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Briefs: Energy
Circuit for Full Charging of Series Lithium-Ion Cells
An advanced charger has been proposed for a battery that comprises several lithium-ion cells in series. The proposal is directed toward charging the cells in as nearly an optimum manner as possible despite unit-to-unit differences among the nominally identical cells.
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Analog Nonvolatile Computer Memory Circuits
In nonvolatile random-access memory (RAM) circuits of a proposed type, digital data would be stored in analog form in ferroelectric field-effect transistors (FFETs). This type of memory circuit would offer advantages over prior volatile and nonvolatile types:
Briefs: Software
World Wind 3D Earth Viewing
World Wind allows users to zoom from satellite altitude down to any place on Earth, leveraging high-resolution LandSat imagery and SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) elevation data to experience Earth in visually rich 3D. In addition to Earth, World Wind can also visualize other planets, and there are already...
Briefs: Software
JavaGenes Molecular Evolution
JavaGenes is a general-purpose, evolutionary software system written in Java. It implements several versions of a genetic algorithm, simulated annealing, stochastic hill climbing, and other search techniques. This software has been used to evolve molecules, atomic force field parameters, digital circuits, Earth...
Briefs: Materials
Accounting for Uncertainties in Strengths of SiC MEMS Parts
A methodology has been devised for accounting for uncertainties in the strengths of silicon carbide structural components of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The methodology enables prediction of the probabilistic strengths of complexly shaped MEMS parts using data from tests of...
Briefs: Energy
Lithium Dinitramide as an Additive in Lithium Power Cells
Lithium dinitramide, LiN(NO2)2 has shown promise as an additive to nonaqueous electrolytes in rechargeable and non-rechargeable lithium-ion-based electrochemical power cells. Such non-aqueous electrolytes consist of lithium salts dissolved in mixtures of organic ethers, esters, carbonates,...
Briefs: Materials
Ion-conducting polymers that are hybrids of organic and inorganic moieties and that are suitable for forming into solid electrolyte membranes have been invented in an effort to improve upon the...
Briefs: Materials
MoO3 has shown promise as a cathode material that can extend the upper limit of operating temperature of rechargeable lithium thin-film electrochemical cells. Cells of this type are...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A streamliner motorcycle designed and built by Sierra Design Engineering and BUB Enterprises achieved a new world-record speed of 350.884 miles per hour last year at the Bonneville Salt...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A counterrotating-shoulder mechanism has been proposed as an alternative to the mechanism and fixtures used in conventional friction stir welding. The mechanism would internally react...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A method of detecting mechanical failure induced by variation in temperature at an adhesive bond between two materials that have different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs)...
Briefs: Medical
Antibodies that bind to preselected regions of the urokinase molecule have been developed. These antibodies can be used to measure small quantities of each of three molecular forms of urokinase that...
Briefs: Medical
Understanding and Counteracting Fatigue in Flight Crews
The materials included in the collection of documents describe the research of the NASA Ames Fatigue Countermeasures Group (FCG), which examines the extent to which fatigue, sleep loss, and circadian disruption affect flight-crew performance. The group was formed in 1980 — in response to a...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A system of active optics that includes a wavefront sensor and a deformable mirror has been demonstrated to be an effective means of partly correcting wavefront aberrations...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Recirculation of Laser Power in an Atomic Fountain
A new technique for laser-cooling atoms in a cesium atomic fountain frequency standard relies on recirculation of laser light through the atom-collection region of the fountain. The recirculation, accomplished by means of reflections from multiple fixed beam-splitter cubes, is such that each of two...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A simplified method of generating a beam of light having a relatively high value of angular momentum (see figure) involves the use of a compact apparatus consisting mainly of a laser, a...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Two interferometric quantum-nondemolition (QND) devices have been proposed: (1) a polarization-independent device and (2) a polarization-preserving device. The...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Ring-Down Spectroscopy for Characterizing a CW Raman Laser
A relatively simple technique for characterizing an all-resonant intracavity continuous- wave (CW) solid-state Raman laser involves the use of ring-down spectroscopy. As used here, “characterizing” signifies determining such parameters as threshold pump power, Raman gain, conversion...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The term “Passive Acoustic Monitoring System” (PAMS) describes a developmental sensing and data-acquisition system for recording underwater sounds. The sounds (more precisely, digitized and...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Wireless Data-Acquisition System for Testing Rocket Engines
A prototype wireless data-acquisition system has been developed as a potential replacement for a wired data-acquisition system heretofore used in testing rocket engines. The traditional use of wires to connect sensors, signal-conditioning circuits, and data acquisition circuitry is...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Processing Raw HST Data With Up-to-Date Calibration Data
On-the-Fly Reprocessing (OTFR) is a collection of data-processing routines that work within the context of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) pipeline data-flow system. The purpose served by OTFR is to generate, on demand, scientifically useful data products from raw HST data stored in an...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The Aviation Data Integration System (ADIS) of Ames Research Center has been established to promote analysis of aviation data by airlines and other interested users for purposes of enhancing the...
Briefs: Medical
A system that would comprise mobile and stationary electronic hardware and software subsystems has been proposed for collection and automated interpretation of electro-encephalo-graphic...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Servomotor and Controller Having Large Dynamic Range
A recently developed micro-commanding rotational position control system offers advantages of less mechanical complexity, less susceptibility to mechanical resonances, less power demand, less bulk, less weight, and lower cost, relative to prior rotational position control systems based on...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The Mission Control Center Voice Over Internet Protocol (MCC VOIP) system (see figure) comprises hardware and software that effect simultaneous, nearly real-time transmission of as many as 14...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Complex Type-II Interband Cascade MQW Photodetectors
Multiple-quantum-well (MQW) photodetectors of a proposed type would contain active regions comprising multiple superlattice subregions. These devices would have complex structures: The superlattice of each subregion would be designed for enhanced absorption of photons in a desired wavelength band...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
A proposed visible-light imaging spectrometer on a chip would be based on the concept of a heterostructure comprising multiple layers of silicon-based photodetectors interspersed with long-wavelength-pass optical...
Briefs: Software
AIRSAR Web-Based Data Processing
The AIRSAR automated, Web-based data processing and distribution system is an integrated, end-to-end synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing system. Designed to function under limited resources and rigorous demands, AIRSAR eliminates operational errors and provides for paperless archiving. Also, it provides a...
Briefs: Software
Translator for Optimizing Fluid-Handling Components
A software interface has been devised to facilitate optimization of the shapes of valves, elbows, fittings, and other components used to handle fluids under extreme conditions. This software interface translates data files generated by PLOT3D (a NASA grid-based plotting-and- data-display program)...
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Quiz: Power
Blog: Robotics, Automation & Control
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Webcasts
On-Demand Webinars: Transportation
Advantages of Smart Power Distribution Unit Design for Automotive &...
Upcoming Webinars: Unmanned Systems
Quiet, Please: NVH Improvement Opportunities in the Early Design...
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
From Spreadsheets to Insights: Fast Data Analysis Without Complex...
Upcoming Webinars: Electronics & Computers
Cooling a New Generation of Aerospace and Defense Embedded...
Upcoming Webinars: AR/AI
Beyond AI-Copy-Paste Engineering: Advanced AI-Integration Success...
Upcoming Webinars: Energy
