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Thin allyl amine polymer films were developed using plasma polymerization. Resulting dry composite membranes effectively reject sodium chloride during reverse osmosis. Films are 98% sodium chloride rejective, and 46% urea rejective.
Measurements of electron density, plasma potential, and mean ion mass from the Explorer 31 satellite, and measurements of ion current, plasma potential, and ion composition from the Atmosphere Explorer C satellite were used in a comparative study with Parker's theory regarding the charged particle distribution in the near wake of an ionospheric satellite (1976). It is shown that theory and experiment agree fairly well in the angle-of-attack range between 90 and 135 deg. In the maximum rarefaction zone (between 145 and 180 deg), however, the theoretical model overestimates the measured ion depletion by several orders of magnitude. A comparison between theory and the Explorer 31 electron measurements shows that the theory again overestimates the electron depletion. These discrepancies are mainly due to the use of a steady-state theory and a single ion equation (using a mean ion mass). Improved agreement between theory and experiment can be obtained by the use of the time-dependent Vlasov-Poisson equations with separate equations for the various ion species.
The extraordinary connection between the compositions of the surfaces of the satellites and ring particles and the composition of the magnetospheric plasmas in which they are embedded is examined. What may be even more exciting is this connection is being developed and understood via a combination of laboratory and satellite measurements. This interaction has stimulated new research on radiation effects in materials which will be technologically useful. Laboratory measurements have begun to characterize the changes induced in ice by ion and electron bombardment. Most attention was paid to measurements of the atoms and molecules ejected via ion bombardment, but work was initiated on changes in the spectral character of the ice. Recent results on CH4 and mixtures of HZO and CH4 indicate that a considerable amount of chemistry is induced in such ices via bombardment.
The planetary nebula NGC 6537 appears to be an irregular bipolar object. Conventional procedures have been employed to observe the spectrum of NGC 6537 with the image dissector scanner at the Lick 3-m telescope. Both red- and green-sensitive tubes were employed in order to cover the spectrum from the practical UV limit near lambda 3300 A to the near-infrared limit near lambda 8600 A. The instrumental response function was determined on the basis of the observation of suitable comparison stars. On Oct. 23, 1984, observations with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) were obtained. A table containing the optical region spectrum of NGC 6537 is presented along with a table providing the UV fluxes, a table listing the ionic concentrations, and a table with data describing the chemical composition of NGC 6537. Attention is given to theoretical models and the determination of the nebular chemical composition, and aspects of plasma diagnostics.
The role of the IUE in the study of planetary nebulae (PN) is discussed as well as extinction, the central star and nebular spectra, plasma diagnostics, the chemical compositions of PN, and nebular models. Some information on the spatial distribution of C(2+) or C(3+) ions may be acquired for extended PN from IUE data, making it possible to probe ionization zones different from those observable in the visual region. For high resolution pertaining to filamentary structure and clumpiness, optical region images and data obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope are needed.
Data obtained with an image-tube scanner at the 3-m Shane telescope are combined with IUE data to obtain plasma diagnostics and chemical compositions for two planetary nebulae of moderately high excitation. Theoretical nebular models were calculated using stellar fluxes given by Husfeld et al. (1984) for T(asterisk) = 85,000 K, log g = 4.72, and elemental abundances were obtained by fitting theoretical to observed line intensities and also by using the model to determine ionization correction factors to be applied to observed ionic concentrations. Although C appears to be about 1.5 times as abundant in NGC 6644 as in NGC 6565, N, O, Ne, S, Cl, and Ar are depleted by factors ranging from 2 to 6 in NGC 6644 as compared to NGC 6565. The high-velocity object, NGC 6644, was evidently made from a less metal-rich mixture than the sun.
Observational data on the structure of the earth magnetotail are summarized and discussed, with reference to theoretical models. Particular attention is given to the interplanetary control of the tail, the magnetic-field structure, the plasma-sheet boundary layer, the magnetotail plasma parameters, the chemical composition of the tail, and the evidence indicating that a steady-state magnetotail cannot exist. Extensive diagrams and graphs are provided.
Ambient solar atmospheric abundances derived from gamma-ray spectroscopy are compared with observations of solar energetic particles. Agreement is found between the gamma-ray-derived Ne/O ratio and the corresponding mean ratio for He-3-rich flares. Both of these values are significantly higher than inferred coronal Ne/O ratios. It is suggested that the mean Ne/O ratio in He-3-rich flares reflects the composition of the flare plasma rather than the acceleration process.
The morphology and properties of the Variable Polarity Plasma Arc (VPPA) weld composite zone are intimately related to the physical processes associated with the keyhole. The effects of microsegregation and transient weld stress on macrosegregation in the weld tool are examined. In addition the electrical character of straight and reverse polarity portions of the arc cycle were characterized. The results of the former study indicate that alloy 2219 is weldable because large liquid volumes are available during latter stages of weld solidification. Strains in the pool region, acting in conjunction with weld microsegregation can produce macrosegregation great enough to produce radiographic contrast effects in welds. Mechanisms of surface copper enrichment were identified. The latter study has demonstrated that increased heat is delivered to workpieces if the reverse polarity proportion of the weld cycle is increased. Current in the straight polarity portion of the welding cycle increased as the reverse cycle proportion increased. Voltage during reverse polarity segments is large.
The multi-ion, multi-event study of ion cyclotron resonance heating was funded to study ion energization through ion cyclotron resonance with low frequency broadband electromagnetic turbulence. The initial work on the ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) of oxygen ions was presented in Crew et al. Crew and his co-authors developed a two-parameter representation of selected oxygen conic distributions and modeled the conic formation in terms of resonance heating. The first year seeks to extend the work of Crew and his co-authors by testing the applicability of the ICRH mechanism to helium ion conic distributions, using data obtained from the Energetic Ion Composition Spectrometer and the Plasma Wave Instrument on Dynamics Explorer 1.
The multi-ion, multi-event study of ion cyclotron resonance heating has been funded to study ion energization through ion cyclotron resonance with low frequency broadband electromagnetic turbulence. The modeling algorithm for the ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) of oxygen ions was presented in Crew et al. (1990). Crew and his co-authors developed a two-parameter representation of selected oxygen conic distributions and modelled the conic formation in terms of resonance heating. The first year of this study seeks to extend the work of Crew and his co-authors by testing the applicability of the ICRH mechanism to helium ion conic distributions, using data obtained from the Energetic Ion Composition Spectrometer and the Plasma Wave Instrument on Dynamics Explorer 1.
Modeling of the topside ionosphere has for the most part relied on just a few years of data from topside sounder satellites. The widely used Bent et al. (1972) model, for example, is based on only 50,000 Alouette 1 profiles. The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) (Bilitza, 1990, 2001) uses an analytical description of the graphs and tables provided by Bent et al. (1972). The Alouette 1, 2 and ISIS 1, 2 topside sounder satellites of the sixties and seventies were ahead of their times in terms of the sheer volume of data obtained and in terms of the computer and software requirements for data analysis. As a result, only a small percentage of the collected topside ionograms was converted into electron density profiles. Recently, a NASA-funded data restoration project has undertaken and is continuing the process of digitizing the Alouette/ISIS ionograms from the analog 7-track tapes. Our project involves the automated processing of these digital ionograms into electron density profiles. The project accomplished a set of important goals that will have a major impact on understanding and modeling of the topside ionosphere: (1) The TOPside Ionogram Scaling and True height inversion (TOPIST) software was developed for the automated scaling and inversion of topside ionograms. (2) The TOPIST software was applied to the over 300,000 ISIS-2 topside ionograms that had been digitized in the fkamework of a separate AISRP project (PI: R.F. Benson). (3) The new TOPIST-produced database of global electron density profiles for the topside ionosphere were made publicly available through NASA s National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) ftp archive at . (4) Earlier Alouette 1,2 and ISIS 1, 2 data sets of electron density profiles from manual scaling of selected sets of ionograms were converted fiom a highly-compressed binary format into a user-friendly ASCII format and made publicly available through nssdcftp.gsfc.nasa.gov. The new database for the topside ionosphere established as a result of this project, has stimulated a multitude of new studies directed towards a better description and prediction of the topside ionosphere. Marinov et al. (2004) developed a new model for the upper ion transition height (Oxygen to Hydrogen and Helium) and Bilitza (2004) deduced a correction term for the I N topside electron density model. Kutiev et al. (2005) used this data to develop a new model for the topside ionosphere scale height (TISH) as a function of month, local time, latitude, longitude and solar flux F10.7. Comparisons by Belehaki et al. (2005) show that TISH is in general agreement with scale heights deduced from ground ionosondes but the model predicts post-midnight and afternoon maxima whereas the ionosonde data show a noon maximum. Webb and Benson (2005) reported on their effort to deduce changes in the plasma temperature and ion composition from changes in the topside electron density profile as recorded by topside sounders. Limitations and possible improvements of the IRI topside model were discussed by Coisson et al. (2005) including also the possible use of the NeQuick model, Our project progressed in close collaboration and coordination with the GSFC team involved in the ISIS digitization effort. The digitization project was highly successful producing a large amount of digital topside ionograms. Several no-cost extensions of the TOPIST project were necessary to keep up with the pace and volume of the digitization effort.
In late February 1999 the ACE spacecraft observed a coronal mass ejection (CME) at 1 AU, in the ecliptic plane. Thirteen days later, Ulysses observed a CME at 5 AU and 22"s. We present a detailed analysis of the plasma, magnetic field, and composition signatures of these two events. On the basis of this comparison alone, it is not clear that the two spacecraft observed the same solar event. However, using a generic MHD simulation of a fast CME initiated at the Sun by magnetic flux cancellation and propagated out into the solar wind, together with additional evidence, we argue that indeed the same CME was observed by both spacecraft. Although force-free models appear to fit the observed events well, our simulation results suggest that the ejecta underwent significant distortion during its passage through the solar wind, indicating that care should be taken when interpreting the results of force-he models. Comparison of composition measurements at the two spacecraft suggests that significant spatial inhomogeneities can exist within a single CME.
Pickup ions have been observed in Saturn's rotating magnetosphere near Titan by the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) instrument during the Cassini orbiter's recent flybys of the moon. A preliminary analysis of the CAPS Time of Flight (TOF) spectra of the pickup ions observed during the TA flyby indicated the presence of H(+), H2(+), N(+)/CH2(+), CH4(+), and N2(+). These ions slow down Saturn's magnetospheric plasma beyond Titan's ionosphere through mass loading. Because of its relatively high mass and high concentration, CH4(+) is the dominant mass loading ion. The other ions make negligible contributions to the mass loading process except for N2(+) just above the ionopause, where its concentration becomes important. With the exception of CH2(+), the pickup ion sources are the neutral exosphere constituents H, H2, N, CH4, and N2, where CH2 is a fragment of the parents CH4 and CH4(+). A more detailed analysis of CAPS TOF spectra and empirical cracking patterns is carried out to determine the relative concentrations of N(+) and CH2(+). Although, the 28 amu ion was identified as N2(+), consistent with the dominance of its neutral source, N2, just above the ionopause, the ionospheric ion HCNH(+) may also be present. The possible leakage of this and other ionospheric ions such as CH5(+) into the pickup ion /mass loading region is also examined by further analysis of the corresponding TOF spectra.
The paper deals with the question of the composition and spatial distribution of water group plasma in the magnetosphere of Saturn. It is suggested that the problem of the coexistence of neutral atomic hydrogen and such a plasma can be resolved if the dominant ion is taken to be H2O(+) or H3O(+). It is also suggested that this ion may provide a means of radiative cooling of the inner magnetosphere plasma which is possibly easier to realize than transport of nitrogen from Titan. As a source for this plasma in the region inward of the icy satellites, the ring atmosphere is suggested. The depleted plasma density in the domain between the Dione-Tethys torus and the ring plane crossing of Voyager may provide an explanation for the survival of the E-ring. Data are presented which indicate that H2O(+) or H3O(+) is also a favored candidate in the outer magnetosphere and that it can diffuse without loss through the hot electron gas.
The Galileo Mission's plasma instrumentation package encompasses a nested set of four spherical-plate electrostatic analyzers and three miniature magnetic mass spectrometers which identify the composition of the positive ion plasmas; the spectrometers' energy range is species-dependent. Two instrument microprocessors allow in-flight implementation of operational modes by ground command that are tailored for such specific regimes as the magnetosheath and the plasma sheet of the environs of Jupiter. Observational objectives include field-aligned currents, 3D ion bulk flows, Galilean satellite pickup ions, and the spatial distributions of plasmas.
Burke and Franklin (1955) discovered radio emissions from Jupiter at 22.2 MHz. Subsequent observations established the strong control of the decametric emissions by the satellite Io. The Voyager encounters with Jupiter in 1979 have resulted in a dramatic increase in detailed knowledge of the plasma properties of the Jovian magnetosphere. The Io plasma torus is discussed, taking into account the Voyager plasma science experiment, positive-ion temperatures in the torus, electron distribution functions in the torus, elementary-charge concentrations in the torus, positive-ion composition in the torus, and plasma velocities in the torus. The Io flux tube is considered along with the middle magnetosphere and the outer magnetosphere. Attention is given to the sources of plasma, aspects of diffusive transport, questions of inertial loading, and the existence of nonazimuthal flow velocities in the middle magnetosphere.
The effects of inserting a spherical conducting model, large in comparison with the Debye length, into a free streaming high-energy 1 kV) unmagnetized hydrogen plasma are investigated in order to measure energies and compositions directly relevant to solar wind and astrophysical plasma phenomena. Holding the incident plasma parameters constant, transverse profiles of the net Langmuir probe current are plotted at various locations downstream in the model wake and are divided into three regions (the shadow, transition, and boundary). Results attributable to the use of a high-energy plasma show that enhancements in the shadow exist at downstream locations where the Mach ratio is less than one, and turbulence exists in the transition region on the shadow edges and outside in the boundary region. In addition, a small current enhancement is found in the boundary and can be attributed to the plasma/model interaction. It is concluded that many similar features observed by spacecraft downstream from planetary bodies are relatively permanent and are due to the intrinsic nature of the interaction between the solar wind plasma and the obstacle.