Physical Sciences

A document discusses gold-on-polymer as one of the novel sensor types developed for part of the sensor development task. Standard polymer- carbon composite sensors used in the JPL Electronic Nose (ENose) have been modified by evaporating 15 nm of metallic...

A hyperspectral sun photometer and associated methods have been developed and demonstrated. Sun photometers are used to measure total (global), direct, and diffuse at-surface solar irradiance. The data acquired by sun photometers are used in atmospheric,...

According to a study conducted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), proposals to offset global warming by artificially seeding the stratosphere with sulfate particles could do more harm than good by having a negative impact on Earth's protective ozone layer. Such a plan might not only delay recovery of the ozone...

A new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory indicates that globular clusters might be surprisingly less mature in their development than previously thought. Globular clusters are dense bunches of up to millions of stars that are found in the outskirts of galaxies, including the Milky Way. Understanding the nature of...

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.

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...

The Time Series Product Tool (TSPT) is software, developed in MATLAB®, which creates and displays high signal-to-noise Vegetation Indices imagery and other higher-level products derived from remotely sensed data. This tool enables automated, rapid, large-scale regional surveillance...

This software package runs the atmospheric model MM5 in data assimilation cycling mode to produce an optimized weather analysis, including the ability to insert or adjust a hurricane vortex. The program runs MM5 through a cycle of short forecasts every three hours where the vortex is adjusted to match...

Three-hundred years ago, the Juan de Fuca plate under the ocean in America's Pacific Northwest suddenly slipped beneath the North American plate and forced its way about 60 feet eastward, triggering a massive earthquake that scientists estimate was roughly magnitude 9.0. The quake was so large that the tsunamis it created traveled all...

A document proposes the development of spin-stabilized microsatellites powered by solar photovoltaic cells aided by solar concentrators. Each such satellite would have a cylindrical or other axisymmetric main body with solar cells mounted in a circumferential beltlike array on its exterior...

A violent fate awaits a white dwarf star that wanders too close to a moderately massive black hole. According to a new study from the University of California at Santa Cruz, the black hole's gravitational pull on the white dwarf would cause tidal forces sufficient to disrupt the stellar remnant and reignite nuclear...