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Vector field theory of time dependent backscatter from distant slightly rough sphere for pulsed and sinusoidally steady state sources
The region of the celestial sphere near the pulsing X-ray source in Hercules (2U 1705+34) has been searched for radio emission with the NRAO three-element interferometer. The search was conducted during a period when the Hercules source was in its 27-day state of low X-ray luminosity. Four weak radio sources, which may be considered as candidates for the radio counterpart of this X-ray source, were detected.
Wavelength and angular dependence of reflectances and depolarization in the 9-11 micron region are reported for four standard targets: flowers of sulfur, flame-sprayed aluminum, 20-grit sandblasted aluminum, and 400-grit silicon carbon sandpaper. Measurements are presented and compared using a CW CO2 grating-tunable laser in a laboratory backscatter apparatus, an integrating sphere, and a coherent pulsed TEA-CO2 lidar system operating in the 9-11 micron region. Reflectance theory related to the use of hard targets to calibrate lidar atmospheric backscatter data is discussed.
Measurements of the current-voltage characteristics of a Langmuir probe in the near wake of a disk immersed in a pulsed flowing plasma were made. A 1 cm diameter biasable sphere was placed in the ion-free near wake region of a 10 cm diameter disk immersed in a Mach 8 pulsed flowing plasma. The current-voltage characteristic of the sphere was observed as a function of time as the sphere bias was scanned from -5000 V to +1000 V. The collected current is found to be monotonically increasing with increasing positive bias voltage but exhibits a threshold voltage for current collection as the bias voltage becomes more negative. Potential measurements in the wake region were made for a sphere bias voltages below, at, and above the current collection threshold for a number of times during the wake formation period. The time evolution of the potential profile is shown to change as the sheath around the biased sphere is established. Predictions from the particle trajectory code SIMION are compared with data, showing excellent agreement in the prediction of the current collection threshold.
To study cavitation inception in polymer solutions, a blow-down water tunnel with short running times was used. Tests were made using 1/4 and 1/2 inch diameter models of hemispherical-nose cylinders. To accurately detect the inception of cavitation, a reliable technique was developed using a continuously operating He-Ne gas laser. The laser beam was adjusted to grazing incidence with the model at the minimum pressure point where cavitation inception was to be expected. A sensitive photocell was placed at ninety degrees to detect the beam. As incipient cavitation occurred, the bubbles caused scattering of the laser beam which was picked up by the photocell. Static pressure near the model in the working section of the tunnel was measured using a solid-state pressure pick-up. The signals from the photocell and the pressure pick-up were recorded on an oscillograph. Velocity field visualization was achieved using one microsecond duration light pulses scattered by small polystryrene latex spheres in the flow.
Tunable laser based illumination sources have been adopted by a number of recent hyperspectral instruments for pre-launch spectral radiometric calibration. Some of these sources use mode-locked cavity configurations, which produce a pulse train and create an undesirable fluctuation in the radiometric source at the mode locking frequency. Although typically this frequency is several orders of magnitude higher than the instrument response, care must be taken to ensure the resultant calibration is not biased due to detector or electronic saturation effects. The temporal averaging properties of an integrating sphere can be used to reduce high frequency fluctuations to an acceptable level. In this work, the time resolved output of an integrating sphere coupled with a mode-locked source was measured. A 76 cm diameter sphere with 30 cm output aperture was illuminated using a mode-locked pulse train at 76 MHz, with single pulse durations of 12 ps. The time constant of the sphere was found to be 36 ns, and the resultant temporal averaging of pulses produced a maximum time varying irradiance at the output of 20% of the mean. The form of this time variance is a sawtooth pattern, with a sharp rise during the introduction of each pulse into the sphere followed by a slower decay between pulses. A comparison of instrument calibration data generated with this integrating sphere using both a mode locked source and a continuous wave source is also given. .
The principal optical properties of type I supernovae are summarized. These include the light curve and the spectrum. The spectra consist of broad bands with very little continuum. According to the theory presented, the observed light is principally fluorescence, excited in the medium surrounding the supernova by ultraviolet radiation originating from the explosion. It is proposed that the spectrum that impinges on the fluorescent medium while emission is taking place must fall abruptly across the Lyman edge of He II. Such a filtering action is plausibly provided by a much denser internal region, rich in helium, immediately surrounding the exploding object. This will form a Stromgren sphere during the time the intense UV pulse is passing through it. The dense region also slows down the photons below the edge by Thomson scattering, thereby spreading out the UV pulse in time. Various proposed mechanisms for the production of ionization in the Gum nebula are discussed.
HMPF is a computer program that implements a modified polar-format algorithm for processing data from spaceborne synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) systems. Unlike prior polar-format processing algorithms, this algorithm is based on the assumption that the radar signal wavefronts are spherical rather than planar. The algorithm provides for resampling of SAR pulse data from slant range to radial distance from the center of a reference sphere that is nominally the local Earth surface. Then, invoking the projection-slice theorem, the resampled pulse data are Fourier-transformed over radial distance, arranged in the wavenumber domain according to the acquisition geometry, resampled to a Cartesian grid, and inverse-Fourier-transformed. The result of this process is the focused SAR image. HMPF, and perhaps other programs that implement variants of the algorithm, may give better accuracy than do prior algorithms for processing strip-map SAR data from high altitudes and may give better phase preservation relative to prior polar-format algorithms for processing spotlight-mode SAR data.
The pulse height response of a right angle scattering optical particle counter has been investigated using monodisperse aerosols of polystyrene latex spheres, di-octyl phthalate and methylene blue. The results confirm previous measurements for the variation of mean pulse height as a function of particle diameter and show good agreement with the relative response predicted by Mie scattering theory. Measured cumulative pulse height distributions were found to fit reasonably well to a log normal distribution with a minimum geometric standard deviation of about 1.4 for particle diameters greater than about 2 micrometers. The geometric standard deviation was found to increase significantly with decreasing particle diameter.
The temporal evolution of the voltage-current characteristic of a spherical Langmuir probe in the near-wake region of a conducting body is investigated in a pulsed plasma device. Measurements of the current collected by a sphere placed on axis behind a conducting disk are presented as a function of the bias voltage and time. The bias voltage on the collecting sphere is large enough, ranging from +500 to -3000 V, to attract ions or electrons across the wake region. In addition, plasma potential profiles as a function of sphere bias voltage and time throughout the nearwake and midwake region are presented. It is found that for a negative sphere bias a threshold voltage exists for current collection. This threshold voltage decreases during the formation of the wake behind the conducting disk. Potential measurements indicate that the sheath region around the negatively biased sphere contracts as the wake region establishes itself. This contraction of the sheath region increases the electric field attracting ions to the sphere and decreases the threshold voltage for current collection. For positive sphere bias voltage the current collected by the sphere does not exhibit a threshold voltage but is monotonically increasing.
SiC/SiC composite materials targeted as turbine components for next-generation aero-engines are being investigated at NASA Glenn Research Center. In order to examine damage mechanisms in these materials, SiC/SiC coupons were impacted with 1.59 mm diameter steel spheres at increasing velocities from 115 m/s to 400 m/s. Pulsed thermography, a nondestructive evaluation technique that monitors the thermal response of a sample over time, was utilized to characterize the impact damage. A thermal standard of similar material was fabricated to aid in the interpretation of the thermographic data and to provide information regarding thermography system detection capabilities in 2.4 mm thick SiC/SiC composite materials. Flat bottom holes at various depths with aspect ratios greater than 2.5 were detectable in the thermal images. In addition, the edges of holes at depths of 1.93 mm into the sample were not as resolvable as flat bottom holes closer to the surface. Finally, cooling behavior was characterized in SiC/SiC materials and used to determine impact damage depth within an 8.5% error of a known depth.
Suitably configured whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) optical resonators have been proposed as delay lines for trains of short light pulses. Until now, it has been common practice to implement an optical delay line as a coiled long optical fiber, which is bulky and tends to be noisy. An alternative has been to implement an optical delay line as a coupled-resonator optical waveguide (a chain of coupled optical resonators), which is compact but limits the width of the pulse spectrum to the width of an optical resonance and thereby places a lower limit on the duration of a pulse. In contrast, a delay line according to the proposal could be implemented as a single WGM resonator, and the pulses delayed by the resonator could be so short that their spectral widths could greatly exceed the spectral width of any single resonance. The proposal emerged from theoretical and experimental studies of the propagation of a pulse train in a WGM resonator. An important element of the theoretical study was recognition that the traditional definition of group velocity in effect, the velocity of a single pulse comprising a packet of waves propagating in a medium, the responsivity of which is a monotonous function of frequency does not necessarily apply in the case of a WGM resonator or other medium having a spectrum consisting of discrete resonance peaks at different frequencies. A new definition of group velocity, applicable to a train of pulses propagating in such a medium, was introduced and found to lead to the discovery of previously unknown features of propagation. Notably, it was found that in a micro - sphere optical resonator that supports a suitable combination of WGM modes, the group velocity for a train of light pulses could be positive, zero, or negative. A positive group velocity could be so small that the delay could be much longer than the ring-down time of the resonator; a delay of such great length is impossible for a single pulse interacting with either a linearly responding lossless resonator or a coupled- resonator optical waveguide.
InSight touched down in Elysium Planitia on 26 November 2018, becoming NASA’s eighth successful entry, descent, and landing (EDL) at Mars. InSight was a build-to-print of the successful 2008 Phoenix EDL system, flying a non-spinning, ballistic trajectory with a 70-degree sphere-cone aeroshell (2.65-meter diameter), disk-gap-band parachute, and pulsed terminal descent and landing engines. This work discusses entry aerodynamic performance for InSight up to parachute deployment, including pre-flight aerodynamics predictions and comparisons with post-flight reconstruction, as well as comparisons with the Phoenix reconstruction.
The radiometric subsystem of NASA's LANDSAT-4 Thematic Mapper (TM) sensor is described. Special emphasis is placed on the internal calibrator (IC) pulse shapes and timing cycle. The procedures for the absolute radiometric calibration of the TM channels with a 122-centimeter integrating sphere and the transfer of radiometric calibration from the channels to the IC are reviewed. The use of the IC to calibrate TM data in the ground processing system consists of pulse integration, pulse averaging, IC state identification, linear regression analysis, and histogram equalization. An overview of the SCROUNGE-era (before August 1983) method is presented. Procedural differences between SCROUNGE and the TIPS-era (after July 1983) and the implications of these differences are discussed.
A lidar system for measuring optical properties of clouds and aerosols at three wavelengths is depicted. The laser transmitter is based on a Nd:YVO4 laser crystal pumped by light coupled to the crystal via optical fibers from laser diodes that are located away from the crystal to aid in dissipating the heat generated in the diodes and their drive circuits. The output of the Nd:YVO4 crystal has a wavelength of 1064 nm, and is made to pass through frequency-doubling and frequency-tripling crystals. As a result, the net laser output is a collinear superposition of beams at wavelengths of 1064, 532, and 355 nm. The laser operates at a pulse-repetition rate of 5 kHz, emitting per-pulse energies of 50 microJ at 1064 nm, 25 microJ at 532 nm and 50 microJ at 355 nm. An important feature of this system is an integrating sphere located between the laser output and the laser beam expander lenses. The integrating sphere collects light scattered from the lenses. Three energy-monitor detectors are located at ports inside the integrating sphere. Each of these detectors is equipped with filters such that the laser output energy is measured independently for each wavelength. The laser output energy is measured on each pulse to enable the most accurate calibration possible. The 1064-nm and 532-nm photodetectors are, more specifically, single photon-counting modules (SPCMs). When used at 1064 nm, these detectors have approximately 3% quantum efficiency and low thermal noise (fewer than 200 counts per second). When used at 532 nm, the SPCMs have quantum efficiency of about 60%. The photodetector for the 355-nm channel is a photon-counting photomultiplier tube having a quantum efficiency of about 20%. The use of photon-counting detectors is made feasible by the low laser pulse energy. The main advantage of photon-counting is ease of inversion of data without need for complicated calibration schemes like those necessary for analog detectors. The disadvantage of photon-counting detectors is that they inherently have narrow dynamic ranges. However, by using photon-counting detectors along with a high-repetition rate laser, it is possible to obtain wide dynamic range through accumulation of counts over many pulses.
In this paper we study the two-phase flow phenomena in a packed bed reactor using an integrated experimental and numerical method. The cylindrical bed is filled with uniformly sized spheres. In the experiment water and air are injected into the bed simultaneously. The pressure distribution along the bed will be measured. The numerical simulation is based on a two-phase flow solver which solves the Navier-Stokes equations on Cartesian grids. A novel coupled level set and moment of fluid method is used to construct the interface. A sequential method is used to position spheres in the cylinder. Preliminary experimental results showed that the tested flow rates resulted in pulse flow. The numerical simulation revealed that air bubbles could merge into larger bubbles and also could break up into smaller bubbles to pass through the pores in the bed. Preliminary results showed that flow passed through regions where the porosity is high. Comparison between the experimental and numerical results in terms of pressure distributions at different flow injection rates will be conducted. Comparison of flow phenomena under terrestrial gravity and microgravity will be made.
It is shown that the shape and spectral evolution of the giant X-ray bursts from the source 3U 1820-30 can be explained by Compton scattering of a short, intense X-ray pulse in a cloud surrounding the source. Pulse shapes due to Thomson scattering of an X-ray burst in an electron cloud were calculated for the (1) optically thin case on the assumption of one scattering per photon, (2) intermediate case with optical depth of about unity, and (3) optically thick case where the process is regarded as diffusion of photons through a uniform sphere. For the intermediate case, the effects of the reverberation were determined explicitly by Monte Carlo calculation. For an optical depth of 3, square pulse duration of 2 sec, characteristic cloud radius of 70,000 km, characteristic cloud density of 4 times 10 to the 14th per cu cm, and temperature of 5-30 keV, the calculations give a reasonably accurate description of X-ray bursts from 3U 1820-30. The scattering model does not imply the existence of a supermassive, central black hole.
New methods are developed to calculate the electromagnetic diffraction or scattering characteristics of objects of arbitrary material and shape. The methods extend the efforts of previous researchers in the use of finite-difference and pulse response techniques. Examples are given of the scattering from infinite conducting and nonconducting cylinders, open channel, sphere, cone, cone sphere, coated disk, open boxes, and open and closed finite cylinders with axially incident waves.