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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.

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At least 415 records · Page 23

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NASA NTRS1977

Modulation of Jovian electron intensity in interplanetary space by corotating interaction regions

Large-scale intensity variations of Jovian electrons in the energy range from 3 to 6 MeV persisting for several days were observed with instrumentation on the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 spacecraft out to several AU from Jupiter along the pre- and post-planetary encounter trajectories. The corotating interaction regions (CIRs), found by Smith and Wolfe (1976) on these missions to be approximately 25-day recurring regions of enhanced magnetic fields bounded by jumps in solar-wind velocity and frequently shocks, are shown to be impenetrable 'barriers' for the Jovian electrons propagating in the interplanetary medium. Thus, the principal electron-intensity variations are due to the modulating effects of CIRs and are not due to either variations in escape rate of electrons from the magnetosphere or interplanetary electron acceleration. The implications for electron observations at the orbit of earth are discussed.

Conlon, T. F.↗

NASA NTRS1977

A hollow cathode hydrogen ion source

High current density ion sources have been used to heat plasmas in controlled thermonuclear reaction experiments. High beam currents imply relatively high emission currents from cathodes which have generally taken the form of tungsten filaments. This paper describes a hydrogen ion source which was primarily developed to assess the emission current capability and design requirements for hollow cathodes for application in neutral injection devices. The hydrogen source produced ions by electron bombardment via a single hollow cathode. Source design followed mercury ion thruster technology, using a weak magnetic field to enhance ionization efficiency. A 1.3-cm-diam hollow cathode using a low work function material dispenser performed satisfactorily over a discharge current range of 10-90 A. Cylindrical probe measurements taken without ion extraction indicate maximum ion number densities on the order of 10 trillion/cu cm. Discharge durations ranged from 30 sec to continuous operation. Tests with beam extraction at 2.5 keV and 30 A discharge current yield average ion beam current densities of 0.1 A/sq cm over a 5-cm extraction diameter. Results of this study can be used to supply the baseline information needed to scale hollow cathodes for operation at discharge currents of hundreds of amperes using distributed cathodes.

Sovey, J. S.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Critical currents in A-15 structure Nb3Al converted from cold-worked bcc structure

The paper considers critical currents in A-15 structure Nb3Al converted from a cold-worked bcc structure. Nb3Al prepared in the ductile phase by quenching and mechanical working followed by conversion to the A-15 structure could carry currents above 10 to the 9th power A/sq m in fields near 20 T. These critical currents are comparable to those of Nb3Ge and V3Ga which are closest competing materials for use in high fields; further enhancement of the critical current is possible if thermal treatments are optimized.

Woollam, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Sensors for Precise Tracking

Sun-sensor optical system uses four pairs of pentaprisms to simplify alinement and reduce mechanical-stability requirements. Cross-shaped windows in field stop enhance sensitivity of signal detectors to changes in angular position. Two virtual images viewed by telescopes mark position and orientation of occulter panel. Reflector vertex, point source and corresponding virtual image are all equally spaced along a straight line.

Zehnpfenning, T. F.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The initialization of a mesoscale weather prediction model using satellite and precipitation data

An analysis and initialization procedure was developed capable of utilizing mesoscale satellite and radar data to resolve features in moisture and momentum fields on a finer scale than is discernible from radiosonde observation networks. The radiosonde moisture field is enhanced, using infrared satellite imagery and precipitation data from the surface observation network (also obtainable from the radar network) while the observed mesoscale rainfall rates are also used to define the initial divergent wind component. Results show that the predicted rainfall amounts are significantly improved when these additional data are taken into account.

Tarbell, T. C.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Pioneer and Voyager observations of Forbush decreases between 6 and 24 AU

A detailed phenomenological description of deep space Forbush decreases is given, using Voyager and Pioneer data. The transient reduction in cosmic ray intensity can be produced by (1) reflection at the shock front; (2) increased modulation associated with the disturbed region behind the shock; (3) a barrier mechanism involving large-scale tangential discontinuities; or (4) particle drifts in the enhanced magnetic field by the post-shock region. The presence of a well-defined precursor peak clearly indicates that particle reflection is important. Forbush decreases appear to be an important component in the long-term modulation.

Mcdonald, F. B.↗

NASA NTRS1982

The effect of corotating interaction regions on the propagation of relativistic cosmic rays in the heliosphere

This paper questions the validity of modulation theories that ignore the presence of large regions of enhanced magnetic field in the heliosphere. The scatter-free and diffusive motion of relativistic cosmic rays is simulated in models of the heliospheric magnetic field, which include compressed field structures representing the corotating interaction regions that are believed to be present in the interplanetary medium throughout most of the solar cycle. It is found that the strong field gradients associated with these regions greatly perturb the drift pattern anticipated for simple Parkerian fields, and thus the expected streaming of cosmic rays from over the poles or along the current sheet, during consecutive solar cycles, no longer holds.

Thomas, B. T.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Particle and field characteristics of the high-latitude plasma sheet boundary layer

Particle and field data obtained by eight ISEE spacecraft experiments are used to define more precisely the characteristics of the high-latitude boundary region of the plasma sheet. A region immediately adjacent to the high-latitude plasma sheet boundary has particle and field characteristics distinctly different from those observed in the lobe and deeper in the central plasma sheet. Electrons over a broad energy interval are 'field-aligned' and bidirectional, whereas in the plasma sheet the distributions are more isotropic. The region supports intense ion flows, large-amplitude electric fields, and enhanced broad-band electrostatic noise.

Parks, G. K.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Observations of steady anomalous magnetic heating in thin current sheets

The Hard X-ray Imaging Spectrometer of the Solar Maximum Mission has yielded observations of a faint, steadily emitting loop-like structure, which have allowed the thermal evolution of this loop over a period of about 15 hr to be followed. Only 0.1 percent of the volume of the loop appears to be steadily heated, at the large rate of 0.6 erg/cu cm sec; this suggests that the heating represents the dissipation of magnetic fields in thin current sheets. Ion-kinetic tearing, as proposed by Galeev et al. (1981), is noted to be especially consonant with these observations. The source of the present X-ray emission is identified with the H-alpha filament in the same region. The present findings are held to constitute the first direct evidence for the steady dissipation of coronal magnetic fields via enhanced thin current sheet resistivity.

Martens, P. C. H.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Superconducting magnet

Extensive computer based engineering design effort resulted in optimization of a superconducting magnet design with an average bulk current density of approximately 12KA/cm(2). Twisted, stranded 0.0045 inch diameter NbTi superconductor in a copper matrix was selected. Winding the coil from this bundle facilitated uniform winding of the small diameter wire. Test coils were wound using a first lot of the wire. The actual packing density was measured from these. Interwinding voltage break down tests on the test coils indicated the need for adjustment of the wire insulation on the lot of wire subsequently ordered for construction of the delivered superconducting magnet. Using the actual packing densities from the test coils, a final magnet design, with the required enhancement and field profile, was generated. All mechanical and thermal design parameters were then also fixed. The superconducting magnet was then fabricated and tested. The first test was made with the magnet immersed in liquid helium at 4.2K. The second test was conducted at 2K in vacuum. In the latter test, the magnet was conduction cooled from the mounting flange end.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1987

Studies of the interplanetary magnetic field: IMP's to Voyager

During the last two decades, spacecraft projects and individual experiments for which Frank McDonald was a leader have contributed very significantly to the current understanding of the structure of interplanetary space and the correlation between solar and interplanetary disturbances. Studies on the IMP, HELIOS, and Pioneer spin-stabilized spacecraft and the larger attitude-stabilized Voyager spacecraft have provided data sets from which the modern view of the heliosphere has evolved. That concept in which the inner solar system is shown to be dominated by individual streams associated with specific source regions on the Sun is illustrated. As these high-speed streams overtake the preexisting solar plasma, they coalesce and modify the characteristics so that at larger heliocentric distances, these disturbances appear as radially propagating concentric shells of compressed magnetic fields and enhanced fluctuations

Ness, Norman F.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Electromagnetic ion beam instabilities - Comparison of oneand two-dimensional simulations

Numerical simulations of electromagnetic instabilities, driven by a cool tenuous ion beam propagating along an ambient magnetic field, have been conducted in one and two spatial dimensions. The calculations employ particle ions, fluid electrons, and a predictor corrector scheme for solving the electromagnetic field in two dimensions that is described in some detail. While the principal features of the one-dimensional calculations (which reproduce previous work) are retained, the two-dimensional simulations show some reduction of the overall level of the magnetic field fluctuations. Enhancement of the heating of the beam ions at the expense of the core ions also occurs in the case where the beam density is sufficiently large that the right-hand nonresonant instability dominates. Implications of the results for modeling of the ion foreshock and quasi-parallel shocks are discussed.

Winske, D.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Viscous pumping and the spin-down of thermospheric gyres and jets

Strong gyres and jets can be generated at auroral latitudes in the thermosphere by enhanced electric fields during geomagnetic substorms. Typical height profiles of ion density suggest that the ion drag force should generate large curvature in the vertical profile of the winds in the highly viscous region of the thermosphere above about 200 km. It is proposed that the poststorm spin-down of these gyres and jets proceeds via Ekman circulations driven by the curvatures in the height profiles of the winds. Analytic and numerical calculations of the ageostrophic winds forced by curvature in model geostrophic wind profiles show that the ageostrophic wind speeds and directions depend mainly on the kinematic viscosity in the region of curvature and the total change in shear in the geostrophic wind. Ageostrophic wind speeds for typical thermospheric jets can exceed 200 m/s (about 50 percent of the jet winds). Spin-down times of thermospheric jets and cyclonic gyres by the Ekman pumping mechanism are estimated at less than about 6 hours.

Walterscheid, R. L.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Pioneer 10 and 11 observations of waves upstream of interplanetary corotating shocks

An extended region of enhanced magnetic field fluctuations is found upstream of some of the corotating shocks observed by Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 between 1 and 5 AU. This perturbed region is present when the corotating shock, generally quasi-perpendicular, becomes oblique or quasi-parallel due to a temporary out-of-spiral direction of the upstream magnetic field. The observed waves are almost not compressional. Their amplitude is a large fraction of the ambient field, and their frequency is around 1 mHz in the spacecraft frame. A brief discussion of the possible mechanisms of generation is given.

Bavassano, Bruno↗

NASA NTRS1987

A possible energy source to power stable auroral red arcs - Precipitating electrons

Results of coincident measurements by ground-based photometers and the low-altitude plasma instrument on board the Dynamics Explorer 2 satellite are presented that demonstrate the association of precipitating low-energy electrons with stable auroral red (SAR) arcs. A search of available data has yielded 23 instances of DE 2 overflights during the presence of SAR arcs being monitored by the photometers. For each case, downward fluxes of electrons are found to be enhanced along field lines penetrating the arcs in relation to regions both north and south of the features. Modeling of the atmospheric response to these influxes indicates that these electrons can represent a major source of the energy required to establish temperature profiles within the ionospheric electron gas that are sufficient to produce the recorded 6300-A emission rates. The sensitivity of these results to uncertainties of the assumed spacecraft potential and thermospheric composition has been investigated and found to be important, but does not alter the conclusion that precipitating electrons are a fundamental link in the production of SAR arcs.

Slater, D. W.↗

NASA NTRS1987

The diffuse interstellar features at 5780 and 5797 A in star-formation regions

Substantially reddened stars on the Rho Oph and T Cha clouds, as well as individual hot stars associated with nebulosity in the 5780, 5797 A diffuse interstellar line region, have been observed. 5780 A is found to be generally weak, except in Z CMa and stars SR 3 and SR 5 in the Rho Oph cloud. The line at 5797 A is weak relative to 5780 A in all of the program stars. The suggestion by others that 5780 and 5797 A are due to different sources is confirmed. Finally, the implications of the weakness of these bands in regions of high gas and dust density, as well as an enhanced radiation field due to the presence of recently formed stars, are discussed.

Wallerstein, George↗

NASA NTRS1988

Influence of high and low gravity on convection around growing crystals

Crystals growing from solution lead to changes in solution concentration which normally lead to convection in a gravitational field. This enhances local supersaturation and changes the growth rate and shape of the crystal. Experiments are described where velocity is enhanced by moving the crystal through the solution, and reduced to low values by performing the growth experiments in the low g environment of a KC-135 aircraft parabola. Differences of refractive index enable the convection to be viewed in an optical system. Results show the importance of even low convection on growth, and the ultimate composition and habit of the crystal.

Hallett, J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Simultaneous observations of coronal bright points in X-ray and radio wavelengths

We present a first explicit comparison of coronal bright points in soft X-ray and radio wavelengths, using the Soft X-ray Telescope aboard the Yohkoh spacecraft and the Very Large Array. About half of the 33 compact sources identified in a 20-cm full-disk map appear as X-ray bright points in the X-ray data. The other half apparently corresponds to unipolar regions with enhanced magnetic fields. Thus, the identification of radio bright points alone cannot reliably serve as a proxy for X-ray bright points. A preliminary analysis reveals that bright points commonly observed at 20 cm and in X-rays have temperatures of (1.4-2.9) x 10 exp 6 K and emission measures of (0.4-2.5) x 10 exp 45/cu cm. The observed brightness temperatures at 20 cm (1-2.5) x 10 exp 5 K can be explained in terms of optically thin free-free emission from a plasma with these parameters.

Nitta, Nariaki↗