Constant stretching rate experiments on low density polyethylene

A simple apparatus for elongational test of molten polymers is presented. Its realiability is demonstrated by means of stress growth in constant stretching rate experiments and relaxation test on a low density polyethylene sample.     

The polymerisation of 2-furyl vinyl ketone

Summary 2-Furyl vinyl ketone was polymerised using anionic, cationic and free-radical initiators. Yields and molecular weights varied with the type of activation. Whereas radical polymerisation gave a product possessing a regular vinylic structure, other kinds of units were detected in the polymers prepared with anionic and cationic catalysts.     

Influence of the intrinsic layer characteristics on a-Si:H p–i–n solar cell performance analysed by means of a computer simulation

In this paper a set of one-dimensional simulations of a-Si:H p–i–n junctions under different illumination conditions and with different intrinsic layer are presented. The simulation program ASCA permits the analysis of the internal electrical behaviour of the cell allowing a comparison among the different internal configurations determined by a change in the input set. Results about the internal electric configuration will be presented and discussed outlining their influence on the current tension characteristic curve. Considerations about the drift–diffusion and the generation–recombination balance distributions, outlined by the simulation, can be used to explain the correlation between the basic device output, the i-layer characteristics (thickness and DOS), the incident radiation intensity and photon energy.     

Computerized conferencing for knowledge acquisition from multiple experts

The increasing complecity of many expert system application areas calls for the integration of the knowledge of multiple experts. The use of multiple experts introduces some interesting new problems during the process of knowledge acquisition. The problems are further complicated when the experts are geographically dispersed or unavailable for face-to-face interactions.

This article discusses the motivations for acquiring the knowledge of multiple experts, the problems related to knowledge acquisition, new issues that arise whens multiple experts interact, solutions that can be brought to bear in building multiple expert systems (particularly when experts are geographically dispersed), and new tools for knowledge engineers to use when dealing with multiple experts.     

Joint Measurements on Qubits and Cloning of Observables

Cloning of observables, unlike standard cloning of states, aims at copying the information encoded in the statistics of a class of observables rather then on quantum states themselves. In such a process the emphasis is on the quantum operation (evolution plus measurement) necessary to retrieve the original information. We analyze, for qubit systems, the cloning of a class generated by two noncommuting observables, elucidating the relationship between such a process and joint measurements. This helps in establishing an optimality criterion for cloning of observables. We see that, even if the cloning machine is designed to act on the whole class generated by two noncommuting observables, the same optimal performances of a joint measurement can be attained. Finally, the connection with state dependent cloning is enlightened.