Die Geschichte der Vakuumkühlung. The History of Vacuum Refrigeration

The use of the high evaporation enthalpy of water is one of the oldest technologies of refrigeration for food preservation used by the mankind. One could nearly celebrate the true 5000^th anniversary of this technology. Nowadays we call the refrigeration by evaporation from wet surfaces “adiabatic refrigeration”, it regulates, for instance, our body heat by evaporating sweat. After the introduction of some vacuum pumps into the experimental scientific works, 250 years ago, namely in Great Britan, the modern form of “artificial” refrigeration began its career, the evaporation of liquids under the absence of permanent gasses in vacuum. The vacuum refrigeration has been nearly abruptly stopped by the development of compression refrigeration processes, about 150 years ago. Only after world war 2, a reintroduction of vacuum refrigeration began again. Now, at the beginning of the 3. milennium, there are good chances for recovering terrain.     

Computational electromagnetics for nanowire solar cells

This review article provides an overview of various novel nanowire array solar cells and highlights the aspects of electromagnetic simulations that are a valuable tool for understanding the optical processes leading to their distinct properties. As the computational methods commonly used for the task are well established, we focus on the question how numerical modeling can be used to assess the performance of a design and reveal the working principle of the devices. We conclude that scientific literature identifies numerical simulations as paramount for design and interpretation of experimental data.     

Part II of the Special Issue on 3rd International Conference on Engineering and Technology Innovation (ICETI 2014), held in Kenting,Taiwan Oct 31–Nov 2, 2014

Microsystem Technologies -     

New calix[4]arenedimethacrylate derivatives for dental composites

Calix[4]arenes were double alkylated with various alkylhalogenides and the residual OH functions were subsequently dimethacrylated with methacryloyl chloride. The successful synthesis of polymerizable calixarenes was proved using ¹H NMR spectroscopy, matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry and differential scanning calorimetry. The polymerization behaviour was confirmed by copolymerization with methacrylic acid methyl ester. Furthermore, the flexural strength, the flexural modulus of elasticity, the exothermic course of the photo‐curing reaction and the polymerization shrinkage of experimental dental filling composites containing the modified calixarenes were evaluated. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry