This paper examines the perception of space and time in detail, focusing on the special theory of relativity, which assumes that the speed of light is constant. In Newtonian theory, mass determines the total gravitational force that conserves the acceleration of a particle, but Einstein applied general relativity to cosmology to create a model of the universe as a whole. Highlighting is the easiest way to visualize the structure of space-time using curved rubber sheets. As regards infinite time, it is a circle with no beginning and no end, on which finite time rests as part of the angle of the arc. If God exists, he must have existed for an infinite time with no beginning or end. Guru Nanak explained to Japu the truth of God's original existence before the creation of time and space. More specifically, from his philosophical understanding, Nanak identifies the existence of God before the beginning of time and space, existing in the present, and existing in the future. One will be reborn in the universe until one attains the liberation attainable by grace. Through Gurmuk one must discover the divinity within oneself. Sikhism believes that God is the "Oneness" that permeates all creation and beyond. Thought begins with the Almighty, generalizes to God, and descends to the cosmic reality of the Creator of the Universe. Einstein's theory of beyond-universe reality is taking shape, and mysterious cosmic signals may fill the gaps to further establish the concept of Guru Nanak's beyond-time.
Increasing per capita consumptions of resources and resulting pollution, waste and global warming have led to the widespread recognition that we must not deplete and pollute the Ecosystem. The terms such as ‘Sustainability’, ‘Renewability’ and ‘Sustainable Development’ are attracting worldwide attention. Sustainable development is closely tied to economic development needed for the standard of living we have become accustomed to. The question is - can these standards be maintained safely without depleting and polluting the Ecosystem? The paper discusses the need for the development of energy efficient materials, renewable resources such as wind, hydro, hydrothermal and solar technology. Distinctions between’ technology and energy intensive’ production in developed countries and ‘labor intensive’ production in poor and developing countries are made. As such examples of United States, India, Ghana and Nicaragua are cited. It is suggested that decision making for sustainable development be made depending upon the level of development of a country. It is argued that developed countries must recognize limits to their growth and should look for alternate but sustainable resources for obtaining pollution free energy-for example, bio based, solar based and ‘fusion energy’ based. On the other hand, in developing and poor countries where poverty, hunger and poor sanitation exist, both environmentally acceptable and economically accessible solutions must be found for sustainable development. It is suggested that sustainable solutions be achieved by incorporating available material and local labour in developing countries and by using high technology approaches in developed countries. Labour intensive processes can be termed as “production by masses“ versus “mass production” and can as well, be economically sustainable. Developed countries should use high technology approaches to meet their demands by preserving the integrity of the Ecosystem. A schematic model for a country will be presented to help make sustainability decisions.
Keywords:A novel, fat free dehydrated marinade for meats and vegetables is disclosed which combines best features of a dry rub and marinades as a “two-in-one product”. It consists of puree of raw onion, fresh tomato and fresh garlic; red chilli powder, black pepper powder, lemon juice, lemon zest (outer skin), fresh ripe papaya puree and salt mixed in specific ratios followed by dehydration. The invention for the first time discloses use of ripe papaya as a rich source of enzymes in a marinade and contains ripe papaya as a major ingredient (34%). The ingredients are mixed in specific ratios and processed to prepare the marinade as a free flowing particulate mixture, comparable on nano scale. The marinade can be used directly as a solid powder that is coated on the food or some water can be added to it to instantly make a liquid marinade that is brushed or sprayed on the food.
Keywords:Radionuclides in soil and building material contribute significant background radiation exposure to population. Every living being is exposed to radiation originating from naturally occurring radionuclide, atmospheric radiation, and also from medical treatments. 87% of the radiation dose received by the population is from natural sources [1]. The terrestrial component of the natural background is dependent on the composition of the soils and rocks in which the natural radionuclides are contained. Ground water is in direct contact with the soil and rocks that dissolves many compounds, minerals including uranium and its daughter products and pose inhalation and ingestion dose when used in household activities. If a building is constructed with a material having higher concentration of natural radionuclide, then its indoor radiation dose rate will also be higher, which is the main reason for human lung and stomach cancer [2]. The activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in soil samples were analyzed using p-type coaxial Hyper Pure Germanium (HPGe) detector, 222Rn exhalation rate was measured using Smart Radon Monitor (SRM). 226Ra concentration varied from 22.0 Bqkg-1 to 61.1 Bqkg-1. 232Th concentration ranges from 15.6 to 47.5 Bqkg-1 and 40K concentration ranges from 18.1 Bqkg-1 to 456.0 Bqkg-1. The 222Rn exhalation rate from the soil sample of the study area varied from 2.52 to 13.91 mBqkg-1h-1. The concentration of 226Ra, 222Rn and 210Po in water samples were also measured and inhalation and ingestion dose is estimated. The 222Rn exhalation rate from the construction material varied from 4.65 to 18.34 mBqkg-1h-1. Activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K in soil samples were used to estimate 226Ra equivalent activity, internal hazard index, external hazard index and gamma activity concentration index, which lie well below the recommended limit by UNSCEAR 2000 [3].
Muktsar district of southwest Punjab (India) has gained significant attention due to elevated levels of different groundwater contaminants such as fluoride and uranium. A total of 38 groundwater samples were collected in 2022 and analyzed for physico-chemical parameters, major cations and anions and potentially toxic elements (PTEs), especially fluoride (F-) and uranium (U). Fluoride concentration ranged from 0.3 to 9.8 mg/L, with 60 % of samples exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) limit (1.5 mg/L), and U ranges from 14.9 to 456.6 µg/L, with 95% samples exceeded the WHO limit (30 µg/L). Sodium and Mg are major cations whereas sulfate (SO42-), and chloride (Cl-) are major anions in this area. Spearman Correlation analysis showed a strong positive correlation of U with F-, TDS, and bicarbonate (HCO3-) concentration in groundwater. Source identification of PTEs in groundwater was identified by applying multivariate statistical analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). This indicates that groundwater contamination of U and F- in this region is due to geogenic as well anthropogenic sources. Elevated level of this contamination along with high salinity makes this groundwater unfit for drinking and agriculture purpose.
Earthquakes constitute a severe source of human disasters all around the world. However, one has to note, following the reviews on earthquake prediction, that at the present day no detectable, systematic, and reliable precursory phenomena precede large earthquakes. Indeed, even if some precursory phenomena have been identified after many earthquakes, there are no statistically based reliable data for the recognition of a method based on the search for precursors. The island of Taiwan is a product of the collision between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate, which makes it a region of high seismicity. Active subduction zones occur south and east of Taiwan. Geochemical anomalies in soil gas and groundwater are commonly observed before the impending earthquake and volcanic eruptions, attracting considerable attention in studies on precursory geochemical signals. Geochemical variations of soil-gas composition in the vicinity of the geologic fault zone of Northeastern and Southwestern parts of Taiwan have been studied in detail recently[1]. To carry out the investigation, temporal soil-gases variations are measured at continuous earthquake monitoring stations established along different faults. In the present study, we correlated observed soil-gas anomalies with some earthquakes magnitude ≥ 5 that occurred in the region during the observation. Data is processed using different kinds of filters to reduce the noise level. It helps us to filter out the high-frequency noise and daily variation caused by different parameters. However, radon anomalies in all cases are not only controlled by seismic activity but also by meteorological parameters which make isolation of earthquake precursory signals complicated. Characteristics of temporal variability of soil-gas radon concentrations have also been examined using Singular Spectrum Analysis [2]. A digital filter has been applied to eliminate the long-term trend in the data that retains variations of less than 30 days. The radon variations exhibit dominant daily variations, which are controlled by atmospheric temperature inducted evaporation in surface water-saturated soil (Capping Effect). The causal relationship is marked by a clear phase lag of 2-3 hours in the sense that the peak in a daily variation of radon succeeds the peak in temperature. Aperiodic variations in soil radon intensity in the range of 2-10 days are negatively correlated with temperature whereas positively correlated with pressure [3]. To integrate our data with our working procedure, we use the popular and famous open source web application solution, AMP (Apache, MySQL, and PHP), creating a website that could effectively show and help us manage the real-time database [4]. Based on the anomalous signatures from particular monitoring stations we are in a state to identify the area for impending earthquakes for the proposed tectonic-based model for earthquake forecasting in Taiwan.
Matter in the interplanetary missions is exposed to Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) enhanced by intermittent solar flare energetic matter. These impinging GCR on spaceship materials as well as astronaut’s body, leave a variable damaged volume. That can be indirectly visualized by PADC detectors. Passive matter has been employed advantageously for space dosimetry; in that, etched nuclear tracks provide information on the LET value, mass and energy of impinging radiation. Here we suggest employing the etched nuclear tracks observed on the PADC detector surface, to predict damages in space matter. Information is obtained from track´s geometrical shape such as pit aperture, track length, direction, and nuclear reaction product as well as the impinging beam intensity, energy and particle mass. The suggested method provides insight of permanent or temporal atomic and molecular alteration in matter structure, space electronics including quantum computing expected failure rate.
Orthodox Quantum Mechanics (OQM) deals with two kinds of processes: spontaneous processes, governed by the Schrödinger equation; and measurement processes, ruled by the Projection Postulate. In spontaneous processes the state vector of the system evolves in a continuous way according to a deterministic law, the superposition principle applies, actions are local and conservation laws are strictly valid. By contrast, in measurement processes the state vector may collapse in a discontinuous way, with probabilities not ruled by deterministic laws, superpositions break down, a kind of action-at-a-distance results and conservation laws are not strictly valid but have only statistical sense. The inclusion in OQM of two laws irreducible to one another is at the very heart of the quantum measurement problem.[1] It is agreed that measurements in quantum mechanics require either the intervention of an observer, or the interaction of the quantum system with a measuring device (according to some authors every classical object), which introduces an unpredictable and uncontrollable perturbation of the spontaneous, natural evolution of the state of the system.
Transitions between stationary states (TBSS) induced by a time-dependent perturbation involve measurements [2,3]. Hence a similar (not identical) measurement problem to the traditional just described arises [3]; in particular, in both cases the Schrödinger evolution breaks down. If every photon absorbed or emitted by an atom involves one of such TBSS, there should be billions of observers and/or measuring devices at every small corner of the universe where these processes take place. Nevertheless, there is no evidence of their existence other than transitions between stationary states do occur. While there is ample reference to the traditional measurement problem, measurements related to TBSS are conspicuously absent from the specialized literature on the subject, with few exceptions.
We face this conundrum by assuming that measurements related to TBSS are fake measurement. By contrast, TBSS are real for they are not the result of fake measurement, but of the tendency of quantum systems to jump to preferential states. These ideas are fundamental to our Spontaneous Projection Approach [4]. In the present paper we sum up this approach and illustrate how it works when applied to two paradigmatic cases: the spontaneous decay of a radioactive element and the ideal measurement scheme of quantum mechanics. A method to test our approach by experiment is suggested.
Punjab State is facing a crisis situation due to high levels of uranium (U) and heavy metals in groundwater of Punjab [1-4]. Anomalous values of Uranium are reported in the nine districts of Malwa region of Punjab with U content higher than the WHO safe limit for drinking water. The origin of these anomalies is attributed to geogenic sources [5]. High values of Arsenic (As) and Selenium (Se) are reported in the Majha and Doaba belts of Punjab, respectively. Groundwater quality has deteriorated due to presence of other heavy metals, such as iron, nickel, cadmium, chromium, aluminium, and lead, and by the presence of anomalous values of basic parameters, such as TDS (total dissolved salts), calcium, magnesium, sulphate, nitrate, chloride and fluoride in certain other areas of Punjab.
Health hazard effects of Uranium and other heavy metals are reported in our study [3, 4]. For sustainable development of Punjab State, mitigation measures have been proposed to get rid of Uranium and heavy metals like Arsenic and Iron. Groundwater contamination problem has been tackled under the World Bank funded project since 2007. The various measures undertaken to supply potable water are RO system, Canal water and AMRIT Technology for mitigation of Arsenic and Iron in the Majha belt.
Swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation of materials is very powerful tool to modify various properties of the materials and it provides an alternative path to photons for providing electronic excitations in to the materials [1-4]. Cobalt ferrite (CoFe2O4) samples were prepared using SHS route and irradiated with 200 MeV Ag+16 ions using the 15 UD pelletron tendem accelerator at IUAC, New Delhi, India.
Prepared cobalt ferrite samples were irradiated at difference fluences from 1× 1013 to 1×1012 ions/cm2. Pristine as well as irradiated CoFe2O4 samples were characterized using FTIR, XRD and SEM. FTIR spectra of all samples show two bands at 410 cm-1 and 540 cm-1. There is no change in peak position but the intensity of peak decreased and broadness increased as ions fluencies increased from 1×1012 ions/cm2 to 1 × 1013 ions/cm2. XRD peaks show that after irradiation (1 × 1013 ions/cm2) intensity as well as FWHM of all peaks were increased, which confirmed structural modification. There was significant change in surface morphology after SHI irradiation. Pristine Cobalt ferrite sample shows agglomerated clusters of non-uniform grains of different size, while irradiated sample show relatively better morphology. SEM images analysis supports XRD results
The irradiation of polymeric materials with SHI results in a change of their free volume properties which have strong correlation with their macroscopic properties. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) has been developed into a powerful characterization tool for the study of free volume and free volume fraction in polymers. We have used different type of polymers with different thickness and irradiated with different ions of energy and flunces from 15 UD Pelletron accelerators at Inter University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi, India. Characterizations of the effect of ion irradiation on free volume have been done by PALS and other techniques like XRD, AFM, UV-Vis, FTIR, SEM etc. The average free volume and fractional free volume obtained from long lived component, attributed to ortho-positronium (o-Ps) lifetime, are found to decrease with the fluence in both the cases. With increasing fluence, scissioned segments cross-link randomly, resulting in a decrease of average free volume due to overlapping of tracks [1-5]. The detailed results will be discussed during the presentation.
Keywords:Polymers such polyvinyl chloride (PVC) filled with metal has attracted much attention because it combines advantages of insulation polymer and conductive metals for a variety of industrial applications such as electrical and electronic for electrical insulation, flame retardants and sheathings of cables and devices, construction materials as plastisol in flooring, roofing, panels, vehicle and in the medical field for prostheses materials for transtibial amputations. In applied industrial applications, the efficient modification of the electrical and physicochemical polymer composite materials is essential to achieve desired functionalities. In this study, swift heavy ion irradiation with 140 MeV Ag-ions was used to modify and tailor the dielectric, structural and thermal properties of polymer composite based on PVC filled with conductive aluminum metal (10-40%). The ion irradiation of PVC/Al composite was modified by manipulating the parameters such as fluence and concentration of Al in polymer composite. The influence of fluence of ion irradiation on PVC polymer composite tailored the dielectric properties by intentional doping of metal ions by inducing defects due to polymeric chain crosslinking and scissoring and charge hopping conduction mechanism. The modified PVC/Al polymeric composite possess improved electrical properties that mainly include dielectric constant, dielectric loss and AC electrical conductivity. Ag ion beam tailored features in PVC composite have been realized by improved crystalline structure in the XRD profile and thermal stability at low fluence of ion irradiation (1x1011 ions cm-2), which are unprecedented in pristine ones. Energetic Ag ion beams implemented agglomeration of doped metal particles in the SEM surface morphology or layer-to-layer structural engineering of PVC/Al surface and create a conductive metal network inside the polymeric structure. Promising applications based on polymeric metal composite materials with ion beam tailored features have the potential to apply them in a broad range of electrical and electronics, transportation, and medical fields.
Russian Physicist Peter Kapitza (1894-1984) was the young scientists attracted to work with Ernest Rutherford and gained a doctorate in Physics in July 1923 from Cambridge. He graduated from Petrograd Polytechnical Institute in 1919 and was awarded the degree of Engineer-Electrician. The Physico-mechanics faculty of the Institute was at that time headed by Abram Fedorovich Joffe.
In Cambridge, Kapitza started Physics Seminar from 1922 which was later named as “Kapitza Club”. In 1930, chemist and industrialist Ludwig Mond donated the required fund to London Royal Society for the construction of a specialized laboratory exclusively for research work of Kapitza. He lived and work in Cambridge till 1934.
In 1935, Kapitza created The Institute for Physical Problems in Moscow and worked as its director. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978. He the died on April 8, 1984 in Moscow.
I will talk about the family tragedy of December 1919, the work and stay in Cambridge, work in Moscow, quotes from the Nobel speech, my several visit to him in Moscow and finally, the Kapitza Memorial Museum in Moscow.
Radiation Physics is making crucial contributions in many areas of the environment and industry for sustainable development. Radiation technology is being used to enhance the quality of life and to make industries cleaner and safer. Three effective methods are being used for industrial operations for instance:
1. Radiotracer and sealed source techniques to monitor industrial processes and containers.
2. Radiation processing/treatment.
3. Industrial gamma tomography and radiography.
Radiation processing applying gamma sources is a well-established technology, with about 160 gamma industrial irradiators worldwide. The main aim of this technology is the development of new materials, especially for environmental protection, healthcare, and advanced products (e.g. biotechnology, solar energy systems, etc.). The role of the International Atomic Energy Agency in its development and transfer is worth appreciation. With the efforts of the IAEA, several radiation processing centres have been established in Malaysia, Egypt, Iran, Poland, Brazil, and Hungary. Industrial radiotracer and gamma source techniques are widely used to analyze industrial process systems. These techniques are critical in online monitoring, improved productivity, and process parameter optimization. In many industrial multiphase flow systems, Gamma tomography is being used as a complementary technology for optimizing industrial process design and operation. New development work for preparing radiotracers for harsh industrial conditions is under progress. Multi-tracer applications for on-shore and off-shore oil field characterization are under development. Digital Industrial Radiography testing has become a method of choice for online NDT inspection.
Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors have existed on earth, moon and other solidified species (e.g. meteorites) due to cooling down of insulation material in space in the form of minerals (mica, quartz, etc.). Passive radon monitoring using SSNTDs was initiated by three American scientists namely, R. L. Fleisher , R. M. Walker and P. B. Price [1, 2] and ultimately, patented by Becker [3, 4]. Typical organic materials used for radon dosimetry are made of bisphenol-A polycarbonate (Lexan, Makrofol), cellulose nitrate (LR-115, CN-85) and polyallyl di-glycol carbonate (PADC or CR-39).
Bare mode Single cup diffusion chamber and Twin cup dosimeters for estimation of indoor 222Rn/220Rn concentrations have become obsolete today owing to their several drawbacks such as unwanted interferences from progeny, atmospheric turbulence effects and negative 220Rn concentrations. To overcome these technical limitations, a new pin-hole based 222Rn/220Rn discriminating dosimeter with single entry face was designed by Sahoo et al. [5]. It is one of the most versatile devices in mixed field environment of 222Rn and 220Rn.
Numerous dosimetric, radiobiological and epidemiological studies have been carried out by many researchers to establish guideline values for various radionuclides, identify regions of concern develop biokinetic models, and project national baseline values. This study summarizes some important studies conducted in India by our group at NIT Jalandhar.
Keeping toxic nature of uranium in mind, a survey of groundwater consumed by inhabitants is also conducted. A comprehensive analysis of uranium burden in a human adult is done by determining natural uranium concentration. The annual effective doses are computed both age-wise and organ-wise. Internal organ/tissue doses give an insight of radioactive targets which may act as bio-indicators of uranium toxicity in human body. The transfer coefficients of different body organs are calculated using hair compartment model of uranium and compared with those obtained using ICRP’s biokinetic model [6]. The results of the study not only fulfil an environmental cause but also, a social cause to identify regions of concern, regions of negligible uranium concentrations and those for which data is currently unavailable, but nevertheless, may become prospective uranium sites and should be investigated.
An innovative method based on the capability to measure temporal changes of gas flow such as Rn-222 and CO2 in deep boreholes, led to the clear discovery that both gases are affected by underground activity and could be associated with the regional geodynamic pre-seismic evolution along the Dead Sea Fault Zone (DSFZ) in northern Israel.
Long-term monitoring of natural gases in deep boreholes along seismogenic active fault zones, based on passive measuring systems (avoiding pumping and gas circulation that disturb the local equilibrium) enables to eliminate from the acquired time series, the climatic-induced periodic contributions caused by temperature and barometric pressure, and to expose the remaining portion of the signals that may be associated with the underground tectonic preseismic activity.
It was highlighted that the radon present in country rock formations as measured by gamma radiation detectors at different depths, is propelled by the surface temperature gradient to flow downward, up to a proven depth of 100 meters, revealing a daily periodicity similar to the diurnal cycle of surface temperature. The gamma detectors at each depth present very sharp, clear, and accurate peaks as a result of a high counting rate and low error, with a specific time lag between each other. It was found that the time lag depends on the downward radon velocity within the bedrock type.
The amplitudes of the radon periodic signals are controlled by the intensity of the climatic driving force, in linear dependency with the pressure gradient according to the existing physical model, and with the largest non-linear variations induced by the ambient temperature gradient, that according to the ratio between the radon level in winter to summer, varies by a factor of 3-10 while the temperature varies only within 10% span (280 C change versus an average of 2850 K).
Now, monitoring radon at a depth of several dozens of meters, substantially attenuates the climatic contribution and increases the possibility of resolving from the radon temporal spectrum the preseismic radon signals that are not periodic and are independent of the atmospheric driving forces.
In parallel, it was observed that CO2, within the internal airspace of a borehole, follows the radon measured by an alpha detector at 40m, as well as the radon temporal variations at the surrounding bedrock measured by gamma detectors up to 88m, and both are driven by the same driving forces.
The plausibly preseismic local movement of the two gases at depth is identified by the appearance of discrete, random, non-cyclical signals, wider in time duration than 20 hours and clearly wider than the sum of the width of the periodic diurnal and semidiurnal signals driven by ambient meteorological parameters. These non-cyclical signals may precede, by one day or more, a forthcoming seismic event with magnitude > 4.5.
Thus, deep gas monitoring technology may become a useful tool for the investigation of seismic precursors since similarly to radon and CO2, the existence of any natural gas such as nitrogen, oxygen, methane, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, and helium within deep subsurface media can serve as a proxy for pre-seismic precursory phenomena.
Since natural disaster events are relatively rare, and thus it's going to take a very long time to establish statistically the ability of this approach, it seems essential to verify our selected monitoring technology of gas flow in the geological medium, by independent physical methodology, such as latest Tensor Optical Fiber Strainmeter designed and being deployed over the past three years. It will be used as an orthogonal sensing proof of the non-periodic, Physico-chemical parameter variations.
Semiconductor nanostructures due to their size tunable photo-physical and photo-chemical behaviour have attracted great interest. CuS nanostructures (NSs) have been synthesized by facile chemical co-precipitation technique in variable solvent media concentrations of water: ethylene glycol (100:0; 75:25; 50:50; 25:75; 0:100). Crystallographic and morphological studies carried with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM), respectively; reveal the formation of highly crystalline wurtzite structured CuS nanostructures having spherical morphology. It has been observed from the recorded diffractograms and micrographs that the average crystallite size, particle size and particle size distribution strongly depend on the solvent concentrtaion in variable solvent media. Average crystallite size values calculated for CuS nanostructures synthesized in variable solvent media are 6.62 nm, 8.04 nm, 7.93 nm, 6.64 nm and 6.62 nm for water: ethylene glycol concentration ratios of 100:0; 75:25; 50:50; 25:75 and 0:100, respectively. Morphological studies indicate that monodispersity in the particle size augments with increasing concentration of ethylene glycol. Pristine ethylene glycol solvent gives highly monodisperse nanospheres, whereas pristine aqueous solvent media causes the formation of heterogenous size distribution in synthesized CuS nanostructures. UV-Visible absorption spectra have been recorded to find the optical band gap values of the synthesized NSs. Calculated optical band gap values of NSs synthesized in variable solvent media are 2.29 eV, 2.18 eV, 2.28 eV, 2.33 eV and 2.39 eV for water: ethylene glycol concentration ratios of 100:0; 75:25; 50:50; 25:75 and 0:100, respectively. Photo-catalytic activity potential of synthesized NSs has been tested in aqueous media by the detoxification of test contaminant; methylene blue (MB) dye under visible light irradiation. Recorded results reveal that the synthesized nanostructures have excellent photo-catalytic activity, which strongly depends on the nanostructure morphology.
Keywords:Eu3+ doped borate glass matrix was prepared by conventional melt quenching technique. For this glass system some physical parameters such as Density (ρ), Molar volume (Vm), Oxygen packing density (O), Ion concentration (N), polaron radius rp(Å) have been calculated and their variation with rare-earth is studied. To check the radiation shielding ability of the prepared glass system, shielding parameters were calculated in the energy range 0.001 MeV to 0.5 MeV. The calculated parameters were analyzed on the basis of doping concentration and energy. The structure of the prepared glasses has been analyzed with the help of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The conversion of BO3 → BO4 and back conversion is observed and for more insight about the structure, the FT-IR spectrum has been deconvoluted. The band gap (Eg) was obtained with the help of Kubelka-Munk (K-M or F(R)) function.
Anomalous fluctuation of radon concentration in soil is a well-known short-term precursor of earthquakes. Activity of radon (222Rn) gas in soil was monitored continuously for about eight months from late June 2018 to late February 2019, simultaneously at two monitoring stations in the Eastern Himalayas, namely, Ravangla in Sikkim and Diphu in Assam, in search of possible precursors induced by seismic activity within a few hundred kilometres of the stations. Radon activity in soil gas, together with local meteorological parameters such as daily temperature, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation, was recorded with Barasol BMC2 radon monitor which was integrated with sensors for the weather parameters. The data recorded at both sites show that various physical and meteorological parameters affect the outflow of radon gas from soil, leading to a complex non-linear non-stationary soil 222Rn time series. Therefore, a two-step non-linear technique consisting of empirical mode decomposition and Hilbert-Huang transform has been used for analysis of the data (Chowdhury et al. 2017). However, as this method alone is inadequate to identify the effects of regional geophysical factors as well as that of rainfall, the networking approach has been adopted with it. The study looked for precursors for regional earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 or above within an epicentral distance of 500 km from each monitoring station; however, for earthquakes of smaller and larger magnitudes, smaller and larger epicentral zones respectively were considered. A number of earthquake-induced anomalies have been found in the soil radon time series of both stations. In this regard, anomalies were observed almost simultaneously from both centres preceding a M5.3 earthquake that occurred on September 12, 2018 in Kokrajhar, Assam. Moreover, the epicentre of this earthquake was found to be located in the common region monitored by the centres. Hence, monitoring of soil radon concentration utilising a network of stations in earthquake-prone regions may be a promising method for short-term precursors of earthquakes.
A series of Nd3+- doped heavy metal oxide alumino-phosphate glass samples were synthesized by melt quenching technique. The samples were studied for their luminescent and radiative properties. UV-Visible absorption spectra show nine absorption bands owing to transitions from 4I9/2 of Nd3+-ion to 2I11/2+4D3/2+4D1/2 (356nm), 4G9/2 ( 511nm), 4G7/2 (525nm), 4G5/2+2G7/2 (582nm), 2H11/2 ( 627nm), 4F9/2 (683nm), 4S3/2+4F7/2 (746nm), 4F5/2+2H9/2 (803nm) and 4F3/2 (874nm). It has been observed that Judd-Ofelt parameters are influenced by local structure of rare-earth ions. An intense emission band observed at 1044 nm on exciting the samples at = 808 nm has been assigned to transition 4F3/2→4I11/2. Large values of transition probability, high branching ratio and high stimulated cross-section of this transition indicates its potential use in IR lasers.
Without advances in how the world physically stores and retrieves data, today’s most useful devices and algorithms would not exist. The dominant memory chip technologies such as NAND Flash and DRAM rode the wave of innovations in materials, process and device technologies to scale down the path of Moore’s law. Although physical scaling is becoming increasingly difficult, the forces and market pull driving cost, power and density scaling are growing relentlessly. The amount of memory in systems for example is increasing geometrically and the applications continue to diversify and expand from traditional handheld devices and large data centers.
A commitment to innovation and creativity is needed to help fuel the next generation of technologies such as self-driving cars, space exploration and artificial intelligence (AI), which sounded like science fiction not so long ago. In addition, several flavors of new memory technologies based on alternate state variables are under development. This is driving unprecedented demand for new materials research and innovation. The unique set of requirements span from new device physics functionality at nanometer dimension scale to ability to cover complex 3D structure with large surface areas. This opens a new era of materials and process development space not seen before in the microelectronics chip industry. A robust strategy is needed to provide a framework in which scientists and engineers can work to reduce the likelihood of the effects of trace elements, molecules or ligands on device and structural performance and assure environmental sustainability. Examples will be used to illustrate the overhead in modeling, analytics, logistics and data management required to be successful.
