Predicting new solids and superconductors

It is now possible to start with a simple model of a solid composed of atomic cores and itinerant valence electrons and compute the total energy for a given structural arrangement of atoms with enough precision to predict the existence of new solids and their properties. The application of the model based on the pseudopotential method is described with silicon chosen as a prototype material. With only information about the constituent atoms, the electronic, structural, vibrational, and even superconducting properties of solids can be calculated from first principles. The successful predictions of superconductivity in highly condensed hexagonal silicon and the existence of new high-pressure semiconductor phases are highlighted. A discussion is presented of the use of the method to discover new stable or metastable solids at high pressures.     

低碳球铁及其性能

低碳球铁是一种介于钢与铸铁之间的新材料,经过由某些公认的球化及反球化元素共同组成的SX变质剂变质处理以后,石墨以细小圆整的球状析出。对于这种新材料的性能、组织特点进行了实验研究。发现这种新型铸铁具有较高的抗拉强度与冲击韧性,可以作为耐磨材料来使用。     

厌氧消化处理玉米秸秆酶解残渣对木质素的影响研究

以秸秆为原料生产燃料乙醇会产生大量富含木质素的酶解残渣,从中可回收木质素,但酶解残渣中的糖类等杂质会影响木质素的高值利用。因此,采用厌氧消化的方法处理玉米秸秆酶解残渣,利用凝胶渗透色谱、热重分析、傅里叶红外光谱以及核磁共振氢谱等手段表征处理前后木质素的结构和化学性质。经厌氧处理后,残渣中糖类含量显著降低而木质素总量基本不变,木质素几乎未降解。厌氧处理前后固体残渣中木质素的结构和热化学性质无明显变化,表明该方法能在去除糖类的同时较好地保留木质素的结构。     

Petrologic implications of plate tectonics

Petrologists can make significant contributions to the plate tectonic concept. Fixing the stability fields of the principal rock types involved will provide the limits of pressure and temperature of the various environments. Experimental determination of the partition coefficients of the trace elements will be helpful. Studies of the partial melting behavior of possible parental materials in the absence and presence of water, especially the undersaturated region, will contribute to the understanding of magma production. Experimental observations on the rheological properties of the peridotites below and just above the solidus will lead to a better evaluation of the convective mechanism. Measurement of the fundamental properties of rocks, such as the density of solids and liquids at high pressures and temperatures, would contribute to understanding the concepts of diapiric rise, magma segregation, and the low-velocity zone. Broader rock sampling of the oceanic areas of all environments will do much to define the petrologic provinces. The field petrologist specializing in the Paleozoic regions and Precambrian shields can contribute by examining those regions for old plate boundaries and devising new criteria for their recognition.     

猕猴桃薏米保健饮品的研制

[目的]以猕猴桃和薏米为主要原料开发研制一种新型保健饮料。[方法]以蔗糖含量、pH、薏米汁:猕猴桃汁的比例为3个因素,按L9(33)设计正交试验,以感官评分法为指标,确定最佳配方,并对饮料的可溶性固形物、还原糖、金属元素含量等指标进行测定。[结果]确定薏米汁与猕猴桃汁最佳配比组合为的比例为1:1、pH为3.5、蔗糖为15%为最佳工艺,该工艺下制得的猕猴桃薏米保健饮料可溶性固形物含量为11.0%,还原糖含量为59.4 mg/ml,所测金属元素含量分别为Mg:0.46 mg/L,Cu:0.33 mg/L,Ca:6.47 mg/L,K:1.58mg/L。[结论]研究制得的猕猴桃薏米饮料营养丰富,生产工艺简便,为猕猴桃、薏米的开发利用拓宽了新的方向。     

Particle-stabilized defect gel in cholesteric liquid crystals

Dispersions of colloidal particles in cholesteric liquid crystals form an unusual solid by stabilizing a network of linear defects under tension in the ideal layered structure of the cholesteric. The large length scales of the cholesteric liquid crystals allowed direct observation of the network structure, and its properties were correlated with rheological measurements of elasticity. This system serves as a model for a class of solids formed when particles are mixed with layered materials such as thermotropic and lyotropic smectic liquid crystals and block copolymers.     

Examining nanoenvironments in solids on the scale of a single, isolated impurity molecule

Optical spectroscopy of single impurity molecules in solids can be used as an exquisitely sensitive probe of the structure and dynamics of the specific local environment around the single molecule (the "nanoenvironment"). Recently observed effects such as spectral diffusion, perturbations by external fields, changes in molecular photophysics, shifts in vibrational modes, optical modification of the absorption spectrum, dynamics due to amorphous system physics, and magnetic resonance of a single molecular spin attest to the vitality of and growing interest in this new field, which may lead to optical storage on the single-molecule level.     

Covalent Group IV Atomic Clusters

Atomic clusters containing from two to several hundred atoms offer the possibility of studying the transition from molecules to crystalline solids. The covalent group IV elements carbon, silicon, and germanium are now being examined with this long-range objective. These elements are particularly interesting because of the very different character of their crystalline solids and because they are intermediate between metals and insulators in the nature of their bonding. Small mass-selected atom cluster ions are formed by pulsed laser techniques and identified by time-of-flight methods. Laser photoexcitation is used to study the relative stability of these clusters and their modes of fragmentation. These modes for C(n)(+) clusters, which tend to fragment with a characteristic loss of a neutral C(3), are found to be different from the modes for Si(n)(+) and Ge(n)(+) clusters, which tend to fragment to "magic" clusters such as Si(4)(+), Si(6)(+) and Si(10)(+). These experimental results can be accounted for by recent theoretical calculations of the ground-state structure and stability of small silicon and carbon clusters. Several theoretical approaches give consistent results, showing that small silicon clusters are compact and different from small fragments of the bulk crystal. Calculations show that carbon clusters change from linear structures toward cyclic structures as the cluster size increases, but with significant odd-even differences.     

A Molecular Ferromagnet with a Curie Temperature of 6.2 Kelvin: [Mn(C5(CH3)5)2]+[TCNQ]-

The study of magnetic phase transitions in insulating molecular solids provides new insights into mechanisms of magnetic coupling in the solid state and into critical phenomena associated with these transitions. Only a few such materials are known to display cooperative magnetic properties. The use of high-spin molecular components would enhance intermolecular spin-spin interactions and thus a series of chargetransfer (CT) salts have been synthesized that utilize the spin S = 1 molecular cation, [Mn(C(5)(CH(3))(5))(2)](+) (decamethylmanganocenium). The structure and cooperative magnetic behavior of [Mn(C(5)(CH(3))(5))(2)](+)[TCNQ(-) (decamethylmanganocenium 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-p-quinodimethanide) are reported. This salt is a bulk molecular ferromagnet with the highest critical (Curie) temperature (T(c) = 6.2 K) and coercive field (3.6 x 10(3) gauss), yet reported for such a material.     

Observation of atomic diffusion at twin-modified grain boundaries in copper

Grain boundaries affect the migration of atoms and electrons in polycrystalline solids, thus influencing many of the mechanical and electrical properties. By introducing nanometer-scale twin defects into copper grains, we show that we can change the grain-boundary structure and atomic-diffusion behavior along the boundary. Using in situ ultrahigh-vacuum and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we observed electromigration-induced atomic diffusion in the twin-modified grain boundaries. The triple point where a twin boundary meets a grain boundary was found to slow down grain-boundary and surface electromigration by one order of magnitude. We propose that this occurs because of the incubation time of nucleation of a new step at the triple points. The long incubation time slows down the overall rate of atomic transport.     

SOLID STATE PHYSICS: A Question of Dimensions

In 1907, Albert Einstein studied the heat capacity of diamond to gain insight into the quantization of vibrations in solids. Hone et al. have now measured the heat capacity of another carbon compound, carbon nanotubes, to determine the dimensionality of their vibrations as a function of temperature. In his Perspective, de Heer compares the two studies, and concludes that carbon continues to provide new fundamental insights into the properties of condensed matter.     

Defects in semiconductors: some fatal, some vital

REVIEW The role of defects as essential entities in semiconductor materials is reviewed. Early experiments with semiconductors were hampered by the extreme sensitivity of the electronic properties to minute concentrations of impurities. Semiconductors were viewed as a family of solids with irreproducible properties. Scientific efforts overcame this idiosyncrasy and turned the art of impurity doping into today's exceedingly useful and reproducible technology that is used to control precisely electrical conductivity, composition, and minority-carrier lifetimes over wide ranges. Native defects such as vacancies and self-interstitials control basic processes, foremost self- and dopant diffusion. The structural properties of dislocations and higher dimensional defects have been studied with atomic resolution, but a thorough theoretical understanding of their electronic properties is incomplete. Reactions between defects within the host lattices are increasingly better understood and are used for gettering and electrical passivation of unwanted impurities. Metastable defects such as DX centers and the EL2-related arsenic antisite are briefly discussed. The recent development of isotopically controlled semiconductors has created new research opportunities in this field.     

农科6号番茄的选育

农科6号番茄是以ZX318-56为母本、AL52为父本配制而成的杂交种,2010年4月通过广西农作物品种审定委员会审定。植株表现为无限生长型,生长势强;结果多且大小均匀,果实长圆形,成熟果鲜红色,平均单果重130 g左右;果实可溶性固形物含量4%、VC 218 mg/kg、总糖4.2%、糖酸比为4.5;果实坚硬、耐贮运,抗青枯病和中抗病毒病,畸形、裂果率低,商品率高,平均产量为97952.8 kg/ha左右,适宜在华南地区露地栽培。     

Fast ionic transport in solids

The discovery of inorganic solids with ionic conductivities comparable to those of aqueous electrolytes has revolutionized solid-state electrochemistry. Sodium beta alumina, a Na(+) conductor, and LixTiS(2), an intercalation compound with simultaneous Li(+) and electronic conductivity, are two of the best and most versatile fast ionic conductors. A wide variety of cations can replace Na(+) in beta alumina and Li(+) in LixTiS(2) and change the properties of the materials. Sodium beta alumina and LixTiS(2) are currently used in the development of high-energy density batteries for electric vehicles and electrical utility load leveling. Current research in solid ionic conductors is exploring new intercalation compounds, solid polymer electrolytes, and alkali ion and proton transport in crystalline solids.     

Motions and relaxations of confined liquids

When a liquid is confined in a narrow gap (as near a cell membrane, in a lubricated contact between solids, or in a porous medium), new dynamic behavior emerges. The effective shear viscosity is enhanced compared to the bulk, relaxation times are prolonged, and nonlinear responses set in at lower shear rates. These effects are more prominent, the thinner the liquid film. They appear to be the manifestation of collective motions. The flow of liquids under extreme confinement cannot be understood simply by intuitive extrapolation of bulk properties. Practical consequences are possible in areas from tribology and materials processing to membrane physics.     

Conducting organic materials

Some of the current directions of scientific research on electrically conducting organic solids are reviewed. Both molecular charge transfer salts and polymers are included, with emphasis on the present level of understanding of the novel solid-state properties of these materials in terms of their chemistry and structure. For the charge transfer salts the various types of metal-to-insulator phase transitions which dominate the properties of most of these materials are discussed. Also described are the superconducting and magnetic states which have been found recently. In the case of the polymers the chemistry and physics of the conduction mechanism is examined and contrasted with that of their classical inorganic counterparts.     

中微量元素对大兴区西瓜产量和品质的影响

中微量元素对西瓜产量和品质的影响试验结果表明,施用中微量元素西瓜产量明显增加7.5%～24.1%,西瓜中心可溶性固形物含量提高0.3～2.0个百分点。综合西瓜产量、瓜瓤中心可溶性固形物含量及中微量元素的含量可知,1.0%硫酸亚铁溶液于伸蔓期、坐果期、果实生长盛期分3次喷施,可获产量62.69t/hm2,同时瓜瓤中心可溶性固形物含量为10.8%,铁、锌、硼和钙的含量较高,依次为6.02、0.59、0.70、10.0mg/kg,适宜在生产中推广应用。     

Mobility gaps: a mechanism for band gaps in melanins

The semiconductor behavior of melanins is reviewed and compared with quantum mechanical models of conduction in amorphous solids. The available data are consistent with extensions of Mott's basic model for amorphous semiconductors, whereas they are inconsistent with crystalline semiconductor models. An investigation of the specific conduction mechanisms operative in melanins in terms of the amorphous model should reveal important aspects of the band structure.     

Optimization by simulated annealing

There is a deep and useful connection between statistical mechanics (the behavior of systems with many degrees of freedom in thermal equilibrium at a finite temperature) and multivariate or combinatorial optimization (finding the minimum of a given function depending on many parameters). A detailed analogy with annealing in solids provides a framework for optimization of the properties of very large and complex systems. This connection to statistical mechanics exposes new information and provides an unfamiliar perspective on traditional optimization problems and methods.