ANISOTROPY OF THE BACKGROUND MICROWAVE RADIATION OF THE UNIVERSE AND MASSIVE PHOTON PAIRS

The paper considers the issue of the anomalously low temperature dispersion of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) of the Universe, which was discovered by researchers R. Penrose and V. Gurzadyan according to the data of the WMAP and Planck missions. A new explanation of this phenomenon is given as evidence of residual traces in the CMB after the occurrence of multiple instabilities in the vacuum phase of matter in the first moments of the development of our Universe. It is these instabilities that have become the centers of the emergence of the fundamental mass of matter – massive photon pairs (ultralight scalar bosons). Theoretical and experimental evidence of the connection of CMB with massive photon pairs is presented using data from the Interball-Tail Probe, RHESSI and XMM-Newton missions.

Validating The Core Concept Of “Mass Balance”

We have created a conceptual framework for the core concept of “mass balance.” Unlike the previous conceptual frameworks that we have created and validated, the framework for “mass balance” is simply a description in words of the fundamental mass balance equation and the implications of the equation. We surveyed physiology faculty and asked them to rate the importance of “mass balance” as defined by the conceptual framework and also to rate the importance for their students of being able to apply the core concept to liquids, gases, solutes, and solids. Respondents indicated that “mass balance” is important and that our conceptual framework provides a useful tool for teaching and learning. We discuss several examples of how “mass balance” can be used in making sense about a variety of physiological phenomena.

Biogas Production and Fundamental Mass Transfer Mechanism in Anaerobic Granular Sludge

Anaerobic granules are responsible for organic degradation and biogas production in a reactor. The biogas production is entirely dependent on a mass transfer mechanism, but so far, the fundamental understanding remains poor due to the covered surface of the reactor. The study aimed at investigating the fundamental mass transfer characteristics of single anaerobic granules of different sizes using microscopic imaging and analytical monitoring under single and different organic loadings. The experiment was conducted in a micro reactor and mass transfer was calculated using modified Fick’s law. Scanning electron microscopy was applied to observe biogas production zones in the granule, and a lab-scale microscope equipped with a camera revealed the biogas bubble detachment process in the micro reactor for the first time. In this experiment, the granule size was 1.32, 1.47, and 1.75 mm, but 1.75 mm granules were chosen for further investigation due to their large size. The results revealed that biogas production rates for 1.75 mm granules at initial Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) 586, 1700, and 6700 mg/L were 0.0108, 0.0236, and 0.1007 m3/kg COD, respectively; whereas the mass transfer rates were calculated as 1.83 × 10−12, 5.30 × 10−12, and 2.08 × 10−11 mg/s. It was concluded that higher organic loading and large granules enhance the mass transfer inside the reactor. Thus, large granules should be preferred in the granule-based reactor to enhance biogas production.

ALFALFA Hα Reveals How Galaxies Use Their Hi Fuel

Atomic hydrogen traces the raw material from which molecular clouds and stars form. With 565 galaxies from the ALFALFA Hα survey, a statistically complete subset of the ALFALFA survey, we examine the processes that affect galaxies' abilities to access and consume their Hi gas. On galaxy-wide scales, Hi gas fractions correlate only weakly with instantaneous specific star formation rates (sSFRs) but tightly with galaxy color. We show that a connection between dust and Hi content, arising from the fundamental mass-metallicity-Hi relation, leads to this tight color correlation. We find that disk galaxies follow a relation between stellar surface density and Hi depletion time, consistent with a scenario in which higher mid-plane pressure leads to more efficient molecular cloud formation from Hi. In contrast, spheroids show no such trend. Starbursts, identified by Hα equivalent width, do not show enhanced Hi gas fractions relative to similar mass non-starburst galaxies. The starbursts' shorter Hi depletion times indicate more efficient consumption of Hi, and galaxy interactions drive this enhanced star formation efficiency in several starbursts. Interestingly, the most disturbed starbursts show greater enhancements in Hi gas fraction, which may indicate an excess of Hi at early merger stages. At low galaxy stellar masses, the triggering mechanism for starbursts is less clear; the high scatter in efficiency and sSFR among low-mass galaxies may result from periodic bursts. We find no evidence for depleted Hi reservoirs in starbursts, which suggests that galaxies may maintain sufficient Hi to fuel multiple starburst episodes.

Understanding the Impact of Flow Bypass on the Thermal Performance of Air Cooled Heat Sinks

In this effort, theoretical modeling was employed to understand the impact of flow bypass on the thermal performance of air cooled heat sinks. Fundamental mass and flow energy conservation equations across a longitudinal fin heat sink configuration and the bypass region were applied and a generic parameter, referred as the Flow Bypass Factor (α), was identified from the theoretical solution that mathematically captures the effect of flow bypass as a quantifiable parameter on the junction-to-ambient thermal resistance of the heat sink. From the results obtained, it was found that, at least in the laminar regime, the impact of flow bypass on performance can be neglected for cases when the bypass gap is typically less than 5% of the fin height, and is almost linear at high relative bypass gaps (i.e., usually for bypass gaps that are more than 10–15% of the fin height). It was also found that the heat sink thermal resistance is more sensitive to small bypass gaps and the effect of flow bypass decreases with increasing bypass gap.