Nanocrystalline Ni coatings strengthened with ultrafine particles

In this study, nanocrystalline Ni powders and thermally sprayed coatings, containing ultrafine AlN particles, were synthesized and characterized. The results indicated that the presence of AlN particles in the powders drastically decreased the dimension of agglomerates formed by cryomilling and increased the surface roughness of the agglomerates. The AlN phase was broken down into ultrafine particles of approximately 30 nm in size. These particles were dispersed in the Ni matrix and enhanced the development of a nanocrystalline structure in the Ni matrix during cryomilling. Selected-area diffraction patterns, obtained from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray mapping with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confirmed the presence of AlN particles in the coatings. The presence of AlN particles also led to an increase in the amount of NiO phase that was distributed in the coating, in the form of ultrafine, round particles. AlN particles increased the microhardness of the Ni coating by approximately 60 pct. Indentation-fracture results also indicated that the fine, dispersed AlN particles raised the apparent toughness of the Ni coating. The synthesized Ni coatings containing ultrafine AlN particles were characterized as equiaxed nanocrystalline grains with an average size of 24 nm, in which twins were observed. The increase in microhardness resulted from both grain refinement and the presence of ultrafine particles. The latter played the primary role in strengthening.     

Time-dependent deformation in an enhanced SiC/SiC composite

Time-dependent deformation in an enhanced SiC/SiC composite has been studied under constant load at high temperatures of 1200 °C, 1300 °C, and 1400 °C. Creep damage evolution was evaluated by a Young’s-modulus change of partial unloading and microscopic observation. The addition of the glassy phase in the matrix is very effective for protecting the composite from oxidation. The transient creep is dominant in creep life at all the temperatures. An empirical equation is proposed to describe creep behavior of the composite. It is found that creep activation energy increases with creep time at stresses lower than matrix cracking stress, but the activation energy remains constant at stresses higher than the matrix cracking stress. The creep strain rate of the composite is considered to be controlled by creep of fibers based on examining the time, strain, stress, and temperature dependencies of creep strain rates.     

Isotope Exchange of Azidothymidine with Tritium

The following modes of isotope exchange of azidothymidine (3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine) with tritium were studied: solid- and liquid-phase isotope exchange with gaseous tritium and isotope exchange in solution with tritium water. Catalytic reactions of azidothymidine with gaseous tritium in solution result in virtually complete reduction of the azido group to amino group. This reduction also occurs in the course of solid-phase catalytic hydrogenation; the yield of 3'-amino-3'-deoxythymidine ranges from 20 to 70%. The molar radioactivity of tritium-labeled azidothymidine prepared by solid-phase catalytic isotope exchange with gaseous tritium and by isotope exchange in solution with tritium water does not exceed 0.5 Ci mmol^{- 1}.     

Nuclear-chemical synthesis of tritium-labeled phenyl-substituted picoline derivatives

Ion-molecule reactions of free phenyl cations with six-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds: α-, β-, and γ-picolines, were studied. Phenyl cations were generated by tritium β-decay in double-labeled benzene. The mechanism of competing reactions of electrophilic addition to the nitrogen heteroatom in the ring and electrophilic substitution of the C-H bond in the pyridine ring was examined. The effect of methyl substituent in the pyridine molecule on the reaction pathway was evaluated. A one-step procedure for nuclear-chemical synthesis of tritium-labeled N-phenylpicolinium salts and phenyl-substituted picolines was developed.     

Static and Dynamic Spins in Superconducting La2−x Sr x CuO4: The Risø Years

One important area of modern condensed matter research is the investigation of the nature of the superconducting cuprates. Much progress in this field has been obtained with the technique of neutron scattering. We here present a review of neutron scattering studies of the high-temperature superconductor La_2?xSr_xCuO₄, performed at Risø National Laboratory. We review the work on the mapping of the incommensurate spin fluctuations, the investigation of the gap in the fluctuation spectrum, the magnetic properties of the vortices appearing in an applied field, and the quantum critical behaviour of the system. We discuss our findings in the light of results of neutron scattering from other groups, on other cuprate systems, and results from other experimental methods, e.g. NMR, μSR, STM, X-ray diffraction, and ARPES. We end with a discussion on the implications of the experimental results for the progress in the general understanding of high-temperature superconductivity. PACS numbers: 61.12.Ex, 74.20.Mn, 74.72.Dn, 75.25.+z, 78.70.Nx.     

Radiation-induced hydrogen yield from silicon bombarded with 710-MeV bismuth ions

The behavior of hydrogen in solids under the action of intense ionizing radiation is of importance in solving numerous problems of materials science for the nuclear and thermonuclear power industry, spacecraft engineering, hydrogen energetics, and microelectronics. Experimental results are presented that provide evidence of the radiation-induced yield of hydrogen from single crystal silicon bombarded with 710-MeV bismuth ions.     

Single-Threaded vs. Multithreaded: Where Should We Focus?

Today, with the increasing popularity of multicore processors, one approach to optimizing the processor's performance is to reduce the execution times of individual applications running on each core by designing and implementing more powerful cores. Another approach, which is the polar opposite of the first, optimizes the processor's performance by running a larger number of applications on a correspondingly larger number of cores, albeit simpler ones. The difference between these two approaches is that the former focuses on reducing the latency of individual applications or threads (it optimizes the processor's single-threaded performance), whereas the latter focuses on reducing the latency of the applications' threads taken as a group (it optimizes the processor's multithreaded performance). The panel, from the 2007 Workshop on Computer Architecture Research Directions, discusses the relevant issues.