Computational Power of Asynchronously Tuned Automata Enhancing the Unfolded Edge of Chaos

Asynchronously tuned elementary cellular automata (AT-ECA) are described with respect to the relationship between active and passive updating, and that spells out the relationship between synchronous and asynchronous updating. Mutual tuning between synchronous and asynchronous updating can be interpreted as the model for dissipative structure, and that can reveal the critical property in the phase transition from order to chaos. Since asynchronous tuning easily makes behavior at the edge of chaos, the property of AT-ECA is called the unfolded edge of chaos. The computational power of AT-ECA is evaluated by the quantitative measure of computational universality and efficiency. It shows that the computational efficiency of AT-ECA is much higher than that of synchronous ECA and asynchronous ECA.

FRICTION COEFFICIENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE COMPONENTS

Engineering properties of materials includes coefficient of friction (COF) which are basic in design performance of engineering systems. The COF can be considered as very important in design of handling tools. Various types of handling tools and equipment are used at various stages of disposal and treatment of MSW and COF is one critical property. This paper presents estimate of COF of municipal solid waste components. The components of the municipal solid waste are paper, plastic, organic and others. The estimation of the COF was done using an inclino-tribometer. Waste from 16 sample locations were used with 6 surfaces which are considered to be of relevant. It was estimated that Formica surface has the least COF values and range from 0.269 and 0.312 with ‘others’ – formica surface tribosystem being the least. It was also found that paint application on wooden surface with oil paint would increase COF as compared to applying emulsion on same wooden surface. The study pointed out that polishing with vanish is the best way to reduce COF in wood surfaces. It was also observed that painting metal surfaces with oil paint will increase the COF than when the same metal was left unpolished or unpainted.

Segregated water observed in a putative fish embryo cryopreservative

Development of new cryopreservation strategies has major potential in medicine and agriculture and is critical to the conservation of endangered species that currently cannot be preserved. A critical property of any potential cryopreservative solution is its ability to prevent cell-damaging ice formation during cooling and subsequent heating. This study focuses on the freezing behaviour of promising model cryoprotective solutions. We perform neutron scattering analysis, combined with computer modelling, of the water structure after quench cooling these solutions. It is found that water in this solution forms nano-clusters encapsulated by the surrounding matrix of cryoprotectant solute molecules. We posit that these small volumes inhibit ice formation, because water does not have space for the structural relaxation required to crystallize on the timescale of the cooling process.

SEARCH FOR ISOLATED BLACK HOLES: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

The critical property of a black hole is the presence of an event horizon. It may be detected only by means of a detailed study of the emission features of its surroundings. The temporal resolution of such observations has to be comparable to <em>r_g/c</em>, which is in the 10⁻⁶–10 s range, depending on the mass of the black hole. At SAO RAS we have developed the MANIA hardware and software complex, based on the panoramic photon counter, and we use it in observations on the 6m telescope for searching and investigating the optical variability of various astronomical objects on time scales of 10⁻⁶–10³ s. We present here the hardware and methods used for these photometric, spectroscopic and polarimetric observations, together with the principles and criteria for object selection. The list of objects includes objects with featureless optical spectra (DC white dwarfs, blazars) and long microlensing events.