Thermal lensing: outside of the lasing medium

The thermal lens formed in a thermo-optical material as a result of its inhomogeneous heating, is a well-known phenomenon that has found widespread interest in the last decades, especially in the field of laser engineering and photo-thermal spectroscopy. In recent years, growing interest in the application of thermal lensing in different fields of optics and material studies has been observed. This review summarizes the latest efforts made by the scientific community to develop ways of using the phenomenon of thermal lensing. Its applications in spectroscopy, in laser beam formation and in imaging are described. The advantages and disadvantages of the thermal lensing in regard to these areas along with the potential future applications of the phenomenon are discussed.

Sanctuaries and cult places from the Roman conquest to Late Antiquity: a survey of recent work in Achaea, Epirus and the islands

This paper surveys archaeological work on Greek sanctuaries of the Roman period conducted over the past 20 years. Previously largely ignored or simply overlooked, in recent times the Roman phases of sanctuaries have seen a tremendous amount of excavation and research work, mirroring the increased interest in the archaeology of Roman Greece as a whole. In addition to brief presentatons of new and recent archaeological discoveries and material studies, this survey also aims to highlight the importance of current work based on the re-examination of sites excavated long ago and the contribution of various strands of archaeological evidence to an enhanced understanding of the history and function of Greek sanctuaries from the time of the Roman conquest to Late Antiquity.

Rising to the Challenge

With the widening scope of design, the importance of the design studio has concomitantly responded by transforming its own character to become inclusive of the educational domains of history, professional practices, theories, technical, and material studies. The absorption of such domains, part-and-parcel of the studio setting, has irrevocably highlighted the importance of education within the container of the studio or rather ‘in-situ’ education. However, with the volatility of external factors, the challenges posed to design education are multiple. Especially in light of the rise of a global pandemic, educators globally have had to implement crisis strategies in response. This short visual essay outlines the obstacles of online teaching; moving from resistance to embracing the tools and features that online education provides. Sharing the gained experiences, starting at the rise of the pandemic, the text engages seven key points of interest, while practically demonstrating responses in the product design setting.

A Remote Raman System and Its Applications for Planetary Material Studies

A remote Raman prototype with a function of excitation energy adjusting for the purpose of obtaining a Raman signal with good signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), saving power consumption, and possibly avoiding destroying a target by high energy pulses, which may have applications for Chinese planetary explorations, has been setup and demonstrated for detecting different minerals. The system consists of a spectrograph equipped with a thermoelectrically cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) detector, a telescope with 150 mm diameter and 1500 mm focus length, and a compact 1064 nm Nd:YAG Q-switched laser with an electrical adjusted pulse energy from 0 to 200 mJ/pulse. A KTP crystal was used for second harmonic generation in a 1064 nm laser to generate a 532 nm laser, which is the source of Raman scatting. Different laser pulse energies and integration time were used to obtain distinguishable remote Raman spectra of various samples. Results show that observed remote Raman spectra at a distance of 4 m enable us to identify silicates, carbonates, sulfates, perchlorates, water/water ice, and organics that have been found or may exist on extraterrestrial planets. Detailed Raman spectral assignments of the measured planetary materials and the feasible applications of remote Raman system for planetary explorations are discussed.

Foreign Natives: Psychoactivity, Policing, and the Elusive Corporeality of the Post-Soviet Rave

This article focuses on the rave subculture of St. Petersburg in the 1990s and demonstrates how new forms of psychoactive control and resistance emerged in the wake of the Soviet collapse. By staying sensitive to the material and corporeal aspects of these phenomena, it contributes to the socio-material studies of drug control and emphasizes that the physical body itself should be an important venue for drug research. In doing so, we build on existing literature that discusses bodies as information resources to detect drug use and identifies resistance strategies to increasingly technological drug control measures. We advance this discussion by suggesting that the psychoactive setting of rave in post-Soviet St. Petersburg gave rise to a highly particular yet notably elusive and difficult-to-define type of corporeality. On the one hand, this corporeality could be positively interpreted as a marker of resistance and belonging on the “inside.” At the same time, it could also be employed strategically by law enforcement officers to detect and prosecute drug-consuming individuals. Moreover, we propose to view this psychoactive “rave body” as deeply embedded in its spatio-temporal context—thus accounting for the influence of time and space on the materiality of drug control and resistance. In examining these dynamics, we draw on a wide range of sources, including memoirs, press materials, early Internet archives, publicly printed interviews, photographs, and video materials.

Different Approaches to Research on the Interactions Between Hunter-gatherers and Groups of Farmers and Breeders

Interactions between hunter-gatherers and groups of farmers and breeders have been a subject of archaeological debate for many years. Thanks to the application of different scientific approaches, ranging from material studies to archaeometric analyses, the discussion has not lost its relevance. The aim of this study is to present the evolution of scientific investigations related to these interactions and to emphasise the potential of the debate: despite the passing of time, it remains an open research issue. The complexity of this discussion will be demonstrated through selected case studies from all around Europe.

‘A study, in a way, of self-destruction’: The Driver’s Seat and the Impotent Gaze

This chapter extends the preceding chapter’s discussion of The Driver’s Seat to offer a thorough reassessment of its largely one-sided critical reception, as well as its nuanced approach to the inextricable relationship between gender, narrative perspective and epistemological power. It argues that the novel – which has been read predominantly as Spark’s most starkly drawn parable of human fallibility versus divine omniscience – is concerned instead with that which escapes and thus destabilises the exacting, investigative and emphatically male gaze of its narrator. Through a critical framework which combines critical commentary on the nouveau roman, previously unexamined archival material, studies of metaphysical detective fiction, and theory related to narrative point of view, the chapter shifts focus from existing readings of the protagonist, Lise, as the hopeless object of a godlike narrative viewpoint, and considers her instead as a captivating figure who, even after death, confronts and commands the epistemologically limited perspective of her hopelessly fascinated narrator-voyeur. Spark’s description of The Driver’s Seat as ‘a study, in a way, of self-destruction’ can thus be seen to relate not only to Lise’s determined drive to death, but to the subversive unravelling of the narrating ‘self,’ tormented and undone by the novel’s perennially unknowable subject.

OPTIMIZATION OF INORGANIC COMPONENTS OF FIRE PROTECTIVE VARNISH FOR WOOD

The processes of creation of fire-retardant varnish for wood consisting of a mixture of inorganic and polymeric substances are investigated in the work. It is established that the optimization of the inorganic component leads to a directional ratio of mineral acids and urea capable of effective fire protection of the material. Studies have shown that at the initial temperature of gaseous combustion products T = 68 °C, when exposed to the radiation panel, the untreated sample ignited after 146 s, the flame spread over the entire surface, instead, the sample fire-protected varnish did not ignite, the maximum temperature was 105 °C. In this case, as evidenced by the results of heat resistance, there is a change in the structure of the protective film of the coating. The thickness of the protective layer increases due to the decomposition of the composition, which leads to inhibition of oxidation in the gas and condensed phase, change the direction of decomposition towards the formation of non-combustible gases and combustible coke residue, reduce material combustion and increase flammability index. The coating under the influence of high temperature promotes the formation of a heat-insulating layer of coke, which prevents burning and the passage of high temperature to the material, which is confirmed by the absence of the process of ignition of fire-retardant wood. Features of braking of process of ignition and distribution of a flame of the wood processed by a varnish which consist in several aspects are established. This is the formation of a heat-insulating layer of coke, which prevents burning and the passage of high temperatures to the material, which is confirmed by the absence of the process of ignition of fire-retardant reeds. This indicates the possibility of targeted control of high temperature transfer processes to organic material through the use of special coatings for wood products.