cannot be justified by the rainfall trend. Both vulnerability and hazard components have been considered and a discussion about the flood prevention measures is presented. The third part of this work has been centred in the analysis and

  7. Informing hot flash treatment decisions for breast cancer survivors: a systematic review of randomized trials comparing active interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johns, Claire; Seav, Susan M; Dominick, Sally A; Gorman, Jessica R; Li, Hongying; Natarajan, Loki; Mao, Jun James; Irene Su, H

    2016-04-01

    Patient-centered decision making about hot flash treatments often incorporates a balance of efficacy and side effects in addition to patient preference. This systematic review examines randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing at least two non-hormonal hot flash treatments in breast cancer survivors. In July 2015, PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases were searched for RCTs comparing active, non-hormonal hot flash treatments in female breast cancer survivors. Thirteen trials were included after identifying 906 potential studies. Four trials were dose comparison studies of pharmacologic treatments citalopram, venlafaxine, gabapentin, and paroxetine. Hot flash reduction did not differ by tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitor use. Citalopram 10, 20, and 30 mg daily had comparable outcomes. Venlafaxine 75 mg daily improved hot flashes without additional side effects from higher dosing. Gabapentin 900 mg daily improved hot flashes more than 300 mg. Paroxetine 10 mg daily had fewer side effects than 20 mg. Among four trials comparing different pharmacologic treatments, venlafaxine alleviated hot flash symptoms faster than clonidine; participants preferred venlafaxine over gabapentin. Five trials compared pharmacologic to non-pharmacologic treatments. Acupuncture had similar efficacy to venlafaxine and gabapentin but may have longer durability after completing treatment and fewer side effects. We could not perform a pooled meta-analysis because outcomes were not reported in comparable formats. Clinical trial data on non-hormonal hot flash treatments provide comparisons of hot flash efficacy and other patient important outcomes to guide clinical management. Clinicians can use the information to help patients select hot flash interventions.

  8. Gone in a Flash: Manipulation of Audiovisual Temporal Integration Using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roy eHamilton

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available While converging evidence implicates the right inferior parietal lobule in audiovisual integration, its role has not been fully elucidated by direct manipulation of cortical activity. Replicating and extending an experiment initially reported by Kamke, Vieth, Cottrell, and Mattingley (2012, we employed the sound-induced flash illusion, in which a single visual flash, when accompanied by two auditory tones, is misperceived as multiple flashes (Wilson, 1987; Shams, et al., 2000. Slow repetitive (1Hz TMS administered to the right angular gyrus, but not the right supramarginal gyrus, induced a transient decrease in the Peak Perceived Flashes (PPF, reflecting reduced susceptibility to the illusion. This finding independently confirms that perturbation of networks involved in multisensory integration can result in a more veridical representation of asynchronous auditory and visual events and that cross-modal integration is an active process in which the objective is the identification of a meaningful constellation of inputs, at times at the expense of accuracy.

  9. Flash flood swift water rescues, Texas, 2005–2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vaidehi Shah

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Although rainfall patterns are complex and difficult to predict, climate models suggest precipitation in Texas will occur less frequently and with greater intensity in the future. In combination with rapid population growth and development, extreme rainfall events are likely to lead to flash floods and necessitate swift water rescues. Swift water rescues are used to retrieve person(s from swift water flowing at a rate of 1 knot or greater. Data were obtained from the Texas Fire Marshal’s Office and analyzed to describe spatial and temporal characteristics of rescues. Between 2005 and 2014, 3256 swift water rescues were reported from 136 of 254 (54% counties. Over half (54.6%, n = 1777 occurred in counties known as Flash Flood Alley, which includes Texas’ largest and fastest growing cities. Less than 1.0% (n = 18 were reported from 49 counties designated as completely rural, or with an urban population less than 2500. Increases in swift water rescues were seen between March and September and during major weather events such as tropical storms. Because county-level data was utilized and demographic data was missing in all but 2% (n = 47 of the incidents, our ability to identify populations at risk or target interventions in the future using this data is limited. Despite the frequency of flash flood events and swift water rescues in Texas, knowledge gaps persist that should be addressed through the conduct of interdisciplinary research by epidemiologists and climatologists and by disseminating evidence-based health education and safety programs, particularly in rapidly growing counties that make up Texas’ Flash Flood Alley.

  10. Atomic-layer deposited IrO2 nanodots for charge-trap flash-memory devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Sangmoo; Cha, Young-Kwan; Seo, Bum-Seok; Park, Sangjin; Park, Ju-Hee; Shin, Sangmin; Seol, Kwang Soo; Park, Jong-Bong; Jung, Young-Soo; Park, Youngsoo; Park, Yoondong; Yoo, In-Kyeong; Choi, Suk-Ho

    2007-01-01

    Charge-trap flash- (CTF) memory structures have been fabricated by employing IrO 2 nanodots (NDs) grown by atomic-layer deposition. A band of isolated IrO 2 NDs of about 3 nm lying almost parallel to Si/SiO 2 interface is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The memory device with IrO 2 NDs shows much larger capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis and memory window compared with the control sample without IrO 2 NDs. After annealing at 800 deg. C for 20 min, the ND device shows almost no change in the width of C-V hysteresis and the ND distribution. These results indicate that the IrO 2 NDs embedded in SiO 2 can be utilized as thermally stable, discrete charge traps, promising for metal oxide-ND-based CTF memory devices

  11. Out-of-phase flashing induced instabilities in CIRCUS facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Christian Pablo Marcel; Van der Hagen, T.H.J.J. [Interfaculty Reactor Institute, Delft University of Technology, Mekelweg 15, 2629 JB Delft (Netherlands)

    2005-07-01

    Full text of publication follows: Flashing-induced instabilities are very important during the startup phase of natural-circulation boiling water reactors. To study this type of instability an axial fully scaled facility named CIRCUS was constructed. Experiments at low power and low pressure (typical startup conditions) are carried out on this steam/water natural circulation loop with two parallel risers. A detailed measurement of the void-fraction profile is possible by using needle-probes and the use of glass tubes for the riser and core sections allow to use optical techniques for velocity measurements. The flashing and the mechanism of flashing-induced instabilities are analyzed paying special attention on the strong coupling effect between the two riser channels. It is clear from the experiments that the out-of-phase instability is much more susceptible to occur than the in-phase instability in a system with two parallel risers. The instability region is found as soon as the operational boundary between single-phase and two-phase operation is crossed. The relation between the period of the oscillations and the fluid transient time is also investigated. The stability map constructed using this experimental data is also discussed. (authors)

  12. A FASTBUS flash ADC system for the Mark II vertex chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barker, L.

    1988-10-01

    This is a description of a flash ADC system built for the Mark II experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). This system was designed for use in the experiment's vertex chamber where signals could occur over a relatively long time, approximately 10 microseconds. This long time, coupled with fast cable amplifiers, necessitated an alternate design approach than was used with a dE/dX FASTBUS flash ADC design. 1 ref., 6 figs

  13. A Modern Apparatus for Performing Flash Chromatography: An Experiment for the Organic Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naumiec, Gregory R.; Del Padre, Angela N.; Hooper, Matthew M.; Germaine, Alison St.; DeBoef, Brenton

    2013-01-01

    A modern apparatus for performing flash chromatography using commercially available, prepacked silica cartridges has been developed. The key advantage of this system, when compared to traditional flash chromatography, is its use of commercially available silica cartridges, which obviates the need for students to handle silica gel. The apparatus…

  14. Partitioning the LIS/OTD Lightning Climatological Dataset into Separate Ground and Cloud Flash Distributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koshak, W. J.; Solarkiewicz, R. J.

    2009-01-01

    Presently, it is not well understood how to best model nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from lightning because lightning is highly variable. Peak current, channel length, channel altitude, stroke multiplicity, and the number of flashes that occur in a particular region (i.e., flash density) all influence the amount of lightning NOx produced. Moreover, these 5 variables are not the same for ground and cloud flashes; e.g., cloud flashes normally have lower peak currents, higher altitudes, and higher flash densities than ground flashes [see (Koshak, 2009) for additional details]. Because the existing satellite observations of lightning (Fig. 1) from the Lightning Imaging Sensor/Optical Transient Detector (LIS/OTD) do not distinguish between ground and cloud fashes, which produce different amounts of NOx, it is very difficult to accurately account for the regional/global production of lightning NOx. Hence, the ability to partition the LIS/OTD lightning climatology into separate ground and cloud flash distributions would substantially benefit the atmospheric chemistry modeling community. NOx indirectly influences climate because it controls the concentration of ozone and hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere. The importance of lightning-produced NOx is empasized throughout the scientific literature (see for example, Huntrieser et al. 1998). In fact, lightning is the most important NOx source in the upper troposphere with a global production rate estimated to vary between 2 and 20 Tg (N)yr(sup -1) (Lee et al., 1997), with more recent estimates of about 6 Tg(N)yr(sup -1) (Martin et al., 2007). In order to make accurate predictions, global chemistry/climate models (as well as regional air quality modells) must more accurately account for the effects of lightning NOx. In particular, the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Model E (Schmidt et al., 2005) and the GEOS-CHEM global chemical transport model (Bey et al., 2001) would each benefit from a partitioning of the

  15. Acupuncture for the Alleviation of Hot Flashes in Men Treated With Androgen Ablation Therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashamalla, Hani; Jiang, Ming L.; Guirguis, Adel; Peluso, Francesco; Ashamalla, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Hot flashes are common side effect due to androgen ablation therapy (AAT). The utility of acupuncture for hot flashes in men has not been thoroughly studied. We prospectively studied the effect of acupuncture in men with hot flashes. Methods and Materials: The study was approved by internal review board. Seventeen men with hot flashes and history of AAT for prostate cancer were enrolled. Three men declined participation before receiving any treatment. A hot flash score (HFS) was used to measure daily hot flashes. The composite daily score was calculated as the product of frequency x severity. The baseline daily scores were compared with scores taken at 2 and 6 weeks and at 8-month average follow-up. Results: No side effects were encountered during, immediately after treatment, or at 8 months. The mean initial HFS was 28.3; it dropped to 10.3 (p = 0.0001) at 2 weeks posttreatment, 7.5 (p = 0.0001) at 6 weeks, and 7.0 (p = 0.001) at 8 months. Clinical improvement for each patient is defined as the percent decrease in the mean HFS at each time point. The mean improvement at Weeks 2 and 6 was 68.4% (mean HFS decreased from 37.409 to 11.836, p = 0.001) and 89.2% (mean HFS decreased from 37.409 to 4.05, p = 0.0078) respectively. The improvement at 8 months was 80.3% (mean HFS decreased from 37.409 to 7.385, p = 0.002). Conclusions: Acupuncture provides excellent control of hot flashes in men with a history of AAT. The absence of side effects and the durable response at 8 months are likely to be appealing to patients. Prospective randomized study is warranted to further evaluate this modality against medical therapy.

  16. Muzzle flash localization for the dismounted soldier

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy Scott, Will

    2015-05-01

    The ability to accurately and rapidly know the precise location of enemy fire would be a substantial capability enhancement to the dismounted soldier. Acoustic gun-shot detections systems can provide an approximate bearing but it is desired to precisely know the location (direction and range) of enemy fire; for example to know from `which window' the fire is coming from. Funded by the UK MOD (via Roke Manor Research) QinetiQ is developing an imaging solution built around an InGaAs camera. This paper presents work that QinetiQ has undertaken on the Muzzle Flash Locator system. Key technical challenges that have been overcome are explained and discussed in this paper. They include; the design of the optical sensor and processing hardware to meet low size, weight and power requirements; the algorithm approach required to maintain sensitivity whilst rejecting false alarms from sources such as close passing insects and sun glint from scene objects; and operation on the move. This work shows that such a sensor can provide sufficient sensitivity to detect muzzle flash events to militarily significant ranges and that such a system can be combined with an acoustic gunshot detection system to minimize the false alarm rate. The muzzle flash sensor developed in this work operates in real-time and has a field of view of approximately 29° (horizontal) by 12° (vertical) with a pixel resolution of 0.13°. The work has demonstrated that extension to a sensor with realistic angular rotation rate is feasible.

  17. FlaME: Flash Molecular Editor - a 2D structure input tool for the web

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dallakian Pavel

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background So far, there have been no Flash-based web tools available for chemical structure input. The authors herein present a feasibility study, aiming at the development of a compact and easy-to-use 2D structure editor, using Adobe's Flash technology and its programming language, ActionScript. As a reference model application from the Java world, we selected the Java Molecular Editor (JME. In this feasibility study, we made an attempt to realize a subset of JME's functionality in the Flash Molecular Editor (FlaME utility. These basic capabilities are: structure input, editing and depiction of single molecules, data import and export in molfile format. Implementation The result of molecular diagram sketching in FlaME is accessible in V2000 molfile format. By integrating the molecular editor into a web page, its communication with the HTML elements on this page is established using the two JavaScript functions, getMol( and setMol(. In addition, structures can be copied to the system clipboard. Conclusion A first attempt was made to create a compact single-file application for 2D molecular structure input/editing on the web, based on Flash technology. With the application examples presented in this article, it could be demonstrated that the Flash methods are principally well-suited to provide the requisite communication between the Flash object (application and the HTML elements on a web page, using JavaScript functions.

  18. A survey of ELF and VLF research on lightning-ionosphere interactions and causative discharges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inan, U. S.; Cummer, S. A.; Marshall, R. A.

    2010-06-01

    Extremely low frequency (ELF) and very low frequency (VLF) observations have formed the cornerstone of measurement and interpretation of effects of lightning discharges on the overlying upper atmospheric regions, as well as near-Earth space. ELF (0.3-3 kHz) and VLF (3-30 kHz) wave energy released by lightning discharges is often the agent of modification of the lower ionospheric medium that results in the conductivity changes and the excitation of optical emissions that constitute transient luminous events (TLEs). In addition, the resultant ionospheric changes are best (and often uniquely) observable as perturbations of subionospherically propagating VLF signals. In fact, some of the earliest evidence for direct disturbances of the lower ionosphere in association with lightning discharges was obtained in the course of the study of such VLF perturbations. Measurements of the detailed ELF and VLF waveforms of parent lightning discharges that produce TLEs and terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) have also been very fruitful, often revealing properties of such discharges that maximize ionospheric effects, such as generation of intense electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) or removal of large quantities of charge. In this paper, we provide a review of the development of ELF and VLF measurements, both from a historical point of view and from the point of view of their relationship to optical and other observations of ionospheric effects of lightning discharges.

  19. RAND-Based Formulations for Isothermal Multiphase Flash

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paterson, Duncan; Michelsen, Michael L.; Stenby, Erling H.

    2018-01-01

    Two algorithms are proposed for isothermal multiphase flash. These are referred to as modified RAND and vol-RAND. The former uses the chemical potentials and molar-phase amounts as the iteration variables, while the latter uses chemical potentials and phase volumes to cosolve a pressure...

  20. Developing a Conceptual Framwork for Modeling Deviant Cyber Flash Mob: A Socio-Computational Approach Leveraging Hypergraph Constructs

    OpenAIRE

    Samer Al-khateeb; Nitin Agarwal

    2014-01-01

    In a Flash Mob (FM) a group of people get together in the physical world perform an unpredicted act and disperse quickly. Cyber Flash Mob (CFM) is the cyber manifestation of flash mob coordinated primarily using social media. Deviant Cyber Flash Mob (or, DCFM) is a special case of CFM, which is categorized as the new face of transnational crime organizations (TCOs). The DCFM phenomenon can be considered as a form of a cyber-collective action that is defined as an action aiming to improve grou...

  1. Laser-flash calorimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Y.; Nakamura, J.-I.

    1982-01-01

    The heat capacity of vanadium has been measured by laser-flash calorimetry in the temperature region from 80 to 1000 K. The results are compared with available low- and high-temperature heat capacities, and revised thermodynamic values of vanadium are given. No heat-capacity anomaly has been found in the pure vanadium sample over the temperature range investigated, while a small heat-capacity discontinuity, less than 1.2 J.K -1 .mol -1 , has been observed at 220 to 230 K on the same sample but electropolished before measurement. This anomaly disappeared after annealing at 1000 K in vacuo for 1 h and is attributable to the introduction of a small amount of hydrogen during electropolishing. (author)

  2. Generation and transport of double-bunch electron beams in the FLASH beamline

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Entrena Utrilla, Carlos Manuel

    2014-10-01

    The Free Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) is part of the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) research center. Its linear accelerator produces high-quality electron bunches of up to about 1.2 GeV that are used in its undulator to generate short, intense, high-brilliance soft-X ray pulses with a wavelength from 4.2 nm to 45 nm with the SASE process. This characteristics make FLASH a leading facility worldwide in photon science and linear accelerator technologies, along with the Linac Coherent Light Source (in SLAC, Standford, USA), the FERMI rate at Elettra in Trieste (Italy) and SACLA (Japan). For several reasons, there is a substantial interest to accelerate two electron bunches with a final temporal distance of several hundreds of femtoseconds. These two bunches are generated on the photocathode within picoseconds from each other and accelerated within the same RF bucket (the same period of the RF (radio-frequency) accelerating fields). These experiments are of interest for two-color FEL for pump-probe experiments, and for the external injection of electrons in the future particle-driven plasma wakefield accelerator experiment, called FLASHForward, which will start in early 2016. This work analyzes the longitudinal dynamics of said double-bunches, from generation on the photocathode to the transport and compression through the linac. It is shown how a working point for a desired compression scenario (shape and final current of the bunches, and final distance between them) can be found with different numerical tracking procedures, and how the electrons can be experimentally generated and transported through the accelerator in the current layout, which was confirmed in a proof-of-concept experiment in late May 2014.

  3. Using commercial simulators for determining flash distillation curves for petroleum fractions

    OpenAIRE

    Eleonora Erdmann; Demetrio Humana; Samuel Franco Domínguez; Lorgio Mercado Fuentes

    2010-01-01

    This work describes a new method for estimating the equilibrium flash vaporisation (EFV) distillation curve for petro-leum fractions by using commercial simulators. A commercial simulator was used for implementing a stationary mo-del for flash distillation; this model was adjusted by using a distillation curve obtained from standard laboratory ana-lytical assays. Such curve can be one of many types (eg ASTM D86, D1160 or D2887) and involves an experimental procedure simpler than that required...

  4. Modélisation de Fautes et Test des Mémoires Flash

    OpenAIRE

    Ginez , Olivier

    2007-01-01

    Flash memories more and more occurs in complex integrated circuits designed for portable electronic devices and dominate the area of such circuits. The lack of defects within these memories is therefore one the key elements of the production yield for manufacturers of these types of applications. However, the high integration density and the complexity of the fabrication process make these Flash memories more and more prone to manufacturing defects. To exhibit the failures that affect the fun...

  5. A FASTBUS flash ADC system for the Mark II vertex chamber

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barker, L.

    1988-10-01

    This is a description of a flash ADC system built for the Mark II experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). This system was designed for use in the experiment's vertex chamber where signals could occur over a relatively long time, approximately 10 microseconds. This long time, coupled with fast cable amplifiers, necessitated an alternate design approach than was used with a dE/dX FASTBUS flash ADC design. 1 ref., 6 figs.

  6. The impact of red light running camera flashes on younger and older drivers' attention and oculomotor control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Timothy J; Vitale, Thomas; Boot, Walter R; Charness, Neil

    2015-12-01

    Recent empirical evidence has suggested that the flashes associated with red light running cameras (RLRCs) distract younger drivers, pulling attention away from the roadway and delaying processing of safety-relevant events. Considering the perceptual and attentional declines that occur with age, older drivers may be especially susceptible to the distracting effects of RLRC flashes, particularly in situations in which the flash is more salient (a bright flash at night compared with the day). The current study examined how age and situational factors potentially influence attention capture by RLRC flashes using covert (cuing effects) and overt (eye movement) indices of capture. We manipulated the salience of the flash by varying its luminance and contrast with respect to the background of the driving scene (either day or night scenes). Results of 2 experiments suggest that simulated RLRC flashes capture observers' attention, but, surprisingly, no age differences in capture were observed. However, an analysis examining early and late eye movements revealed that older adults may have been strategically delaying their eye movements in order to avoid capture. Additionally, older adults took longer to disengage attention following capture, suggesting at least 1 age-related disadvantage in capture situations. Findings have theoretical implications for understanding age differences in attention capture, especially with respect to capture in real-world scenes, and inform future work that should examine how the distracting effects of RLRC flashes influence driver behavior. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. FORGING DEFECTS ANALYSIS IN SUSPENSION ARMAND FLASH CONTROL

    OpenAIRE

    Mr Jadhav Vijay B. , Prof. Mundhe V.L. , Dr. Narve N.G.

    2018-01-01

    The suspension arms in the process of fogging are made by different material and in that processes get various problems are found. In that paper list out that problem and solving flash wastage problem.

  8. First-pass myocardial perfusion MR imaging with gadolinium-enhanced turbo FLASH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teresi, L.M.; Smith, C.; Messenger, J.; Watanabe, A.; Herbst, M.; O'Sullivan, R.M.; Lee, R.; Remer, J.; Rappaport, A.; Bradley, W.G.

    1990-01-01

    This paper determines the efficacy of MR first-pass myocardial perfusion imaging using gadolinium-enhanced Turbo--fast low-angle shot (FLASH) ultrafast imaging combined with MR systolic wall thickening data for the determination of myocardial viability. Five normal volunteers and five patients with remote myocardial infarction were studied on a 1.5-T imaging system (Siemans, Ehrlangen, NJ). Turbo-FLASH imaging utilized a 180 degrees inversion pulse followed by a rapid gradient-echo sequence (TI 400 msec, TE2 msec, TR 4.9 msec, FA 8 degrees) with a complete 64 x 64 matrix image (300 mm FOV) being acquired in 300 msec. First-pass myocardial perfusion imaging was performed in the short-axis and long-axis oblique projections with a concantenated series of Turbo-FLASH images triggered to end-systole acquired immediately before and during a rapid bolus injection of 5cc gadolinium-DTPA

  9. Generation of attosecond soft x-ray pulses in a longitudinal space charge amplifier

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Dohlus

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available A longitudinal space charge amplifier (LSCA, operating in soft x-ray regime, was recently proposed. Such an amplifier consists of a few amplification cascades (focusing channel and chicane and a short radiator undulator in the end. The broadband nature of LSCA supports generation of few-cycle pulses as well as wavelength compression. In this paper we consider an application of these properties of LSCA for generation of attosecond x-ray pulses. It is shown that a compact and cheap addition to the soft x-ray free-electron laser facility FLASH would allow one to generate 60 attosecond (FWHM long x-ray pulses with the peak power at the 100 MW level and a contrast above 98%.

  10. Experimental and numerical investigations on flashing-induced instabilities in a single channel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marcel, Christian P.; Rohde, M.; Van Der Hagen, T.H.J.J. [Department of Physics of Nuclear Reactors, Delft University of Technology (TUDelft), Delft, 2629 JB (Netherlands)

    2009-11-15

    During the start-up phase, natural circulation BWRs (NC-BWRs) need to be operated at low pressure conditions. Such conditions favor flashing-induced instabilities due to the large hydrostatic pressure drop induced by the tall chimney. Moreover, in novel NC-BWR designs the steam separation is performed in the steam separators which create large pressure drops at the chimney outlet, which effect on stability has not been investigated yet. In this work, flashing-induced oscillations occurring in a tall, bottom heated channel are numerically investigated by using a simple linear model with three regions and an accurate implementation for estimating the water properties. The model is used to investigate flashing-induced instabilities in a channel for different values of the core inlet friction value. The results are compared with experiments obtained by using the CIRCUS facility at the same conditions, showing a good agreement. In addition, the experiments on flashing-induced instabilities are presented in a novel manner allowing visualizing new details of the phenomenon numerical stability investigations on the effect of the friction distribution are also done. It is found that by increasing the total restriction in the channel the system is destabilized. In addition, the chimney outlet restriction has a stronger destabilizing effect than the core inlet restriction. A stable two-phase region is observed prior to the instabilities in the experiments and the numerical simulations which may help to pressurize the vessel of NC-BWRs and thus reducing the effects of flashing instabilities during start-up. (author)

  11. Cloud-to-ground lightning flash characteristics from June 1984 through May 1985

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orville, Richard E.; Weisman, Robert A.; Pyle, Richard B.; Henderson, Ronald W.; Orville, Richard E., Jr.

    1987-01-01

    A magnetic direction-finding network for the detection of lightning cloud-to-ground strikes has been installed along the east coast of the United States. Time, location, flash polarity, stroke count, and peak signal amplitude are recorded in real time. The data were recorded from Maine to North Carolina and as far west as Ohio; analyses were restricted to flashes within 300 km of a direction finder. Measurements of peak signal strength have been obtained from 720,284 first return strokes lowering negative charge. The resulting distribution indicates that few negative strokes have peak currents exceeding 100 kA. Measurements have also been obtained of peak signal strength from 17,694 first return strokes lowering positive charge. These strokes have a median peak current of 45 kA, with some peak currents reaching 300-400 kA. The median peak signal strength and the peak current, double from summer to winter for both negative and positive first return strokes. The polarity of ground flashes is observed to be less than 5 percent positive throughout the summer and early fall, then increases to over 50 percent during the winter, and returns to less than 10 percent in early spring. The percent of positive flashes with one stroke is observed to be approximately 90 percent throughout the year. The percent of negative flashes with one stroke is observed to increase from 40 percent in the summer to approximately 80 percent in January, returning to less than 50 percent in the spring.

  12. The Ground Flash Fraction Retrieval Algorithm Employing Differential Evolution: Simulations and Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koshak, William; Solakiewicz, Richard

    2012-01-01

    The ability to estimate the fraction of ground flashes in a set of flashes observed by a satellite lightning imager, such as the future GOES-R Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM), would likely improve operational and scientific applications (e.g., severe weather warnings, lightning nitrogen oxides studies, and global electric circuit analyses). A Bayesian inversion method, called the Ground Flash Fraction Retrieval Algorithm (GoFFRA), was recently developed for estimating the ground flash fraction. The method uses a constrained mixed exponential distribution model to describe a particular lightning optical measurement called the Maximum Group Area (MGA). To obtain the optimum model parameters (one of which is the desired ground flash fraction), a scalar function must be minimized. This minimization is difficult because of two problems: (1) Label Switching (LS), and (2) Parameter Identity Theft (PIT). The LS problem is well known in the literature on mixed exponential distributions, and the PIT problem was discovered in this study. Each problem occurs when one allows the numerical minimizer to freely roam through the parameter search space; this allows certain solution parameters to interchange roles which leads to fundamental ambiguities, and solution error. A major accomplishment of this study is that we have employed a state-of-the-art genetic-based global optimization algorithm called Differential Evolution (DE) that constrains the parameter search in such a way as to remove both the LS and PIT problems. To test the performance of the GoFFRA when DE is employed, we applied it to analyze simulated MGA datasets that we generated from known mixed exponential distributions. Moreover, we evaluated the GoFFRA/DE method by applying it to analyze actual MGAs derived from low-Earth orbiting lightning imaging sensor data; the actual MGA data were classified as either ground or cloud flash MGAs using National Lightning Detection Network[TM] (NLDN) data. Solution error

  13. On the Mechanism of Microwave Flash Sintering of Ceramics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yury V. Bykov

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The results of a study of ultra-rapid (flash sintering of oxide ceramic materials under microwave heating with high absorbed power per unit volume of material (10–500 W/cm3 are presented. Ceramic samples of various compositions—Al2O3; Y2O3; MgAl2O4; and Yb(LaO2O3—were sintered using a 24 GHz gyrotron system to a density above 0.98–0.99 of the theoretical value in 0.5–5 min without isothermal hold. An analysis of the experimental data (microwave power; heating and cooling rates along with microstructure characterization provided an insight into the mechanism of flash sintering. Flash sintering occurs when the processing conditions—including the temperature of the sample; the properties of thermal insulation; and the intensity of microwave radiation—facilitate the development of thermal runaway due to an Arrhenius-type dependency of the material’s effective conductivity on temperature. The proper control over the thermal runaway effect is provided by fast regulation of the microwave power. The elevated concentration of defects and impurities in the boundary regions of the grains leads to localized preferential absorption of microwave radiation and results in grain boundary softening/pre-melting. The rapid densification of the granular medium with a reduced viscosity of the grain boundary phase occurs via rotation and sliding of the grains which accommodate their shape due to fast diffusion mass transport through the (quasi-liquid phase. The same mechanism based on a thermal runaway under volumetric heating can be relevant for the effect of flash sintering of various oxide ceramics under a dc/ac voltage applied to the sample.

  14. Response of the human circadian system to millisecond flashes of light.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamie M Zeitzer

    Full Text Available Ocular light sensitivity is the primary mechanism by which the central circadian clock, located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN, remains synchronized with the external geophysical day. This process is dependent on both the intensity and timing of the light exposure. Little is known about the impact of the duration of light exposure on the synchronization process in humans. In vitro and behavioral data, however, indicate the circadian clock in rodents can respond to sequences of millisecond light flashes. In a cross-over design, we tested the capacity of humans (n = 7 to respond to a sequence of 60 2-msec pulses of moderately bright light (473 lux given over an hour during the night. Compared to a control dark exposure, after which there was a 3.5±7.3 min circadian phase delay, the millisecond light flashes delayed the circadian clock by 45±13 min (p<0.01. These light flashes also concomitantly increased subjective and objective alertness while suppressing delta and sigma activity (p<0.05 in the electroencephalogram (EEG. Our data indicate that phase shifting of the human circadian clock and immediate alerting effects can be observed in response to brief flashes of light. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the circadian system can temporally integrate extraordinarily brief light exposures.

  15. Increased Expression of CCN2 in the Red Flashing Light-Induced Myopia in Guinea Pigs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong Wang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Visual environment plays an important role in the occurrence of myopia. We previously showed that the different flashing lights could result in distinct effects on the ocular growth and development of myopia. CCN2 has been reported to regulate various cellular functions and biological processes. However, whether CCN2 signaling was involved in the red flashing light-induced myopia still remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effects of the red flashing lights exposure on the refraction and axial length of the eyes in vivo and then evaluated their effects on the expression of CCN2 and TGF-β in sclera tissues. Our data showed that the eyes exposed to the red flashing light became more myopic with a significant increase of the axial length and decrease of the refraction. Both CCN2 and TGF-β, as well as p38 MAPK and PI3K, were highly expressed in the sclera tissues exposed to the red flashing light. Both CCN2 and TGF-β were found to have the same gene expression profile in vivo. In conclusion, our findings found that CCN2 signaling pathway plays an important role in the red flashing light-induced myopia in vivo. Moreover, our study establishes a useful animal model for experimental myopia research.

  16. Early optical emission from the gamma-ray burst of 4 October 2002.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, D W; Yost, S; Kulkarni, S R; Torii, K; Kato, T; Yamaoka, H; Sako, M; Harrison, F A; Sari, R; Price, P A; Berger, E; Soderberg, A M; Djorgovski, S G; Barth, A J; Pravdo, S H; Frail, D A; Gal-Yam, A; Lipkin, Y; Mauch, T; Harrison, C; Buttery, H

    2003-03-20

    Observations of the long-lived emission--or 'afterglow'--of long-duration gamma-ray bursts place them at cosmological distances, but the origin of these energetic explosions remains a mystery. Observations of optical emission contemporaneous with the burst of gamma-rays should provide insight into the details of the explosion, as well as into the structure of the surrounding environment. One bright optical flash was detected during a burst, but other efforts have produced negative results. Here we report the discovery of the optical counterpart of GRB021004 only 193 seconds after the event. The initial decline is unexpectedly slow and requires varying energy content in the gamma-ray burst blastwave over the course of the first hour. Further analysis of the X-ray and optical afterglow suggests additional energy variations over the first few days.

  17. Conjugate heat transfer effects on wall bubble nucleation in subcooled flashing flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, P.F.; Hijikata, K.

    1990-01-01

    A variety of models have been proposed to explain observations that large liquid superheat is required to initiate nucleation in flashing flows of subcooled liquids in nozzles, cracks and pipes. In such flows an abrupt change in the fluid temperature occurs downstream of the nucleating cavities. This paper examines the subcooling of the nucleating cavities due to conjugate heat transfer to the cold downstream fluid. This examination suggests a mechanism limiting the maximum active cavity size. Simple analysis shows that, of the total superheat required to initiate flashing, a substantial portion results from conjugate wall subcooling, which decreases the cavity vapor pressure. The specific case of flashing critical nozzle flow is examined in detail. Here boundary-layer laminarization due to the strong favorable pressure gradient aids the analysis of conjugate heat transfer

  18. Normal temporal binding window but no sound-induced flash illusion in people with one eye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moro, Stefania S; Steeves, Jennifer K E

    2018-04-19

    Integrating vision and hearing is an important way in which we process our rich sensory environment. Partial deprivation of the visual system from the loss of one eye early in life results in adaptive changes in the remaining senses (e.g., Hoover et al. in Exp Brain Res 216:565-74, 2012). The current study investigates whether losing one eye early in life impacts the temporal window in which audiovisual events are integrated and whether there is vulnerability to the sound-induced flash illusion. In Experiment 1, we measured the temporal binding window with a simultaneity judgement task where low-level auditory and visual stimuli were presented at different stimulus onset asynchronies. People with one eye did not differ in the width of their temporal binding window, but they took longer to make judgements compared to binocular viewing controls. In Experiment 2, we measured how many light flashes were perceived when a single flash was paired with multiple auditory beeps in close succession (sound induced flash illusion). Unlike controls, who perceived multiple light flashes with two, three or four beeps, people with one eye were not susceptible to the sound-induced flash illusion. In addition, they took no longer to respond compared to both binocular and monocular (eye-patched) viewing controls. Taken together, these results suggest that the lack of susceptibility to the sound-induced flash illusion in people with one eye cannot be accounted for by the width of the temporal binding window. These results provide evidence for adaptations in audiovisual integration due to the reduction of visual input from the loss of one eye early in life.

  19. Some design aspects of multistage flash distillation process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, Mohammad.

    1975-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the design variables of multistage flash (MSF) process on the performance and/or the cost of the desalting plant, and to establish certain design trends

  20. Are we observing Lorentz violation in gamma ray bursts?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavlopoulos, Theodore G.

    2005-01-01

    From recent observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), it appears that spectral time lags between higher-energy gamma rays photons and lower-energy photons vary with energy difference and time (distance) traveled. These lags appear to be smaller for the most luminous (close) bursts but larger for the fainter (farther away) bursts. From this observation, it has been suggested that it might be possible to determine the distance (L) these bursts have traveled from these time lags alone, without performing any red-shift measurements. These observed spreads (dispersion) of high-energy electromagnetic pulses of different energies with time contradict the special theory of relativity (STR). However, extended theories (ET) of the STR have been developed that contain a dispersive term, predicting the above observations. An example of such an ET is presented, allowing us to derive a relationship between time lags of gamma rays of different energies and distance L traveled from their origin. In addition, this theory predicts the origin of X-ray flashes