Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “BARIUM”

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

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

At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

Rocket-borne wave measurements in the dayside auroral oval

VLF and ELF waves were measured on two rocket payloads launched into the dayside auroral oval on Dec. 18, 1974, and on Jan. 11, 1975. The correlation of the VLF hiss intensity with the fluxes of precipitating electrons above 500 eV on short spatial and time scales was often poor, even when a positive slope existed in the electron phase space density. During the flight in 1975, distinct features were observed at the lower hybrid frequency; the frequency of this emission was used together with an independent density measurement to determine the relative concentration of O(+) to the heavier ions NO(+) and O2(+). It was found that the density of NO(+) or O2(+), which could not be distinguished, is enhanced over expected values between 150 and 400 km altitude. Broadband electrostatic and electromagnetic waves were observed after the barium-shaped charged explosion in 1975; the observed lowering of the auroral VLF hiss cutoff due to the barium is consistent with either ducting of VLF hiss emissions along the enhanced density duct produced by the barium or with local generation VLF hiss during the barium injection.

Temerin, M.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Infrared/submillimeter optical properties data base

The general goal was to build a data base containing optical properties, such as reflectance, transmittance, refractive index, in the far infrared to submillimeter wavelength region. This data base would be limited to selected crystalline materials and temperature between 300 and 2 K. The selected materials were: lithium, lead, and strontium; the bromides of potassium and thallium; the carbides of silicone and tungsten; and the materials of KRS5, KRS6, diamond, and sapphire. Last summer, barium fluoride was selected as prototype material for building the data base. This summer the literature search, preparation of the data for barium fluoride was completed. In addition the literature search for data related to the compounds mentioned was completed. The current status is that barium fluoride is in a form suitable for a NASA internal publication. The papers containing the data on the other materials were xeroxed and they are ready to be reduced. On the reverse side, the top figure is a sample combination of data for the index of refraction at 300 K. The lower figure shows the transmittance vs wavelength at 300 and 80 K. These figures are a sample of many which were developed. Since barium fluoride was studied more than most of the materials listed above, it is clear that additional measurements should be made to fill in the gaps present on both temperature and wavelength data.

Alley, Phillip W.↗
NASA NTRS1995

On Ba(+) production in the CRIT 2 experiment

Analysis of partical data from the CRIT 2 experiment, studying Alfven's critical ionization velocity (CIV) effect, shows that the density of newly created ions (presumably Ba(+) from the shaped-charge beam) is consistent with the increase in total plasma density measured by the independent RF plasma probe on board (Swenson et al., 1990) at the most active time period. We model this ion production using the measured electron flux data and the neutral barium model of Stenbaek-Nielsen et al. (1990a). To identify the main source mechanisms which may contribute most to the barium ionization, a simple model for the barium ion density at the payload location is developed based on Liouvilles theorem. We estimate that the electron impact ionization is responsible for 90% of the barium ion production observed by CRIT 2 in the first release and up to 45% in the second release. By employing a two-state approximation calculation (Rapp and Francis, 1962), the Ba-O(+) charge exchange cross section is found to range from about 2.0 X 10(exp -17) sq cm at a velocity of 4 km/s to 2.0 X 10(exp -15) sq cm at a velocity of 20 km/s. This result suggests that the Ba-O(+) charge exchange is probably dominant among all the non-CIV ionization processes. By considering the charge exchange process in our density model, the barrium ion densities are calculated for the two releases on CRIT II. The comparison between the model results and the observed data is found to be resonably consistent if the cross sections, as calculated above, are multiplied by 0.3 for the first release and 1.0 for the second release. Our result suggests that the charge exchange process could be the most important non-CIV ionization mechanism in the CRIT II experiment and it should be considered carefully case by case in CIV experiments.

Liou, K.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Active experiments in space in conjunction with Skylab

Two papers are presented which relate to the Skylab barium shaped charge experiments. The first describes the L=6.6 OOSIK barium plasma injection experiment and magnetic storm of March 7, 1972. Rocket payload, instrumentation, data reduction methods, geophysical environment at the time of the experiment, and results are given. The second paper presents the observation of an auroral Birkeland current which developed from the distortion of a barium plasma jet during the above experiment.

Wescott, E. M.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Laboratory studies of the diffuse reflectance spectra of frosts and minerals occurring on astronomical objects

A vacuum monochromator was integrated into the system and optics chosen to increase data collection in the infrared spectral region. Using a InSb detector, good reflectance data was obtained to 5.5 micron from a variety of samples including magnesium oxide, barium sulfate, water frost and Bloedite. Magnesium oxide was found to be a poorer reflector than the barium sulfate throughout the visible and near infrared region. The barium sulfate material was shown to be a Lambert reflector in the visible region and over an angular range of 60 deg. Several samples of water frost were prepared and in reflectance measured from 0.3 micron to 5.5 microm. The fine grained frosts were better reflectors than the coarse grained frosts, usually by 20 percent or more, over the entire spectral range. The minerals Bloedite and sulfur were also investigated further.

Glaser, F. M.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Primary Electric Propulsion Technology Study

An investigation of the 30-cm engineering-model-thruster technology with emphasis placed on the development of models for understanding and predicting the operational characteristics and wear-out mechanisms of the thruster as a function of operating or design parameters is presented. The task studies include: (1) the wear mechanisms and wear rates that determine the useful lifetime of the thruster discharge chamber; (2) cathode lifetime as determined by the depletion of barium from the barium-aluminate-impregnated-porous-tungsten insert that serves as a barium reservoir; (3) accelerator-grid-system technology; (4) a verification of the high-voltage propellant-flow-electrical-isolator design developed under NASA contract NAS3-20395 for operation at 10-kV applied voltage and 10-A equivalent propellant flow with mercury and argon propellants. A model was formulated for predicting performance.

Poeschel, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Neutral winds and electric fields in the dusk auroral oval. I - Measurements

Two rockets carrying an upleg and downleg trimethyl aluminum chemical trail release and three barium cannisters were launched from Poker Flat, Alaska on Feb. 28, 1978 and Mar. 2, 1978 in order to study neutral winds and electric fields in the dusk auroral oval. Electric field measurements were also made with a radar system to supplement the barium cloud data. The barium cloud drifts on both days showed intense poleward electric fields in the subauroral region. The drifts were nearly latitude-independent and were equivalent to electric fields of 60 mV/m of February 2 and 40 mV/m on March 2. The data indicate that the Lorentz force and Joule heating had a strong influence on the observed neutral winds.

Mikkelsen, I. S.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Collisionless coupling in the AMPTE artificial comet

Analysis of previously reported observations of the solar wind-barium interaction associated with the AMPTE artificial comet release of Dec. 27, 1984, is presented. On the basis of these results it is argued that solar wind couples momentum (and energy) to the barium ions through both laminar and turbulent processes. The laminar forces acting on the particles are the laminar electric and magnetic fields; the turbulent forces are associated with the intense electrostatic wave activity. This wave activity is shown to be caused by a cross-field solar wind proton-barium ion streaming instability. The observed wave frequencies and saturated amplitudes are consistent with the theoretical analysis.

Papadopoulos, K.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Non-solar UV produced ions observed optically from the 'Crit I' critical velocity ionization experiment

A critical velocity ionization experiment was carried out with a heavily instrumented rocket launched from Wallops Island on May 13, 1986. Two neutral barium beams were created by explosive shaped charges released from the rocket and detonated at 48 deg to B at altitudes near 400 km and below the solar UV cutoff. Critical velocity ionization was expected to form a detectable ion jet along the release field line, but, instead, an ion cloud of fairly uniform intensity was observed stretching from the release field line across to where the neutral barium jet reached sunlight. The process creating these ions must have been present from the time of the release; the efficiency is estimated to be equivalent to an ionization time constant of 1800 sec. This ionization is most likely from collisions between the neutral barium jet and the ambient atmospheric oxygen, and, if so, the cross section for collisional ionization is 9 x 10 to the -18th sq cm.

Stenbaek-Nielsen, H. C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Chemical-release mission of CRRES

The CRRES satellite was a dual-mission spacecraft to perform active experiments in the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere and to study the natural space environment and its effects on spacecraft electronics. The NASA chemical-release mission experiments were motivated by the need to address scientific questions in the areas of coupling between the ionosphere and magnetosphere, response of the magnetosphere system to injections of artificial ion clouds, and instabilities and structuring of the ionosphere in response to perturbations. The initial science results from the chemical-release experiments performed to date are (1) demonstration of critical velocity ionization over a narrow range of parameter space; (2) production of diamagnetic cavities by barium and lithium releases over a wide range of parameters; (3) demonstration of the chemical-release technique to study magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling; (4) modification of energetic electron distribution functions with barium injections; (5) stimulation of magnetospheric waves with barium injections; and (6) possible inducement of enhanced auroral activity.

Reasoner, David L.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Long-lived artificial ion clouds in the earth's ionosphere

In two barium releases made over the Caribbean during the summer of 1991, the ion cloud was observed to last more than 10 hours. Observations were made with a low light level TV imager and a TV spectrograph operated onboard a Russian research vessel conducting ionospheric research and participating in the NASA-CRRES mission. The two clouds were observed near the release region for 15 to 25 minutes during the twilight following the initial release. One of the releases was made during evening twilight and the ion cloud reappeared the following morning, while the other was a morning release and the late-time observations made the next evening. The observations are highly surprising since, generally, it has been assumed that the ion cloud would dissipate within a few hours. However, the long life time appears consistent with current knowledge about dissipative processes. The long lifetime of barium ion clouds may provide for the most sensitive experimental testing of ionospheric convection models, a possibility with clear implications for future barium release experiments.

Milinevskij, G. P.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Composition variations in pulsed-laser-deposited Y-Ba-Cu-O thin films as a function of deposition parameters

The composition of pulsed-ultraviolet-laser-deposited Y-Ba-Cu-O films was examined as a function of position across the substrate, laser fluence, laser spot size, substrate temperature, target conditioning, oxygen pressure and target-substrate distance. Laser fluence, laser spot size, and substrate temperature were found to have little effect on composition within the range investigated. Ablation from a fresh target surface results in films enriched in copper and barium, both of which decrease in concentration until a steady state condition is achieved. Oxygen pressure and target-substrate distance have a significant effect on film composition. In vacuum, copper and barium are slightly concentrated at the center of deposition. With the introduction of an oxygen background pressure, scattering results in copper and barium depletion in the deposition center, an effect which increases with increasing target-substrate distance. A balancing of these two effects results in stoichiometric deposition.

Foote, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Boronate affinity adsorption of RNA: possible role of conformational changes

Batch equilibrium adsorption isotherm determination is used to characterize the adsorption of mixed yeast RNA on agarose-immobilized m-aminophenylboronic acid. It is shown that the affinity-enhancing influence of divalent cations depends strongly on the precise nature of the cation used, with barium being far more effective than the conventionally-used magnesium. This adsorption-promoting influence of barium is suggested to arise primarily from ionic influences on the structure and rigidity of the RNA molecule, as the adsorption of ribose-based small molecules is not similarly affected. The substitution of barium for the standard magnesium counterion does not greatly promote the adsorption of DNA, implying that the effect is specific to RNA and may be useful in boronate-based RNA separations. RNA adsorption isotherms exhibit sharp transitions as functions of temperature, and these transitions occur at different temperatures with Mg2+ and with Ba2+. Adsorption affinity and capacity were found to increase markedly at lower temperatures, suggestive of an enthalpically favored interaction process. The stoichiometric displacement parameter, Z, in Ba2+ buffer is three times the value in Mg2+ buffer, and is close to unity.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗
NASA NTRS2005

Stable Isotope Characteristics of Jarosite: The Acidic Aqueous History of Mars

The Mars Rover Opportunity found jarosite (Na(+) or K(+))Fe3SO4(OH)6 at the Meridiani Planum site. This mineral forms from the evaporation of an aqueous acidic sulfate brine. Oxygen isotope compositions may characterize formation conditions but subsequent isotope exchange may have occurred between the sulfate and hydroxide of jarosite and water. The rate of oxygen isotope exchange depends on the acidity and temperature of the brine, but it has not been investigated in detail. We performed laboratory experiments to determine the rate of oxygen isotope exchange under varying acidities and temperatures to learn more about this process. Barium sulfate samples were precipitated weekly from acidic sodium sulfate brines. The oxygen isotope composition of the precipitated sulfate was obtained using a Finnigan MAT253 Isotope Ratio Mass-Spectrometer. The results show that water was trapped in barium sulfate during precipitation. Trapped water may exchange with sulfate when exposed to high temperatures, thus changing the isotope composition of sulfate and the observed fractionation factor of oxygen isotope exchange between sulfate and water. The results of our research will contribute to the understanding of oxygen isotope exchange rates between water and sulfate under acidic conditions and provide experimental knowledge for the dehydration of barium sulfate samples.

Earl, Lyndsey D.↗
NASA NTRS1995

The statolith compartment in Chara rhizoids contains carbohydrate and protein

In contrast to higher plants, the alga Chara has rhizoids with single membrane-bound compartments that function as statoliths in gravity perception. Previous work has demonstrated that these statoliths contain barium sulfate crystals. In this study, we show that statoliths in Chara rhizoids react with a Coomassie Brilliant Blue cytochemical stain for proteins. While statoliths did not react with silver methenamine carbohydrate cytochemistry, the monoclonal antibody CCRC-M2, which is against a carbohydrate (sycamore-maple rhamnogalacturonan I), labeled the statolith compartment. These results demonstrate that in addition to barium sulfate, statoliths in Chara rhizoids have an organic matrix that consists of protein and carbohydrate moieties. Since the statoliths were silver methenamine negative, the carbohydrate in this compartment could be a 3-linked polysaccharide. CCRC-M2 also labeled Golgi cisternae, Golgi-associated vesicles, apical vesicles, and cell walls in the rhizoids. The specificity of CCRC-M2 immunolabeling was verified by several control experiments, including the demonstration that labeling was abolished when the antibody was preabsorbed with its antigen. Since in this and a previous study (John Z. Kiss and L. Andrew Staehelin, American Journal of Botany 80: 273-282, 1993) antibodies against higher plant carbohydrates crossreacted with cell walls of Chara in a specific manner, Characean algae may be a useful model system in biochemical and molecular studies of cell walls.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
NASA NTRS1972

Two successful geomagnetic-field-line tracing experiments.

Two field-line tracing experiments were conducted on an L = 1.26 magnetic flux tube over Kauai, Hawaii. Barium vapor was created by the detonation of a highly explosive shaped charge aligned with the geomagnetic field at a 467-km altitude. Barium ions traveled along the field line to the conjugate ionosphere in a tube 3 to 5 km in diameter, producing a visible streak along the entire 6900-km path length. Electric fields perpendicular to the magnetic field caused the ions to drift away from the true conjugate during transit, but extrapolation from subsequent ion drift rates allowed the conjugate to be identified and compared with several field models. Differing ion drift rates and directions at the conjugate points indicated that the electric field is not transferred unattenuated along field lines.

Wescott, E. M.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Electric fields in the ionosphere and magnetosphere.

Review of current techniques for measuring ionospheric and magnetospheric electric fields and existing measurements. Considerable progress in understanding electric fields has been made in the auroral regions where fields originating basically from convection patterns in the magnetosphere and modified by ionospheric interaction have been detected by both the barium ion cloud and double floating probe techniques and have been compared against predictions. The anticorrelation of electric fields and auroral arcs, the establishment of the auroral electrojet currents as Hall currents, the irregular nature of the electric fields, and the reversal of the electric fields between the eastward and westward electrojet regions have been some of the important observations. Recent barium ion cloud observations in the polar cap have indicated that the long assumed electrojet return current across the polar cap does not exist.

Maynard, N. C.↗