Theoretical and experimental study of motion and sinking time of Saxon Bowls

This work focuses on investigating the time of sinking of a Saxon bowl proposed by ‘International Young Physicists’ Tournament in 2020. A quasi-static model is built to simulate the motion path of the bowl and predict the sinking time subsequently. The model assumes an open axisymmetric bowl with a hole in its base. The hole is modelled as a pipe for which the flow profile is governed by a modified Bernoulli’s equation which has a Coefficient of Discharge (C_d) added to account for energy losses. The motion of the entire bowl is assumed to be in quasi-static equilibrium for an infinitesimal time interval to calculate the volumetric flow rate through the hole. The model is used to predict the sinking times of various bowls against independent variables - hole radius, bowl dimensions, mass of bowl, mass distribution of bowl, and Coefficient of Discharge - and predict the motion path of bowls of different, axisymmetric geometries. Characterisation of C_d was done by draining a bowl filled with water and measuring the time taken to do so. Experimental verification was completed through measuring sinking times of 3D printed hemispherical bowls of the different variables in water. Motion tracking of bowls with different geometries was done using computational pixel tracking software to verify the model’s predictive power. Data from experiments for sinking time against the variables corroborate with the model to a great degree. The motion path tracked, matched the modelled motion path to a high degree for bowls of different shapes, namely a hemisphere, cylinder, frustum, and a free-form axisymmetric shape. The work is poised for an undergraduate level of readership.

An atom passing through a hole in a dielectric membrane: Impact of dispersion forces on mask-based matter-wave lithography

Fast, large area patterning of arbitrary structures down to the nanometre scale is of great interest for a range of applications including the semiconductor industry, quantum electronics, nanophotonics and others. It was recently proposed that nanometre-resolution mask lithography can be realised by sending metastable helium atoms through a binary holography mask consisting of a pattern of holes. However, these first calculations were done using a simple scalar wave approach, which did not consider the dispersion force interaction between the atoms and the mask material. To access the true potential of the idea, it is necessary to access how this interaction affects the atoms. Here we present a theoretical study of the dispersion force interaction between an atom and a dielectric membrane with a hole. We look at metastable and ground state helium, using experimentally realistic wavelengths (0.05-1 nm) and membrane thicknesses (5-50 nm). We find that the effective hole radius is reduced by around 1-7 nm for metastable helium and 0.5-3.5 nm for ground-state helium. As expected, the reduction is largest for thick membranes and slow atoms.

Multi-wavelength observations of the Blazar 4C +28.07

The active galactic nucleus 4C +28.07 is a flat spectrum radio quasar, one of the brightest at γ-ray energies. We study its multi-wavelength emission by analysing ∼12.3 years of Fermi-LAT data in the γ-ray band and Swift-XRT/UVOT available data in X-ray and Optical-to-Ultraviolet bands. In the γ-ray band, five flaring periods have been detected, and quasi-simultaneously with these flaring times, the X-ray and UVOT data detected by Swift-XRT/UVOT have also been analysed. In one of the brightest flare periods (Flare 5; observed on Oct 12, 2018) the γ-ray flux reached (6.7 ± 0.81) × 10−6 photon cm−2 s−1 (∼31 × higher than the mean flux over 12.3 years) with detection significance of σ = 6.1. The estimated variability time(∼2 hours) constrains the γ-ray emitting region size to ≤9 × 1014 cm, which is close to the black hole radius. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in the γ-ray band for the ∼12.3 years of data show an early cut-off at ∼14 GeV; beyond ∼60 GeV, however, the spectrum hardens and is detected up to ∼316 GeV. Similar spectral behaviour is also noticeable for the SEDs of flares, which can be linked to the photon absorption by the emitting region’s internal and external narrow-band radiation fields. In the quiescent period, the γ-ray emission was described by the Synchrotron-Self-Compton scenario, while the external photons contributions from the Disk and the broad-line region were required to explain the short-term flaring γ-ray emission. Considering the significance of the obtained results from 4C +28.07, we compared the parameters with 3C 279 and M87, to motivate further studies.

The Light Extraction Efficiency of GaN-based LED with Air-Hole Photonic Crystal Structures

In order to improve the light extraction efficiency (LEE) of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs), a layer of cylindrical air-hole photonic crystal (PC) structure inserted into P-GaN is proposed and investigated numerically. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is used to make a series of simulations in the LEE of GaN-based LED with air-hole photonic crystal structure. According to the variable-controlling approach, the PC structure is simulated and optimized. The results of the simulations show that the LEE depends on the PC’s position and relevant structural parameters. When PC is etched in the active layer, and its dielectric constant [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m, etching [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m and air-hole radius [Formula: see text][Formula: see text][Formula: see text]m, higher LEE is obtained as 44.5%, translated into a 13.6-fold enhancement for the case of a planar LED. The remarkable enhancement is of particular interest for improving LEE of LED and provides a theoretical reference for future LED structure design efforts.

Membrane tension determines the geometry of donut-shaped transcellular holes

Bacteria and leukocytes employ donut-shaped transcellular holes in plasma membrane to cross the endothelial barrier. How these fused holes are regulated in a double-bilayer system is currently poorly understood. Here we use membrane physics to present a universal relationship that determines the geometry of the donut-shaped holes. Our study reveals that hole radius is determined by plasma membrane tension via a commonly used critical length scale [Formula: see text] defined by flexural stiffness ([Formula: see text]) and in-plane tension ([Formula: see text]). This relationship suggests that the hole diameter increases with a reduction in membrane tension, a finding aligned with the experimental observations but in contrast with the main current model in the literature.

Investigation of Punch Shape and Loading Path Design in Hydro-Flanging Processes of Aluminum Alloy Tubes

Hydro-joining is composed of hydro-piercing, hole flanging and nut-inlaying processes. In this study, a new hydro-flanging process combining hydro-piercing and hydro-flanging is proposed. An internal pressured fluid is used as the supporting medium instead of a rigid die. Three kinds of punch head shapes are designed to explore the thickness distribution of the flanged tube and the fluid leakage effects between the punch head and the flanged tube in the hydro-flanging process. A finite element code DEFORM 3D is used to simulate the tube material deformation behavior and to investigate the formability of the hydro-flanging processes of aluminum alloy tubes. The effects of various forming parameters, such as punch shapes, internal pressure, die hole diameter, etc., on the hydro-flanged tube thickness distributions are discussed. Hydro-flanging experiments are also carried out. The die hole radius is designed to make the maximum internal forming pressure needed smaller than 70 MPa, so that a general hydraulic power unit can be used to implement the proposed hole flanging experiments. The flanged thickness distributions are compared with simulation results to verify the validity of the proposed models and the designed punch head shapes.

Accurate Insulating Oil Breakdown Voltage Model Associated with Different Barrier Effects

In modern power systems, power transformers are considered vital components that can ensure the grid’s continuous operation. In this regard, studying the breakdown in the transformer becomes necessary, especially its insulating system. Hence, in this study, Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to introduce a prediction model of the breakdown voltage (VBD) for the transformer insulating oil in the presence of different barrier effects for point/plane gap arrangement with alternating current (AC) voltage. Interestingly, the BBD reduces the required number of experiments and their costs to examine the barrier parameter effect on the existing insulating oil VBD. The investigated variables were the barrier location in the gap space (a/d)%, the relative permittivity of the barrier materials (εr), the hole radius in the barrier (hr), the barrier thickness (th), and the barrier inclined angle (θ). Then, only 46 experiment runs are required to build the BBD model for the five barrier variables. The BBD prediction model was verified based on the statistical study and some other experiment runs. Results explained the influence of the inclined angle of the barrier and its thickness on the VBD. The obtained results indicated that the designed BBD model provides less than a 5% residual percentage between the measured and predicted VBD. The findings illustrated the high accuracy and robustness of the proposed insulating oil breakdown voltage predictive model linked with diverse barrier effects.

Phenomenology of GUP stars

We study quantum corrections at the horizon scale of a black hole induced by a Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) with a quadratic term in the momentum. The interplay between quantum mechanics and gravity manifests itself into a non-zero uncertainty in the location of the black hole radius, which turns out to be larger than the usual Schwarzschild radius. We interpret such an effect as a correction which makes the horizon disappear, as it happens in other models of quantum black holes already considered in literature. We name this kind of horizonless compact objects GUP stars. We also investigate some phenomenological aspects in the astrophysical context of binary systems and gravitational wave emission by discussing Love numbers, quasi-normal modes and echoes, and studying their behavior as functions of the GUP deformation parameter. Finally, we preliminarily explore the possibility to constrain such a parameter with future astrophysical experiments.

A potential way to unify classical and quantum mechanics

In the present work, by moving from the assumption that the Sun (and all the massive bodies) produces, starting from a certain distance from it, attractive and repulsive gravitational forces at the same time, giving life to the movement of the planets around the Sun according to the same principle of pendulum, I managed to derive a perihelion precession formula, a black hole radius formula and, above all, a formula of the atomic nuclear radius, which was missing until now, all in excellent agreement with the observation and in a completely independent way of the Einstein’s theory of relativity.I have also shown that the nuclear radius formula can also be successfully used to predict the radius of neutron stars.Moreover I have found — always through the same principles that allowed me to achieve the above results, in particular through the modification of the Newtonian gravitational potential, in turn due to the different modus-operandi of gravity force — a formula of the non-decreasing orbital velocity of galactic stars, without considering dark matter.Then I have demonstrated the black hole is composed only of protons, and that it’s similar to the nucleus of the atom and, analogously, the galaxy is similar to the atom, since the stars moving around the central nucleus in the same way as the electrons move around the atomic nucleus. I have also found another similitude among atomic nucleus, black hole and neutron stars, namely the self-orbiting phenomenon existing in all the cases.From the mathematical findings obtained in the present work it has also emerged the existence, both at the microscopic and the macroscopic level, of the gravito-electric force (or, if one prefers, electro-gravitational force), resulting from the fusion of the gravitational force with the electrostatic one, working exactly in accordance with Newtonian mechanics, although modified by the introduction of a repulsive force in addition and in opposition to the attractive one, that makes us understand the universe works always in the same way, both in macro and in micro. Furthermore, by means of the theory here proposed, it has been possible to find a theoretical foundation to the Planck constant, to derive the photon mass, to derive the electron orbital radius, inner and outer, as well as to prove the existence of the gravito-electric radiations.It is also emerged the existence of the universal principle of specific asymmetry between gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy, as a cause of nuclear energy E = mc^2.In this perspective, the present work can represent a potential unifying way between the macrocosm and microcosm mechanics.