Liquid Marble Patchwork on Super-Repellent Surface

Liquid marble (LM) is a droplet that is wrapped by hydrophobic solid particles, which behave as a non-wetting soft solid. Based on these properties, LM can be applied in fluidics and soft device applications. A wide variety of functional particles have been synthesized to form functional LMs. However, the formation of multifunctional LMs by integrating several types of functional particles is challenging. Here, a general strategy for the flexible patterning of functional particles on droplet surfaces in a patchwork-like design is reported. It is shown that LMs can switch their macroscopic behavior between a stable and active state on super-repellent surfaces in situ by jamming/unjamming the surface particles. Active LMs hydrostatically coalesce to form a self-sorted particle pattern on the droplet surface. With the support of LM handling robotics, on-demand cyclic activation–manipulation–coalescence–stabilization protocols by LMs with different sizes and particle types result in the reliable design of multi-faced LMs. Based on this concept, a single bi-functional LM is designed from two mono-functional LMs as an advanced droplet carrier.     

Evaluating card-based protocols in terms of execution time

International Journal of Information Security - Card-based cryptography is an attractive and unconventional computation model; it provides secure computing methods using a deck of physical cards....     

In situ observation of initial rust formation process on carbon steel under Na2SO4 and NaCl solution films with wet/dry cycles using synchrotron radiation X-rays

Atmospheric corrosion of steel proceeds under thin electrolyte film formed by rain and dew condensation followed by wet and dry cycles. It is said that rust layer formed on steel as a result of atmospheric corrosion strongly affects the corrosion behavior of steel. The effect of environmental corrosiveness on the formation process and structure of the rust layer is, however, not clear to date. In this study, in situ observation of the rusting process of a carbon steel covered with a thin film of Na₂SO₄ or NaCl solution was performed under a wet/dry repeating condition by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy with white X-rays obtained from synchrotron radiation. The present in situ experiments successfully detected initial process of the rust formation. In the early cycles, the rust constituents were not well crystallized yet, but the presence of Fe(OH)₂ and Fe(OH)₃ was confirmed. In the subsequent cycles, two different solutions resulted in difference in preferential phase of the rust constituents. α-FeOOH was preferentially formed in the case of the Na₂SO₄ solution film, whereas β-FeOOH appeared only under the NaCl solution film.     

Preprogramming Floating Time of Liquid Marble

Non-sticking droplets wrapped with fine hydrophobic particles, namely liquid marbles, can be transported both on solid and water pool without an undesired spill of the inner encapsulated liquid. While the stimuli-responsive release of the inner liquid in the target area is proposed, the time-programmed release is not yet achieved. Herein, the hydrophobicity of nanoclay is modulated via a catalyst-free 1,4-conjugate addition reaction to form liquid marbles. This nanoclay liquid marble is robust and stable in air but collapses on the liquid pool with a specific lifetime. The lifetime of the liquid marble can be modulated over seconds to hours scale depending on the selection of chemically modulated wettability of the nanoclay. The critical mechanism of lifetime modulation is responsible for controlling the coalescence kinetics between the water pool and inner liquid by nanoclays’ high diffusion length and chemically varied water spreading potential. The NC liquid marble's programmable lifetime to ‘time-bomb’ type drug release and cascade chemical reaction is applied—without requiring any external intervention.     

CRT and LCD monitor and process materials evaluated for environmental improvement

Decision rules have been developed and applied to the bills of materials of a color cathode‐ray tube (CRT) and a liquid‐crystal‐display (LCD) desktop monitor to determine which product and process materials will be evaluated in an environmental life‐cycle assessment. Materials of significant mass, of technological importance, and of potential environmental impact are targeted. The list of materials identified are those for which life‐cycle inventory data will be obtained for the materials extraction and materials processing life‐cycle stages of a CRT and an LCD. Additionally, materials identified will also be used to represent life‐cycle impact in terms of resource consumption, as well as surrogates for occupational health impacts.     

Diffusive thermal conductivity of superfluid 3He-B

The diffusive thermal conductivity (t) of superfluid ³He-B is calculated in the s-p-d-wave approximation by solving the Boltzmann equation for the Bogoliubov-Valatin quasiparticles variationally. A new set of Landau para- meters calculated from recent heat capacity data as well as old ones given in Wheatley's review are used to estimate the scattering amplitudes of the collision integral. Landau parameters F ₂ ^s, F ₁ ^a, and F ₂ ^a are treated as free parameters under the constraint that _exact(T _c) = _exp(T _c), where _exact and _exp are the exact theoretical value and the experimental value, respectively. We have varied F ₂ ^s, F ₁ ^a, and F ₂ ^a over a wide range % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaai4Eaiabgk% HiTiaaigdacaaIWaGaeyizImQaaeyqamaaDaaaleaacaqGXaaabaGa% ae4CaiaabYcacaqGHbaaaOGaeyyyIORaaeOramaaDaaaleaacaqGXa% aabaGaae4CaiaabYcacaqGHbaaaOGaai4laiaacUfacaaIXaGaey4k% aSIaaeOramaaDaaaleaacaqGXaaabaGaae4CaiaabYcacaqGHbaaaO% Gaai4laiaacIcacaaIYaGaamiBaiabgUcaRiaaigdacaGGPaGaaiyx% aiabgsMiJkaaigdacaaIWaGaaiyFaaaa!570F!\[\{ - 10 \leqslant {\text{A}}_{\text{1}}^{{\text{s,a}}} \equiv {\text{F}}_{\text{1}}^{{\text{s,a}}} /[1 + {\text{F}}_{\text{1}}^{{\text{s,a}}} /(2l + 1)] \leqslant 10\} \] and found the possible range of the reduced diffusive thermal conductivity % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGafqOUdSMbaG% aacaGGOaGaaeivaiaabMcacaqG9aGaeqOUdSMaaeikaiaabsfacaqG% PaGaaeivaiaab+cacqaH6oWAcaGGOaGaaeivamaaBaaaleaacaqGJb% aabeaakiaacMcacaqGubWaaSbaaSqaaiaabogaaeqaaaaa!46ED!\[\tilde \kappa ({\text{T) = }}\kappa {\text{(T)T/}}\kappa ({\text{T}}_{\text{c}} ){\text{T}}_{\text{c}} \]. The behavior of \~(T) in the s-p-d-wave approximation does not much depend on the values of the Landau parameters, and \~(t) decreases monotonically with decreasing tem- perature.     

Shear viscosity of the B phase of superfluid3He

The shear viscosity (T) in the Balian-Werthamer (BW) state of superfluid ³ He is calculated variationally throughout the region 0t 1(t=T/T _c) from the transport equation for Bogoliubov quasiparticles. Coherence factors are treated exactly in the calculation of the collision integral. The numerical result for =_s= _s(T)/_n(T_c) agree very well with experiment in the range 0.8t1.0. Analytic expressions = 0.577 (1–1.0008t) and =1–(23/64) [=(T)/k _B T] are obtained in the low-temperature region and in the vicinity ofT _c, respectively. From the numerical analysis it is shown that the latter equation is valid only in the temperature range 0.9997t1.0.Supported by the Research Institute for Fundamental Physics, Kyoto University.     

Electrical and structural properties of ortho-chloranil doped zinc phthalocyanine films

Electrical conductivity of evaporated zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) films, doped with orthochloranil (o-CA) molecules, is investigated. Benzoico-CA solution is introduced in the film and benzene is removed by vapourization afterwards. The film conductivity at first increased and then decreased with incremental doping. The maximum conductivity of the sample appeared at doping level × (=o-CA/ZnPc) 0.2 and is about 10³ times as large as that of the as-evaporated one. About a ten-fold further increase in the conductivity is obtained by the heat-treatment of 150 °C for 12 h. The conductivity change by doping is explained by taking into account thato-CA molecules behave not only as acceptors in the film but destructively for the film structure. The phase change of ZnPc by benzoic solution is also discussed.     

Magnetic Behavior of Some Rare-Earth Transition-Metal Perovskite Oxide Systems

Magnetic properties were investigated for the rare-earth 3d-transition metal oxides with the perovskite structure. Intriguing magnetic phenomena were reviewed for a few systems:magnetization peak effect in the titanates, magnetization reversal in the chromites and metallic ferromagnetism in the cobahites. The results suggest an important role of the rare-earth ions for the magnetic properties of such complex oxides.