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An explanation is presented of the function of each dense subroutine in the FORMA library. Example problems are given in some cases to clarify the operations performed by a subroutine.
An explanation of the function of each sparse subroutine in the FORMA library is presented. Example problems are given in some cases to clarify the operations performed by a subroutine.
An explanation is presented of the function of each finite element subroutine in the FORMA library. Example problems are given in some cases to clarify the operations performed by a subroutine.
The task of time estimation, an activity occasionally performed by pilots during actual flight, was investigated with the objective of providing human factors investigators with an unobtrusive and minimally loading additional task that is sensitive to differences in flying conditions and flight instrumentation associated with the main task of piloting an aircraft simulator. Previous research indicated that the duration and consistency of time estimates is associated with the cognitive, perceptual, and motor loads imposed by concurrent simple tasks. The relationships between the length and variability of time estimates and concurrent task variables under a more complex situation involving simulated flight were clarified. The wrap-around effect with respect to baseline duration, a consequence of mode switching at intermediate levels of concurrent task distraction, should contribute substantially to estimate variability and have a complex effect on the shape of the resulting distribution of estimates.
The density profiles of stratospheric minor constituents are compiled from several one-dimensional theoretical models that have appeared in the literature. The models are compared with each other and also with observations if data are available. The similarity and disparity of the models are clarified and discussed. If a large difference exists among the models, attempts are made to interpret it as much as possible in terms of the physical and chemical data employed in each model. The inadequacy of one-dimensional models in calculating the realistic ozone density distributions and the problems related to it are briefly discussed.
The star system, 13 Ceti, consists of a short-period visual binary whose primary is itself a single-line spectroscopic binary. Currently existing data regarding the considered stellar system are examined, taking into account certain discrepancies. It is pointed out that the spectral type of the combined light of the system complicates any attempt to explain the observed overluminosity in terms of stellar evolution. Additional studies are recommended to clarify remaining questions concerning the characteristics of the stellar system.
A simple experiment is described in which chaff was injected into the updraft region of individual clear-air convective cells in order to clarify characteristics of such convective elements. The chaff was dispensed automatically by a small radio-controlled drone aircraft and also by hand from the ground. It is found that clear-air convective cells are roughly spherical in form, that rapid mixing occurs within a cell, and that little mixing occurs between adjacent cells. Some suggestions are offered for future work in the tracing of air motions arising from the ground.
Based on the two dimensional theory of elasticity and by the use of Muskhelishvili's technique, the influence of a circular hole, under uniform normal pressure, on the stresses around a line crack in an infinite plate subjected to tension is discussed. Numerical calculations were carried out, and the variation of the crack tip stress intensity factor due to the geometry was clarified.
Foaming is of great practical and theoretical significance for volcanic processes on the earth, the moon, and perhaps the meteorite parent bodies. The theory of foams agrees with steelmaking experience to indicate that their presence depends on the existence of solutes in the lavas which reduce the surface tension, and are not saturated. These solutes concentrate at the surface, and are called surfactants. The surfactant responsible for the formation of volcanic ash was not identified; it appears to be related to the oxygen partial pressure above the lava. This fact may explain why lunar and meteoritic melts are not observed to foam. Experimental studies are needed to clarify the process.
The reduction of data obtained by the experiment on ATS-6 is presented and a scientific analysis of the data is included. During the period covered significant progress was made in both reduction and analysis of ATS-6 data. The relationship between the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field and the fluxes of energetic electrons at the synchronous altitude was clarified, and a simple model of the energetic electron environment as observed by ATS-6 was developed and a simple empirical relationship was extended, which predicts the maximum energetic electron flux to be expected at the synchronous orbit.
The capabilities and applications of the three-degree-of-freedom (3DOF) version and the six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) version of the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories (POST) are summarized. The document supplements the detailed program manuals by providing additional information that motivates and clarifies basic capabilities, input procedures, applications and computer requirements of these programs. The information will enable prospective users to evaluate the programs, and to determine if they are applicable to their problems. Enough information is given to enable managerial personnel to evaluate the capabilities of the programs and describes the POST structure, formulation, input and output procedures, sample cases, and computer requirements. The report also provides answers to basic questions concerning planet and vehicle modeling, simulation accuracy, optimization capabilities, and general input rules. Several sample cases are presented.
Self-consistent Hartree-Fock-Slater molecular cluster models for the chemisorption of first-row atoms on Ni(100) surfaces are presented. Energy levels and ground-state charge distributions are given for XNi5 clusters with the adatom X = H, C, N, O located in C4V symmetry at a fixed height of 2.0 au above the surface. The variation of properties with height was studied in detail for the case of oxygen. Theoretical results compare rather well with experimental photoelectron and energy-loss data. Local-densities-of-states diagrams are used to clarify the interaction between adsorbate levels and metal conduction bands.
Whistler instabilities have been investigated for two different types; i.e., a temperature-anisotropy type instability and a beam-type instability. A comparison between the two types of whistler instabilities is made within the framework of linear theory. A transition from one type to the other is also discussed, which is an extension of the work on electrostatic beam and Landau instabilities performed by O'Neil and Malmberg (1968) for electromagnetic whistler instabilities. It is clarified that the essential source of the whistler instability is not beam kinetic energy but a temperature anisotropy, even for the beam-type whistler instability.
High-resolution images of the decay phase of a soft X-ray flare observed by the S-054 experiment on Skylab are compared with interferometric scans of the radio burst obtained simultaneously at 2.8 cm. The spatial resolution of the radio instrument in one direction, although lower than the X-ray telescope resolution, is high enough for a detailed comparison. The comparison clarifies the relationship between the sources of soft X-ray and thermal radio emission in solar flares. The X-ray emission is localized in a looplike structure which appears spatially coincident with the rapidly varying component of the radio burst. The more stable components of the radio source, which do not appear to contribute substantially to X-ray emission, are found to be spatially associated with the extremes of the X-ray loop. A model of plasma-filled loops is suggested which accounts for the emissions in both spectral ranges and for their spatial location and temporal development.
Most current models of matter-flux in hot stars place its origin in radiation pressure, and then model the flow explicitly to produce no chromosphere-corona. Our model of the stellar atmosphere as a transition zone between stellar interior and interstellar medium places the origin of matter-flux, chromosphere-corona, and spectral 'emission classes' in subatmospheric nonthermal kinetic energy storage, equally for all stars, hot or cold. Current observations of both hot and cold stars suggest chromospheres to be a universal phenomenon, correlated with matter-fluxes, and enhanced in 'emission-class' stars. To clarify the difference between the two kinds of models above, we reformulate the wind-tunnel analogy to stellar winds, suggesting that stars satisfy an 'imperfect,' rather than 'perfect,' such model; i.e., transonic shocks occur before the throat, corresponding to an imposed outward velocity in the storage section, or subatmosphere. We then investigate the stability of an arbitrary stellar atmosphere, hot or cold, to suggest a cause for such an outward subatmospheric velocity.
Difficulties in relating observed current-voltage characteristics of individual silicon solar cells to their physical and material parameters were underscored by the unexpected large changes in the current-voltage characteristics telemetered back from solar cells on the ATS-1 spacecraft during their first year in synchronous orbit. Depletion region recombination was studied in cells exhibiting a clear double-exponential dark characteristic by subjecting the cells to proton irradiation. A significant change in the saturation current, an effect included in the Sah, Noyce, Shockley formulation of diode current resulting from recombination in the depletion region, was caused by the introduction of shallow levels in the depletion region by the proton irradiation. This saturation current is not attributable only to diffusion current from outside the depletion region and only its temperature dependence can clarify its origin. The current associated with the introduction of deep-lying levels did not change significantly in these experiments.
Available published results are surveyed for a special class of infinite-dimensional control systems whose evolution is characterized by a semigroup of operators of class C subscript zero. Emphasis is placed on an approach that clarifies the system-theoretic relationship among controllability, stabilizability, stability, and the existence of a solution to an associated operator equation of the Riccati type. Formulation of the optimal control problem is reviewed along with the asymptotic behavior of solutions to a general system of equations and several theorems concerning L2 stability. Examples are briefly discussed which involve second-order parabolic systems, first-order hyperbolic systems, and distributed boundary control.
The terrestrial and marine nitrogen cycles are examined in an attempt to clarify how the atmospheric content of N2O is controlled. We review available data on the various reservoirs of fixed nitrogen, the transfer rates between the reservoirs, and estimate how the reservoir contents and transfer rates can change under man's influence. It is seen that sources, sinks and lifetime of atmospheric N2O are not understood well. Based on our limited knowledge of the stability of atmospheric N2O we conclude that future growth in the usage of industrial fixed nitrogen fertilizers could cause a 1% to 2% global ozone reduction in the next 50 years. However, centuries from now the ozone layer could be reduced by as much as 10% if soils are the major source of atmospheric N2O.