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Briefs: Medical
Telemetry systems of a type that have been proposed for the monitoring of physiological functions in humans would include the following subsystems:
Surgically implanted or...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A proposed wireless- communication and data-processing system would exploit recent advances in radio- frequency identification devices (RFIDs) and software to establish information lifelines between...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A lightweight, low-power camera dart has been designed and tested for context imaging of sampling sites and ground surveys from an aerobot or an orbiting spacecraft in a microgravity environment. The...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Electrostatically actuated nano- electromechanical switches based on carbon nanotubes have been fabricated and tested in a continuing effort to develop high-speed switches for a variety...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A power converter now undergoing development is required to operate at a DC input potential ranging between 5.5 and 10 kV and a DC output potential of 400 V at a current up to 25 A. This...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The figure shows a prototype radial power-combining waveguide structure, capable of operation at frequencies from 31 to 36 GHz, that features an unusually large number (N = 24) of combining...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A submillimeter-wave monolithic integrated- circuit (S-MMIC) amplifier has been designed and fabricated using an indium phosphide (InP) 35-nm gate-length high electron mobility transistor (HEMT)...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
All-solid-state electrochemical power cells have been fabricated and tested in a continuing effort to develop batteries for instruments for use in environments as hot as 500 °C. Batteries of this...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
During the first decade of direct metal laser-sintering (DMLS), the metals employed were generally ones developed specifically for DMLS, rather than those used in traditional metalforming methods. But in...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A microfluidic system has been designed to survive spaceflight and to function autonomously on the Martian surface. It manipulates microscopic quantities of liquid water and...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Fabricating High-Resolution X-Ray Collimators
A process and method for fabricating multi-grid, high-resolution rotating modulation collimators for arcsecond and sub-arcsecond x-ray and gamma-ray imaging involves photochemical machining and precision stack lamination. The special fixturing and etching techniques that have been developed are used for...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Lightweight, piezoelectrically actuated bending flight-control surfaces have shown promise as means of actively controlling airflows to improve the performances of transport airplanes. These...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
System Estimates Radius of Curvature of a Segmented Mirror
A system that estimates the global radius of curvature (GRoC) of a segmented telescope mirror has been developed for use as one of the subsystems of a larger system that exerts precise control over the displacements of the mirror segments. This GRoC-estimating system, when integrated into...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A mercury-ion clock now at the breadboard stage of development (see figure) has a stability comparable to that of a hydrogen-maser clock: In tests, the clock exhibited an Allan deviation of between 2 ×...
Briefs: Materials
Composite truss structures are being developed that can be compacted for stowage and later deploy themselves to full size and shape. In the target applications, these "smart" structures...
Briefs: Materials
Workers at NASA Ames Research center are endeavoring to develop durable, oxidation- resistant, foam thermal protection systems (TPSs) that would be suitable for covering large exterior spacecraft...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Lithium tetrakis(trifluoro- methanesulfonato) gallate [abbreviated “LiGa(OTf)4” (wherein “OTf” signifies trifluoro- methanesulfonate)] has been found to be promising as an electrolyte...
Briefs: Materials
Molecules for Fluorescence Detection of Specific Chemicals
A family of fluorescent dye molecules has been developed for use in "on-off" fluorescence detection of specific chemicals. By themselves, these molecules do not fluoresce. However, when exposed to certain chemical analytes in liquid or vapor forms, they do fluoresce (see figure). These...
Briefs: Materials
Fuel-Cell Electrolytes Based on Organosilica Hybrid Proton Conductors
A new membrane composite material that combines an organosilica proton conductor with perfluorinated Nafion material to achieve good proton conductivity and high-temperature performance for membranes used for fuel cells in stationary, transportation, and portable applications has...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A diamond turning process has made possible a significant advance in the art of whispering-gallery- mode (WGM) optical resonators. By use of this process, it is possible to fashion...
Briefs: Medical
A design has been formulated for a proposed improved version of an apparatus that simulates atmospheric effects of human respiration by introducing controlled amounts of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and heat...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Compact Dielectric-Rod White-Light Delay Lines
Optical delay lines of a proposed type would be made from rods of such dielectric materials as calcium fluoride, fused silica, or sapphire. These would offer advantages over prior optical delay lines, as summarized below.
Briefs: Medical
A unique and customizable machine-vision and image-data-processing technique has been developed for use in automated identification of cells that are optimal for patch clamping. [Patch...
Briefs: Information Technology
Spiking Neurons for Analysis of Patterns
Artificial neural networks comprising spiking neurons of a novel type have been conceived as improved pattern- analysis and pattern- recognition computational systems. These neurons are represented by a mathematical model denoted the state- variable model (SVM), which among other things, exploits a...
Briefs: Information Technology
Symmetric Phase-Only Filtering in Particle-Image Velocimetry
Symmetrical phase-only filtering (SPOF) can be exploited to obtain substantial improvements in the results of data processing in particle- image velocimetry (PIV). In comparison with traditional PIV data processing, SPOF PIV data processing yields narrower and larger amplitude correlation...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Efficient Coupler for a Bessel Beam Dispersive Element
A document discusses overcoming efficient optical coupling to high orbital momentum modes by slightly bending the taper dispersive element. This little shape distortion is not enough to scramble the modes, but it allows the use of regular, free-beam prism coupling, fiber coupling, or planar...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Attitude and Translation Control of a Solar Sail Vehicle
A report discusses the ability to control the attitude and translation degrees-of-freedom of a solar sail vehicle by changing its center of gravity. A movement of the spacecraft's center of mass causes solar- pressure force to apply a torque to the vehicle. At the compact core of the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Figure 1 shows a simplified block diagram of an improved optoelectronic system for locking the phase of one laser to that of another laser with an adjustable offset frequency specified by the user. In...
Briefs: Materials
Efforts are underway to develop inexpensive, low-power electronic sensors, based on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), for measuring part-per-million and part-per-billion of selected...
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Webcasts
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
The Real Impact of AR and AI in the Industrial Equipment Industry
Upcoming Webinars: Motion Control
Next-Generation Linear and Rotary Stages: When Ultra Precision...
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How Wearables Are Enhancing Smart Drug Delivery
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SAE Automotive Podcast: Solid-State Batteries
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