Conditional Action and Imperfect Erasure of Qubits

We consider state changes in quantum theory due to “conditional action” and relate these to the discussion of entropy decrease due to interventions of “intelligent beings” and the principles of Szilard and Landauer/Bennett. The mathematical theory of conditional actions is a special case of the theory of “instruments”, which describes changes of state due to general measurements and will therefore be briefly outlined in the present paper. As a detailed example, we consider the imperfect erasure of a qubit that can also be viewed as a conditional action and will be realized by the coupling of a spin to another small spin system in its ground state.

Evaluation of solid state of rice flours produced by different milling processes using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the influence of the milling process on solid state of rice flours according to water activity using ATR-FTIR. A band at 1740 cm−1 attributed to the C=O stretching of lipids was detected for crystalline samples, and it disappeared at a high aw range. The CH band at 2930 cm−1 of crystalline samples gradually shifted to a higher wavenumber with aw. This band of the α-formed and wet-milled samples shifted to higher wavenumbers above 0.8aw. A band due to OH stretching mode in the 3500-3000 cm−1 region did not shift with aw. The result obtained from IR spectra suggests that the parameter K calculated by Guggenheim–Anderson–de Boar model reflected not only the interaction between water molecules but also the changes of state in solids. Consequently, the results from this study provide insights about the adsorption properties of nonideal solids such as rice flour.

An Analysis of Different Grade Levels of Elementary School Students’ Reasoning about the Changes of State of Water within a Learning Progression

The purpose of this study is to examine how the reasoning of elementary school students develops and progresses within a learning progression. In order to do this, we analyzed third, fourth, and fifth grade elementary school students’ levels of reasoning about phenomena related to changes of state of water. The results show that higher grades include higher proportions of students who showed higher-level reasoning. Every student explained the phenomenon at the macroscopic scale; however, fifth grade students considered more elaborate factors and the relationships between those factors than third and fourth grade students did. In addition, students reasoned contradictorily that the weight would increase in situations of both melting and freezing. Finally, we discuss how science curriculums in each grade can be structured as a progression in reasoning and how to provide appropriate science instruction in terms of students’ long-term progression of reasoning.

Επανακατηγοριοποίηση υλικών σωμάτων και φυσικές μεταβολές της ύλης

Previous research has shown that students have difficulties in understanding the scientific explanations of the physical changes of state of matter. We hypothesized that these difficulties stem from the fact that they categorize substances to belong to one of three distinct states (solid, liquid, gas), instead of their molecular structure (particular nature of matter), and apply to them the properties of the corresponding physical state (e.g., solids are rigid, liquids are flexible, gases are invisible, etc.). The purpose of the study was to examine whether there is a recategorization of substances with development and if this is correlated with students’ explanations of physical changes of state. The participants were 40 4th graders, 40 6th graders, 35 9th graders and 30 university students. The results of the study confirmed the hypothesis regarding the recategorization of substances and high correlations were obtained between participants’ categorizations of substances and their explanations of physical changes of state, supporting the idea that the shift from categorizing substances based on their physical state to categorizing them based on their molecular structure is probably a prerequisite to a full understanding of the change of state of matter.

Social and Historical Aspects of Formation and Functioning

The article examines the milestones of formation and development of the first public museum of Azerbaijan - the National Museum of the History of Azerbaijan. The author tracks the changing profile of the museum in the 20-30s of the last century within the context of changes of state policy and ideological priorities in Azerbaijan. The article also provides information on the role of the museum in the emergence and development of archaeological research in Azerbaijan, on the main achievements of the museum in the field of preserving and studying the historical and cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people.

Transport infrastructure development financing problems and main investment trends in 2020

Background: The realisation of large-scale plans of Russian infrastructure development, transport in particular, requires a corresponding methodological guidance for both planning of realisation of these tasks and development of the proper financing instrumentarium. Aim: The analysis of reasons for incompliance of programme tasks with their financing conditions; formalisation of investment trends in todays economy and description of their capability to adapt to Russian projects. Methods: The method of rising from concrete to abstract and vice versa has allowed identification of important regularities of investment trends and their connection with the quality of projects; the systems principle has confirmed dependence of successful realisation of infrastructure projects on reliability of economic development forecasts and adequacy of projects financing and management. Results: The analysis of ongoing changes of state priorities and programmes, outlined in a large number of documents regulating development of transport infrastructure in Russia, has allowed identification of influence of most significant regularities, which determine effectiveness of these solutions. All available transport infrastructure project financing sources have been systemised, considering investment volume and their status in the market. The statement that it is exactly the loan-based financing sources, concession in the first instance, that can be the most efficient in infrastructure projects realisation, has been confirmed.