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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A multiple-bit differential-detection method has been proposed for the reception of radio signals modulated with offset quadrature phase-shift keying (offset QPSK or OQPSK). The method is also...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Some Improvements in H-PDLCs
Some improvements have been made in the formulation of holographically formed polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (H-PDLCs) and in the fabrication of devices made from these materials, with resulting improvements in performance. H-PDLCs are essentially volume Bragg gratings. Devices made from HPDLCs function as...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Laser System for Precise, Unambiguous Range Measurements
The Modulation Sideband Technology for Absolute Range (MSTAR) architecture is the basis of design of a proposed laser-based heterodyne interferometer that could measure a range (distance) as great as 100 km with a precision and resolution of the order of 1 nm. Simple optical interferometers...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Feedback control of the penetration force applied to a pin tool in friction stir welding has been found to be a robust and reliable means for controlling the depth of penetration of the tool....
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
A low-temperature process for fabricating flexible, ohmic contacts for use in organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) has been developed. Typical drainsource contact materials used...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A special-purpose tool has been developed for measuring the depths of defects on an O-ring seal surface. The surface lies in a specially shaped ringlike fitting, called a “capture feature...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Stability-Augmentation Devices for Miniature Aircraft
Non-aerodynamic mechanical devices are under consideration as means to augment the stability of miniature autonomous and remotely controlled aircraft. Such aircraft can be used for diverse purposes, including military reconnaissance, radio communications, and safety-related monitoring of wide...
Briefs: Information Technology
Predicting Numbers of Problems in Development of Software
A method has been formulated to enable prediction of the amount of work that remains to be performed in developing flight software for a spacecraft. The basic concept embodied in the method is that of using an idealized curve (specifically, the Weibull function) to interpolate from (1) the...
Briefs: Information Technology
Improved Compression of Wavelet-Transformed Images
A recently developed data-compression method is an adaptive technique for coding quantized wavelet-transformed data, nominally as part of a complete image-data compressor. Unlike some other approaches, this method admits a simple implementation and does not rely on the use of large code tables.
Briefs: Physical Sciences
An optical communications terminal (OCT) is being developed to enable transmission of data at a rate as high as 2.5 Gb/s, from an aircraft or spacecraft to a ground station. In addition to...
Briefs: Materials
Making Activated Carbon for Storing Gas
Solid disks of microporous activated carbon, produced by a method that enables optimization of pore structure, have been investigated as means of storing gas (especially hydrogen for use as a fuel) at relatively low pressure through adsorption on pore surfaces. For hydrogen and other gases of practical...
Briefs: Materials
Comparative tests have been performed to evaluate the corrosion-prevention capabilities of an experimental paint of the type described in "Water-Borne,...
Briefs: Materials
A sol-gel process has been developed as a superior alternative to a prior process for making platinum-ruthenium alloy catalysts for electro-oxidation of methanol in fuel cells. The starting...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Stellar Gyroscope for Determining Attitude of a Spacecraft
A paper introduces the concept of a stellar gyroscope, currently at an early stage of development, for determining the attitude or spin axis, and spin rate of a spacecraft. Like star trackers, which are commercially available, a stellar gyroscope would capture and process images of stars to...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
The figure depicts the planned Actuated Hybrid Mirror Telescope (AHMT), which is intended to demonstrate a new approach to the design and construction of wide-aperture spaceborne telescopes for astronomy and...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A proposed thermoelectric device would exploit natural temperature differences between air and soil to harvest small amounts of electric energy. Because the air/soil temperature difference...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A broadband phase-contrast wave-front sensor has been proposed as a real-time wave-front sensor in an adaptive-optics system. The proposed sensor would offer an alternative to the Shack-Hartmann...
Briefs: Medical
Chamber for Growing and Observing Fungi
Unlike prior fungus growing apparatuses, this chamber makes it possible to examine a fungus culture without disrupting it. Partly resembling a small picture frame, the chamber includes a metal plate having a rectangular through the thickness opening with recesses for a top and a bottom cover glass, an inlet...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Chemical sensors based on optical ring resonators are undergoing development. A ring resonator according to this concept is a closed-circuit dielectric optical waveguide. The outermost layer of this...
Briefs: Medical
A prototype of an electroporation system for sterilizing wastewater or drinking water has been developed. In electroporation, applied electric fields cause transient and/or permanent changes in the...
Briefs: Information Technology
Algorithm for Identifying Erroneous Rain-Gauge Readings
An algorithm analyzes rain-gauge data to identify statistical outliers that could be deemed to be erroneous readings. Heretofore, analyses of this type have been performed in burdensome manual procedures that have involved subjective judgements. Sometimes, the analyses have included...
Briefs: Software
Solar-System Ephemeris Toolbox
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) generates planetary and lunar ephemeris data and FORTRAN routines that allow users to obtain state data for the Sun, the moon, and the planets. The JPL Solar System Ephemeris Toolbox, developed at Kennedy Space Center, is a set of functions that provides the same functionality in...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Flexible Metal-Fabric Radiators
Flexible metal-fabric radiators have been considered as alternative means of dissipating excess heat from spacecraft and space suits. The radiators also may be useful in such special terrestrial applications as rejecting heat from space-suit-like protective suits worn in hot work environments. In addition to...
Briefs: Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology breakthroughs are happening every day. NASA Tech Briefs' Nano 2005 nano engineering conference, November 10-11 at the Marriott Boston Newton, will help you keep pace with the engineering...
Briefs: Software
Upgrades of Two Computer Codes for Analysis of Turbomachinery
Major upgrades have been made in two of the programs reported in "Five Computer Codes for Analysis of Turbomachinery" (LEW-16851), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 23, No. 11 (November 1999), page 28. The affected programs are:
Briefs: Information Technology
Condition Assessment and End-of-Life Prediction System for Electric Machines and Their Loads
An end-of-life prediction system developed for electric machines and their loads could be used in integrated vehicle health monitoring at NASA and in other government agencies. This system will provide on-line, real-time condition assessment and end-of-life...
Briefs: Software
Program Facilitates CMMI Appraisals
A computer program has been written to facilitate appraisals according to the methodology of Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). [CMMI is a government/ industry standard, maintained by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, for objectively assessing the engineering capability...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Program Computes Sound Pressures at Rocket Launches
Launch Vehicle External Sound Pressure is a computer program that predicts the ignition-overpressure and the acoustic pressure on the surfaces and in the vicinity of a rocket and launch pad during launch. The program generates a graphical user interface (GUI) that gathers input data from the user....
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Manufacturers of multiplexers, attenuators, amplifiers, and other fiber-optic components must characterize their products for parameters such as insertion loss and...
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