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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Improvements in Rapid Prototyping
Several improvements have been proposed for the fabrication process known as "rapid prototyping." In this process, a model or prototype of a solid object is built up by controlled ejection of molten polymeric material through programmed orifices to form patterned layers. The second layer is deposited on top of the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An electron-beam ionizer has been designed to deliver ions to the entrance apertures of nine miniature quadrupole mass spectrometers in an array. A similar electron-beam ionizer could also be...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A computer-controlled instrumentation system has been developed for use in measuring concentrations of various atomic species in the exhaust gases of a space-shuttle main engine on a...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
The figure presents additional information on the optics of the atomic-absorption-spectroscopy (AAS) system described in the preceding article. The optics include (1) a periscopic...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A technique for ultrasonic characterization of plates has been extended to tubes and curved structures in general. In this technique, as explained in more detail below, one performs...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Detecting Metal Ions by Voltammetry Using Diamond Electrodes
Experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of detecting multiple species of toxic metal ions and other ions of interest dissolved in water, by means of voltammetry with electrically conductive artificial diamond electrodes. Diamond is attractive as an electrode material because it is...
Briefs: Information Technology
A preconditioning technique has been developed for numerical solution of the Helmholtz equation as applied to the steady-state propagation of sound in a semi-infinite, two-dimensional...
Briefs: Information Technology
A digital processing technique for separating two cochannel frequency-modulation (FM) signals involves a partial algebraic solution that gives the phases of the two signals to within one...
Briefs: Materials
Tribological Characterization of Solid Surfaces
Reports labeled as chapters 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10 of a NASA technical memorandum that addresses topics in tribology have been compiled into a document that emphasizes those aspects of the subject matter that pertain to chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond and diamond-like films. The...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Small Balloons for Local Aerial Exploration of Mars
A report proposes the use of lightweight balloon-borne instrumentation systems for exploration in the vicinity of a lander on the surface of Mars. Each system would comprise instrumentation with a mass of about 0.2 kg and a balloon with a mass of about 0.8 kg and volume of about 50 m3. The...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Using Electromagnetic Drag on Tethers To De-Orbit Spacecraft
Two papers propose the use of electrically conductive tethers to remove spent or dysfunctional spacecraft from orbit around the Earth in order to reduce the hazard of orbital debris. In comparison with onboard rockets, these tethers would be more cost-effective, more reliable, and less...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An optoelectronic apparatus and a technique for its operation have been developed to facilitate and accelerate the measurement of distances of the order of tens of feet to within...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A portable, battery-powered camera unit contains a programmable digital camera that is implemented on a single chip utilizing active-pixel-sensor (APS) technology, plus circuitry for...
Briefs: Materials
An improved method of accelerated testing reduces the time needed to analyze the abilities of zinc-rich primers to protect steel substrates against corrosion in a seacoast environment....
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A developmental electro-optical system would enable remote real-time viewing of a scene through a multimode optical fiber, as though the fiber were a conventional image-transmitting optic...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Precise small apertures for a variety of optical applications can be formed in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers by use of a photolithographic process developed specifically for the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A method of processing phase measurements in an unequal-arm laser Michelson interferometer makes it possible to detect phase effects much smaller than the laser phase noise. In the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
The figure depicts several aspects of a unique type of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) that incorporate fiber Fabry-Perot (FFP) optical cavities. These lasers have been...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
The size of a holographic data-storage system could be reduced by a proposed design modification that calls for replacement and repositioning of some optical components and the use of...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Monolithic semiconductor photodiodes that discriminate against infrared and visible light and that can be tailored to detect ultraviolet light in selected wavelength bands have been...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Pulse shepherding (defined below) can be exploited to impress synchronized amplitude-modulation pulses, with durations of the order of picoseconds, onto beams of light with...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A dynamic-light-scattering (DLS) method that reduces undesired contributions from multiply scattered photons has been invented. The method involves, among other things,...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Under a Phase 1 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award of $99,000 with Goddard Space Flight Center, Advanced Optical Systems Inc. (AOS) has produced a 13.5-kg/m2 6-in.-diameter mirror flat...
Briefs: Information Technology
A class of finite-impulse-response (FIR) digital filters has been developed to perform certain frequency-limiting, decimation, and differentiation (with respect to time) functions on a time...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Figure 1 schematically depicts an experimental setup in which Rayleigh scattering from molecules of a flowing gas is used to measure the temperature and one component of the velocity...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Integrated Optical Voltage-Measuring Apparatus
An integrated optical voltage-measuring apparatus based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer has been designed and constructed. The main feature of this apparatus is that optical fibers link part of it to an optical sensor head placed at the source of the voltage to be measured, whether the source be a...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The Integrated Test and Operations System (ITOS) is a generic system of software for controlling spacecraft and components of spacecraft during development, testing, and operation in orbit. The ITOS...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
The ULTRA SON computer program is designed for use in precise ultrasonic contact scan measurements for nondestructive characterization of materials. This program performs major functions...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Apparatus Records Acceleration and Temperature
An apparatus records triaxial acceleration and temperature as a function of time, operating unattended for as long as 3 weeks on power supplied by two D cells. The apparatus, which has dimensions of only 3.5 by 4.5 by 2.2 in. (8.9 by 11.4 by 5.6 cm) and weighs only 28.5 oz (0.81 kg) is designed...
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