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Porcelain thermal-control coating for aluminum sheet and foil has solar absorptance of 0.22. Specially formulated coating absorptance is highly stable, changing only 0.03 after 1,000 hours of exposure to simulated sunlight and can be applied by standard commercial methods.
The induced infrared absorption spectrum of gaseous nitrogen was studied. The coefficient of absorption of highly pure nitrogen was utilized to ascertain spectral dependence.
The Laser Absorption Spectrometer is a portable instrument developed by JPL for remote measurement of trace gases from an aircraft platform. It contains two carbon dioxide lasers, two optical heterodyne receivers, appropriate optics to aim the lasers at the ground and detect the backscattered energy, and signal processing and recording electronics. Operating in the differential-absorption mode, it is possible to monitor one atmospheric gas at a time and record the data in real time. The system can presently measure ozone, ethylene, water vapor, and chlorofluoromethanes with high sensitivity. Airborne measurements were made in early 1977 from the NASA/JPL twin-engine Beechcraft and in May 1977 from the NASA Convair 990 during the ASSESS-II Shuttle Simulation Study. These flights resulted in measurements of ozone concentrations in the lower troposphere which were compared with ground-based values provided by the Air Pollution Control District. This paper describes the details of the instrument and results of the airborne measurements.
The consequences of the most plausible version of the absorption model for low-frequency variability in compact extragalactic radio sources are considered. The general restrictions placed on such a model are determined, and observational tests are suggested that can be used either to support the model or to discriminate among its various versions. It is shown that low-frequency variability in compact radio sources can be successfully explained by a class of models in which the flux is modulated by changes in free-free optical depth within an intervening ionized medium. Two versions of such a model are distinguished, one involving large changes in optical depth and the other, small changes. It is noted that while absorption effects are capable of causing rapid flux and structural variations at centimetric wavelengths, the models predict detailed behavior that is in direct conflict with observational data.
The contribution to the diffuse X-ray background near 1 keV cosmic (extragalactic) origin is poorly known. Data from a slow scan across the Small Magellanic Cloud by the Wisconsin soft X-ray experiment on OSO 8 are analyzed to search for absorption of a possible cosmic component to the diffuse flux. No indication of an X-ray shadow near 1 keV is found, setting an upper limit to the intensity of the flux originating beyond the SMC that is inconsistent with a cosmic spectrum of 11 E to the -1.4 photons per (sq cm s sr keV), even allowing for depletion of the absorbing elements in the SMC. Unless emission by the SMC or an upward fluctuation in the galactic or cosmic diffuse flux at the position of the SMC has canceled out the expected absorption, the contribution to the diffuse flux at 1 keV from beyond the SMC must be less than 50% of that expected for an extrapolated E to the -1.4 source spectrum.
Copernicus UV data are used to examine the rich shell absorption spectra between 1120 and 1140 A in 17 Be and shell stars. Previous observations of the program stars are reviewed, the general appearance of the shell spectra between 1120 and 1140 A is described, and the shell spectra are compared with the spectra of four bright B-type supergiants in the same wavelength region. The line strengths are analyzed to determine quantitative shell strengths and shell column densities; the shell line velocities are discussed in the context of different models. It is shown that UV shell lines can exist in stars with no visible-wavelength shell features, that Fe III shell lines dominate the spectra between 1120 and 1140 A in Be and shell stars with circumstellar absorption features, and that the spectra of Be and shell stars in this region strongly resemble those of supergiants of similar effective temperature.
The effects of light absorption on the wave functions of gas-phase molecules and atoms are investigated by high resolution spectral measurements of radiation emerging from a sample. A Stark-modulated sample of methyl fluoride was irradiated at the 102 GHz rotational transition and the emergent radiation was resolved by means of a spectrum analyzer. For signal oscillator frequencies below or above the molecular resonance by one modulation frequency, the amplitudes of the upper and lower modulation sidebands are found to be of nonuniform intensity, which is inconsistent with amplitude modulation. Emission due to polarization is, however, calculated to be consistent with the results observed, indicating that light absorption should be considered as a subtractive stimulated emission.
Polarized absorption spectra of lunar pyroxenes with a range of iron, calcium, magnesium, titanium and chromium contents were measured on polished, oriented single crystals; spectral data on pure synthetic FeSiO3 were also recorded. The bands at 1 and 2 microns were found to vary significantly in position with composition within the pyroxene quadrilateral; wavelengths increased with increasing calcium and iron. In the visible region, a weak band at 640 nm correlates in intensity with Cr2O3, but not with titanium as had been previously suggested. The 505-nm ferrous iron peak is a sharp doublet in most low-calcium pyroxenes but a singlet in augites. A peak at 475 nm and an intense absorption edge below 700 nm correlated with titanium content.
Evidence for continuum absorption in the solar transition zone in EUV spectra obtained from OSO 4, OSO 6, ATM, and full-sun measurements is reported. This absorption shortward of 912 A is manifested everywhere on the sun's disk. It is present within network cells and boundaries of the quiet sun, in coronal holes, in active regions, above the limb, and in solar prominences. Models of the upper chromosphere and the transition zone must be modified to include an admixture of neutral hydrogen (or possibly single ionized helium) with the hotter plasma.
The velocity profiles of O VI absorption lines of 24 stars, observed in early Copernicus surveys, have been compared with the line profiles of Si III (1206.51 A) and N II (1083.99 A). The velocity structures of the O VI lines appear to be correlated with those of the material in the lower ionization stages. It is argued that the O VI absorption arises in the coronal gas of the conductive interface between hot gas, responsible for extended, soft X-ray emission, and cooler interstellar clouds. The velocity broadening of both sets of lines is attributed to motions of the cloud surfaces induced by pressure fluctuations in the interstellar medium.
Results and statistical analysis are presented for sound absorption in N2-H2O binary mixtures at room temperature. Experimental procedure, temperature effects, and preliminary results are presented for sound absorption in N2-H2O binary mixtures at elevated temperatures.
The history of heterodyne detection is reviewed from the radiowave to the optical regions of the electromagnetic spectrum with emphasion the submillimeter/far infrared. The transition from electric field to photon absorption detection in a simple system is investigated. The response of an isolated two level detector to a coherent source of incident radiation is calculated for both heterodyne and video detection. When the processes of photon absorption and photon emission cannot be distinguished, the relative detected power at double- and sum-frequencies is found to be multiplied by a coefficient, which is less than or equal to unity, and which depends on the incident photon energy and on the effective temperature of the system.
A tunable diode laser heterodyne radiometer was developed for ground based measurements of atmospheric solar absorption spectra in the 9 to 12 micron spectral range. The performance and operating characteristics of this tunable infrared heterodyne radiometer (TIHR) is discussed along with recently measured heterodyne solar absorption spectra in the 10 to 11 micron spectral region.
A tunable high resolution two stage heterodyne radiometer was developed for the purpose of investigating the intensity and lineshape of the 752.033 GHz rotational transition of water vapor. Single-sideband system noise temperatures of approximately 45,000 K were obtained using a sensitive GaAs Schottky diode as the first stage mixer. First local oscillator power was supplied by a CO2 laser pumped formic acid laser (761.61 GHz), generating an X-band IF signal with theoretical line center at 9.5744 GHz. Second local oscillator power was provided by means of a 3 GHz waveguide cavity filter with only 9 dB insertion loss. In absorption measurements of the H2O taken from a laboratory simulation of a high altitude rocket plume, the center frequency of the 752 GHz line was determined to within 1 MHz of the reported value. A rotational temperature 75 K, a linewidth 5 MHz and a Doppler shift 3 MHz were measured with the line-of-sight intersecting the simulated-plume axis at a distance downstream of 30 nozzle diameters. These absorption data were obtained against continuum background radiation sources at temperatures of 1175 and 300 K.
A tunable diode laser heterodyne radiometer was developed for ground-based measurements of atmospheric solar absorption spectra in the 8 to 12 microns spectral range. The performance and operating characteristics of this Tunable Infrared Heterodyne Radiometer (TIHR) are discussed along with atmospheric solar absorption spectra of HNO3, O3, CO2, and H2O in the 9 to 11 microns spectral region.
A ground-based differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system is described which has been developed for vertical range-resolved measurements of water vapor. The laser transmitter consists of a ruby-pumped dye laser, which is operated on a water vapor absorption line at 724.372 nm. Part of the ruby laser output is transmitted simultaneously with the dye laser output to determine atmospheric scattering and attenuation characteristics. The dye and ruby laser backscattered light is collected by a 0.5-m diam telescope, optically separated in the receiver package, and independently detected using photomultiplier tubes. Measurements of vertical water vapor concentration profiles using the DIAL system at night are discussed, and comparisons are made between the water vapor DIAL measurements and data obtained from locally launched rawinsondes. Agreement between these measurements was found to be within the uncertainty of the rawinsonde data to an altitude of 3 km. Theoretical simulations of this measurement were found to give reasonably accurate predictions of the random error of the DIAL measurements. Confidence in these calculations will permit the design of aircraft and Shuttle DIAL systems and experiments using simulation results as the basis for defining lidar system performance requirements
A spectral feature, apparently an absorption line, has been observed at an energy of 20.1 + or - 0.5 keV in the pulsed flux of the 3.61-s X-ray pulsar 4U 0115+63 by using the UCSD/MIT instrument on HEAO 1. The line strength, expressed as equivalent width, is 3.1 + or - 0.5 keV. Although essentially unresolved, the feature has a depth more than 60% of the continuum flux. If the feature arises by cyclotron resonance absorption near the magnetic poles of the neutron star, it implies a magnetic field of between approximately 1.8 and 2.5 x 10 to the 12th G, depending on the gravitational redshift (no more than about 5-40%).
The paper deals with a survey of interstellar absorption lines in the wavelength region from 1150 to 3200 A toward 25 stars. The spectra of 10 of these stars show very strong narrow absorption lines of Si IV and C IV. Lines of N V appear in eight directions. The N V lines can arise in the same gas that is responsible for the ubiquitous interstellar lines of O VI, observed previously with a Copernicus spectrometer, but the lines of Si IV and C IV must be formed in a cooler gas. The measured lines of Si IV and C IV can be produced by normal H II regions photoionized by the observed stars.