Fluid jet polishing of optical surfaces

We present a new finishing process that is capable of locally shaping and polishing optical surfaces of complex shapes. A fluid jet system is used to guide a premixed slurry at pressures less than 6 bars to the optical surface. We used a slurry comprising water and 10% #800 SiC abrasives (21.8 mum) to reduce the surface roughness of a BK7 sample from 350 to 25 nm rms and to vary the shape of a polished sample BK7, maintaining its surface roughness of 1.6 nm rms, thereby proving both the shaping and polishing possibilities of the presented method.     

Laser Doppler velocimetry with a compact disc pickup

A laser Doppler velocimeter employing a compact disc pickup for both fringe projection and signal detection is described. The spectrum of the recorded signal gives the information about the speed of the object. The device takes advantage of the Talbot effect to project the grating contained in the pickup onto a moving target, so that no imaging system is required. The peculiar imaging technique allows for the exploitation of several optical configurations and permits the manipulation of the intensity profile of the projected grating. The instrument was used to measure the velocity of dust particles on a solid substrate in the 1-m/s range but could also find an application to the study of liquid flow.     

Tunable picosecond blue and ultraviolet pulses from a diode-pumped laser system seeded by a gain-switched laser diode

Picosecond pulses emitted from a gain-switched laser diode have been amplified in a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier indirectly pumped by a 4-W laser diode. This all-solid-state system produced microjoule pulses tunable from 803 to 840 nm at repetition rates up to 25 kHz with durations of 70-100 ps. By frequency doubling and tripling the output, we generated blue and UV pulses tunable from 401 to 420 nm and from 268 to 280 nm, respectively. Average powers larger than 4 mW were reached in these two wavelength regions.     

Efficient Nd:YAG Laser Frequency Doubling with Periodically Poled KTP

Periodically poled flux-grown KTiOPO(4) was used for efficient extracavity 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser frequency doubling. A conversion efficiency exceeding 65% was obtained in Q-switched operation, and 1.34 W of average frequency-doubled power was generated with 2.2 W of mode-locked laser output. The conversion efficiency is approximately two times higher for periodically poled KTP than for conventional type II phase-matched KTP. The measurements indicate that periodically poled KTP is less susceptible to optical damage than type II KTP.     

Formulation of a cured meat product by the dewatering-impregnation soaking (DIS) process: Mass transfer study and assessment of product quality

Venison muscle meats were simultaneously salted and dried by soaking in a mixed concentrated solution (salt/corn starch syrup) at a low temperature, a process known as dewatering and impregnation soaking (DIS). Cured products of suitable market quality (in terms of their salt and water content) were obtained with this process. The impregnation of standard curing additives (nitrites and polyphosphates) into the meat product was controlled by mixing these compounds in the concentrated solution. Also, beneficial effects of additives on the physicochemical, microbiological and organoleptic characteristics of the product are confirmed. The present study highlights the choice of DIS process and proposed optimal DIS conditions for formulating cured products.     

Scientific sketching for collaborative VR visualization design

We present four studies investigating tools and methodologies for artist-scientist-technologist collaboration in designing multivariate, virtual reality (VR) visualizations. Design study 1 identifies the promise of 3D drawing-style interfaces for VR design and also establishes limitations of these tools with respect to precision and support for animation. Design study 2 explores animating artist-created visualization designs with scientific 3D fluid flow data. While results captured an accurate sense of flow that was advantageous as compared to the results of study 1, the potential for visual exploration using the design tools tested was limited. Design study 3 reveals the importance of a new 3D interface that overcomes the precision limitation found in study 1 while remaining accessible to artist collaborators. Drawing upon previous results, design study 4 engages collaborative teams in a design process that begins with traditional paper sketching and moves to animated, interactive, VR prototypes "sketched" by designers in VR using interactive 3D tools. Conclusions from these four studies identify important characteristics of effective artist-accessible VR visualization design tools and lead to a proposed formalized methodology for successful collaborative design that we expect to be useful in guiding future collaborations. We call this proposed methodology Scientific Sketching.     

Force-clamp spectroscopy with a small dithering of AFM tip, and its application to explore the energy landscape of single avidin-biotin complex

We have recently developed a new method for directly measuring the spring constant of single molecules and molecular complexes on a real-time basis [L.A. Chtcheglova, G.T. Shubeita, S.K. Sekatskii, G. Dietler, Biophys. J. 86 (2004) 1177]. The technique combines standard force spectroscopy with a small dithering of tip. Changes in the amplitude of the oscillations are measured as a function of the pulling-off force to yield the spring constant of the complex. In this report, we present the first results of combination of this approach with the force-clamp spectroscopy. The standard atomic-force microscope has been supplemented with an electronic unit, which is capable of realizing an arbitrary force function, and permits the force-loading regime to be interrupted at any time. Using this method, the time needed to rupture a single bond can be measured as a function of the force that is required to maintain the complex in a stretched condition. The energy landscape of the avidin-biotin complex is explored and discussed.