Special numbers,still proceedings,other novelties

Modifications of solid water and their transitions are described as they relate to cryo electron microscopy. In particular, the various amorphous states (amorphous polymorphs) as they exist below 100 K are extensively investigated. The “high-density” midification exhibits a lower viscosity than the “low-density” form. Differences are also observed in the mechanism of void formation due to electron irradiation: in the high-density form, voids are formed — not, however, in the low-density form. Together with the reaction to radiation damage, the physical properties of amorphous solid water are discussed with respect to embedding of organic specimens. Finally, the conditions and pitfalls associated with preparation of thin and entirely vitrified ice layers by shock-freezing are described.     

Synthesis and characterisation of copolyesters from poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(hexamethylene terephthalate)

Copolyesters containing poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(hexamethylene terephthalate) (PHT) were prepared by a melt condensation reaction. The copolymers were characterised by infrared spectroscopy and intrinsic viscosity measurements. The density of the copolyesters decreased with increasing percentage of PHT segments in the backbone. Glass transition temperatures (T_g). melting points (T_m) and crystallisation temperatures (T_c) were determined by differential scanning calorimetry. An increase in the percentage of PHT resulted in decrease in T_g, T_m and T_c. The as-prepared copolyesters were crystalline in nature and no exotherm indicative of cold crystallisation was observed. The relative thermal stability of the polymers was evaluated by dynamic thermogravimetry in a nitrogen atmosphere. An increase in percentage of PHT resulted in a decrease in initial decomposition temperature. The rate of crystallisation of the copolymers was studied by small angle light scattering. An increase in percentage of PHT resulted in an increase in the rate of crystallisation.     

Half-bridge inverter using 4H-SiC gate turn-off thyristors

This paper reports on the first demonstration of a half-bridge power inverter constructed from silicon carbide gate turn-off thyristors (GTOs) operated in the conventional GTO mode. This circuit was characterized with input bus voltages of up to 600 VDC and 2 A (peak current density of 540 A/cm²) with resistive loads using a pulse-width modulated switching frequency of 2 kHz. We discuss the implications of the thyristor's electrical characteristics and the circuit topology on the overall operation of the half-bridge circuit. This work has determined the conservative critical rate of rise value of the off-state voltage to be 200 V/μs in these devices     

Incremental transmission loss allocation under pool dispatch

Incremental transmission loss analysis has been used for decades, but recent interest in its application to loss allocation calls for new in-depth results. This paper demonstrates that, for incremental methods to be applied correctly in loss allocation, it is first necessary to specify the load distribution and loss supply strategies. Incremental loss allocation among bus power injections is shown to be arbitrary and, therefore, open to challenge as discriminatory. Loss allocation is possible among incremental loads and/or generators, but the proportion of the total losses assigned to either one is arbitrary. Unique, nonarbitrary incremental loss allocations are however possible among the "equivalent" incremental bilateral exchanges between generators and loads. From these basic components it is possible then to calculate the allocation among generators or loads in any specified proportion. The main results, although developed initially for small increments, are extended to large variations. Finally, a general incremental loss allocation algorithm is developed and tested     

Simulation of magnetic component models in electric circuitsincluding dynamic thermal effects

It is essential in the simulation of power electronics applications to model magnetic components accurately. In addition to modeling the nonlinear hysteresis behavior, eddy currents and winding losses must be included to provide a realistic model. In practice the losses in magnetic components give rise to significant temperature increases which can lead to major changes in the component behavior. In this paper a model of magnetic components is presented which integrates a nonlinear model of hysteresis, electro-magnetic windings and thermal behavior in a single model for use in circuit simulation of power electronics systems. Measurements and simulations are presented which demonstrate the accuracy of the approach for the electrical, magnetic and thermal domains across a variety of operating conditions, including static thermal conditions and dynamic self heating     

Terahertz/optical mixing in symmetric semiconductor quantum wells embedded in optical microcavities

A quantum well (QW) in the simultaneous presence of a terahertz field polarized in the growth direction and an incident optical field near an excitonic resonance results in substantial frequency mixing between the terahertz and optical fields. In particular, a response at new frequencies given by the input optical frequency plus or minus multiples of the terahertz frequency occurs-the terahertz sidebands. In a symmetric QW, the dominant contribution to terahertz-sideband formation is the high-frequency modulation of the overlap integral of the relevant conduction- and valence-subband envelope functions that determine the strength of the interband dipole moment. terahertz-sideband generation is shown to be strongly enhanced in a high quality-factor optical microcavity. Numerical values of the reflected intensity into the first terahertz sideband normalized with respect to the reflected intensity at the fundamental as large as /spl sim/10% are estimated. This suggests that terahertz-sideband generation in semiconductor microcavities is a promising option worthy of exploration for wavelength conversion for wavelength-division multiplexing applications.