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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 145 records · Page 8

Requirements for laser radar detection of a barium ion cloud at five earth radii.

The requirements for a tuned laser radar capable of detecting and ranging a high altitude barium ion cloud release are discussed. A high energy pulsed dye laser tuned to the 455.4 nm Ba II resonance line is considered as the transmitter. Photon counting detection is employed and the resultant signal is integrated over a number of successive laser firings. The solar induced radiance of the cloud is the major background noise source. Detection and ranging may be achieved with signal-to-noise ratios of the order of unity using currently available equipment. This technique has the potential of improved resolution as compared to photographic measurements previously made.

Mumola, P. B.↗

Triangulation Error Analysis for the Barium Ion Cloud Experiment

The triangulation method developed specifically for the Barium Ion Cloud Project is discussed. Expression for the four displacement errors, the three slope errors, and the curvature error in the triangulation solution due to a probable error in the lines-of-sight from the observation stations to points on the cloud are derived. The triangulation method is then used to determine the effect of the following on these different errors in the solution: the number and location of the stations, the observation duration, east-west cloud drift, the number of input data points, and the addition of extra cameras to one of the stations. The pointing displacement errors, and the pointing slope errors are compared. The displacement errors in the solution due to a probable error in the position of a moving station plus the weighting factors for the data from the moving station are also determined.

Long, S. A. T.↗

A cylindrical shell model of the NASA-MPE barium ion cloud experiment.

A computer model is developed using infinitely long concentric cylindrical shells to represent the neutral atoms, ions and electrons in the barium cloud. The neutral shells are given a distribution of positions and velocities whose parameters are chosen to be consistent with the dynamics of the release. From this distribution, the ion and electron shells are generated at random using the observed time constant for photoionization. The ion and electron shells thus formed are followed using self-consistent equations of motion. Various averages which could be compared with observation of the actual cloud are calculated at regular time intervals. An unexpected result is the predicted very early return of the magnetic field within the cloud to its ambient value.

Grauer, A. D.↗

Preliminary analysis of NASA optical data obtained in barium ion cloud experiment of September 21, 1971.

This paper reviews the optical data obtained by NASA in the joint NASA-MPE experiment conducted on September 21, 1971, involving the release of a barium cloud at an altitude of about 31,500 km over Colombia, South America. The data indicated an anomalously high rate of elongation and an unexpectedly large rate of deceleration of the main core of the ion cloud. The outermost striational features achieved a steady velocity within a few minutes, thus indicating that they had acquired the velocity of the ambient plasma. From the observed drift of these striations, one deduces an electric field that, when referred to a coordinate system rotating with the earth, has a meridional component directed toward the interior of the magnetic loop of 0.14 mV/m and a component perpendicular to the meridional plane of 0.15 mV/m directed to the west.

Adamson, D.↗

Laser selective excitation of a three-level atom - Barium

Development of a theory describing the selective excitation of a three-level atom with a tunable laser. The effects of number density, line widths, and laser parameters on the final populations of the levels are discussed. An experiment is described in which a tunable dye laser is used to pump large numbers of barium atoms into a definite excited state.

Carlsten, J. L.↗

Absorption spectrum of the laser-populated 3D metastable levels in barium

This paper deals with the details of the absorption spectrum of the 3D metastable term in barium. The 3D term was selectively populated with a tuneable dye laser. The fundamental triplet series (6s5d 3D-6snf 3F) is identified and extended out to n = 32. In addition, the absolute photoionization cross section was measured at 303 nm. The relative cross section from 303 to 250 nm was also measured with the absolute scale set by the measurement at 303 nm and was found to be nearly constant in the wavelength region measured.

Carlsten, J. L.↗

Photoionization of barium clouds via the 3D metastable levels

The photoionization of optically thin barium clouds is analyzed and shown to occur primarily by a two-step process involving the 3D metastable term as the intermediate state. The equilibrium populations of the 1D and 3D metastable levels are calculated and found to differ significantly from the values now in the literature. These populations are combined with newly available photoionization data to calculate the resulting photoionization rate in the upper atmosphere.

Carlsten, J. L.↗