Spatial Variability of Turbulent Mixing in the Abyssal Ocean

Ocean microstructure data show that turbulent mixing in the deep Brazil Basin of the South Atlantic Ocean is weak at all depths above smooth abyssal plains and the South American Continental Rise. The diapycnal diffusivity there was estimated to be less than or approximately equal to 0.1 x 10(-4) meters squared per second. In contrast, mixing rates are large throughout the water column above the rough Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the diffusivity deduced for the bottom-most 150 meters exceeds 5 x 10(-4) meters squared per second. Such patterns in vertical mixing imply that abyssal circulations have complex spatial structures that are linked to the underlying bathymetry.     

Discovery of microwave emission from four nearby solar-type g stars

Radio waves from the sun were detected 50 years ago, but the microwave detection of other single solar-type stars has remained a challenge. Here, the discovery of four solar-type radio stars is reported. These "solar twin" G stars are radio sources up to 3000 times stronger than the quiet sun. The microwaves most likely originate from a large number of relativistic electrons, possibly produced along with coronal heating, a process that is not understood. Two of the stars are younger than the sun and rotate more rapidly; the dynamo process in the stellar interior is therefore presumably more vigorous, resulting in enhanced coronal activity. One of the detections, however, is an old, metal-deficient G dwarf.     

Improved climate control for potato stores by fuzzy controllers

The main tasks for climate controllers in potato bulk stores are to keep the storage climate in an appropriate condition for quality conservation. To avoid extra energy costs by using cooling systems the internal climate of potato bulk stores is controlled with outdoor air. A conventionally designed controller is difficult to adapt for an optimal climate control to reduce quality loss. However, a controller designed with fuzzy logic is found as advantageous for adapting control parameters to improve the control process. A test stand is built to ventilate and to control two samples of potato bulks simultaneously with the same outdoor weather conditions for comparisons. Several experiments were carried out to compare climate controllers with different control algorithms, i.e. conventional to a different conventional and conventional to fuzzy.     

Scaling in the time domain: universal dynamics of order fluctuations in Fe3Al

By focusing a highly brilliant synchrotron x-ray beam to a micrometer spot on a sample, we measured in real time the x-ray intensity fluctuations associated with order fluctuations in crystalline materials. We applied this method to the binary alloy Fe3Al near its continuous A2-B2 phase transformation and determined a specific four-point time correlation function for the order parameter. From a detailed theoretical analysis, dynamical scaling in the time domain with a transition from noncritical to critical dynamics is disclosed.