Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the health insurance tax credit proposed in H.R. 2261 for individuals who purchased private health insurance, focusing on both the number of people who would potentially be eligible for a tax credit or deduction under this proposal and the potential value of these credits and deductions."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Air Force Reserve Command's completed competitions for contracts recently won by the private sector for functions at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, and Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, New York, focusing on the: (1) Command's process for conducting the competitions, including the development of the performance work statements; and (2) estimates of expected savings and cost to conduct the studies, and the likelihood that base operating efficiency can be expected to improve."

Wave induced flows can produce radially sheared velocity profiles that can in turn stabilize drift wave turbulence and improve plasma confinement. A second-order kinetic theory is developed in one-dimensional slab geometry to treat radio frequency (RF)-driven plasma flows. The Vlasov equation is solved to second order in the RF electric field. Moments of the second-order distribution function give time-averaged expressions for the heating rate, the wave kinetic flux, and the RF force exerted on the plasma. On the collisional or transport time scale, the RF force in the poloidal direction is balanced by neoclassical viscosity, and the force in the radial direction is balanced direction by ambipolar electric fields. Comparison is made with previous theories which have relied on incompressible fluid approximations. Very substantial differences are seen in situations involving the Ion Bernstein Wave, a compressional wave.

The process of underground excavation design is being performed in several phases to satisfy the requirements of Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP). These phases were conceptualized to satisfy increasingly focused requirements as the YMP progresses and more detailed site characterization data are acquired. At the time that initial design analyses were prepared, the rock mass parameters were derived from the exploratory core drillings, and as such their values were considered preliminary. Field evidence was needed to verify the magnitudes of these parameters. According to the respective YMP procedures, incomplete data that require further verification are flagged by the TBV (To Be Verified) designation and data that are not available are flagged by the TBD (To Be Determined) designation. Field mapping activities performed during the Exploratory Studies Facility (ESF) Main Loop (i.e., the North Ramp, Main Drift, and South Ramp) tunnel excavation resulted in accumulation of the field data that enlarge and complement the initial, core-derived rock property database. To date, a number of the ESF design confirmation analyses have been completed in a form of topical reports. These reports were prepared to satisfy the requirements of 10 CFR 60.141, ''Confirmation of Geotechnical and Design Parameters''. The design confirmation analyses …

The Radiological Assessment System for Consequence AnaLysis, Version 3.0 (RASCAL 3.0) is the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission�s (NRC) main computational tool for use during radiological emergencies. RASCAL estimates doses from radiological accidents for comparison with Protective Action Guides and acute health effects thresholds. It includes six computational tools: ST-Dose, FM-Dose, Decay, BackCalc, UF6Plume, and MetProc. ST-Dose computes time-dependent nuclide release rates, atmospheric transport, radiological decay, and doses. FM-Dose computes doses from environmental concentrations of nuclides. Decay computes radiological decay and daughter in-growth. BackCalc estimates a distribution of possible release rates from field measurements. UF6Plume computes uranium exposures and HF concentrations from a UF6 release. MetProc prepares meteorological data for use by ST-Dose and UF6Plume.

Simulation of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in submicron features typical of semiconductor devices has been facilitated by extending the EVOLVE thin film etch and deposition simulation code to use thermal reaction mechanisms expressed in the Chemkin format. This allows consistent coupling between EVOLVE and reactor simulation codes that use Chemkin. In an application of a reactor-scale simulation code providing surface fluxes to a feature-scale simulation code, a proposed reaction mechanism for TEOS pyrolysis to deposit SiO{sub 2}, which had been applied successfully to reactor-scale simulation, is seen not to predict the low step coverage over trenches observed under short reactor residence time conditions. An apparent discrepancy between the mechanism and profile-evolution observations is a reduced degree of sensitivity of the deposition rate to the presence of reaction products, i.e., the byproduct inhibition effect is underpredicted. The cause of the proposed mechanism's insensitivity to byproduct inhibition is investigated with the combined reactor and topography simulators first by manipulating the surface to volume ratio of a simulated reactor and second by calibrating parameters in the proposed mechanism such as the calculated free energies of surface molecules. The conclusion is that the byproduct inhibition can not be enhanced to fit profile evolution data …

The past decade has been a challenging time for the refrigeration and air conditioning industry worldwide. Provisions of the Montreal Protocol and its amendments require the phaseout of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) compounds that have been used extensively as insulating foam blowing agents and refrigerants in refrigeration systems, heat pumps, and air conditioners. In response, hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) compounds were proposed, developed, and are starting to be used as the primary alternatives to CFCs and HCFCs. However, in 1997 under the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized nations have agreed to roll back emissions of HCFCs, carbon dioxide (CO*), and four other greenhouse gases which threaten to cause excessive global warming. The US. Department of Energy and the Alternative Fluorocarbon Environmental Acceptability Study (AFEAS) jointly sponsored research projects to identify the major applications of CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs and to examine the impacts of these compounds and the energy use of applications employing these compounds on global warming. The five major uses of fluorocarbons based on sales were automobile air conditioning, supermarket refrigeration, unitary heat pumps and air conditioning, chillers for cooling large office buildings, and household refrigeration. Almost all of the refrigerants used in these applications are global warming gases, and if …

The authors present experimental results of a high efficiency Ne-like Fe transient collisional excitation x-ray laser using the COMET 15 TW table-top laser system at LLNL. The plasma formation, ionization and collision excitation of the x-ray laser have been optimized using two sequential laser pulses: a plasma formation beam with 5 J energy of 600 ps duration and a pump beam with 5 J energy of 1.2 ps duration. Since the observation of strong lasing on the 255 {angstrom} 3p-3s J = 0-1 transition of Ne-like Fe, they have achieved high gains of 35 cm{sup {minus}1} and saturation of the x-ray laser. A five-stage traveling wave excitation enhances the strongest Fe 3p-3s 255 {angstrom} lasing line as well as additional x-ray lines. A careful characterization of the plasma column conditions using L-shell spectroscopy indicates the degree of ionization along the line focus.

Metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (GaAs)1-x(Ge2)x alloy layers, 0<x<0.22, were grown at temperatures between 640 and 690 C, on vicinal (001) GaAs substrates. Phase separation occurred in all the layers. The phase-separated microstructure changed with alloy composition, growth temperature, and substrate orientation. In x {approx} 0.1 layers grown at 640 C, Ge segregation occurred on {l_brace}115{r_brace}B planes associated with a {l_brace}115{r_brace}B surface faceting. Increase in growth temperature led to the formation of large, (001)-oriented, irregular-shaped platelets of Ge-rich material. Growth on {l_brace}115{r_brace}B substrates resulted in a ''natural superlattice'' of GaAs/Ge along the growth direction.

This report describes the progress made in the 3-year program at ASE Americas Inc. in the PVMaT 4A2 Initiative on the development of Edge-Defined Film-Fed Growth (EFG) silicon wafer technology. This program was performed over the period from December 14, 1995 to June 30, 1999. The work focused on advancing EFG manufacturing technology and lowering production costs in three areas: I. EFG Wafers--through better silicon feedstock utilization, improvements in growth, a wafer thickness reduction from 300 to 250 microns, and a higher bulk wafer electronic quality; additionally, new technology for laser cutting of wafers was demonstrated; II. Solar Cells--by an increase in solar cell efficiency, and implementation of a new glass etch process; III. Modules--by lamination cycle improvements, introduction of a new diode housing, and simplification of module construction.

Letter to the NAACP and Roosevelt Milton detailing abuse during an arrest at the Logan County Police Department.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Alvin, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The widespread availability of lasers that generate pulses on the femtosecond scale has opened new realms of investigation in the basic and applied sciences, rendering available excitations delivering intensities well in excess of 10{sup 21} W/cm{sup 2}, and furnishing probes capable of resolving molecular relaxation timescales. As a consequence and a necessity, sophisticated techniques to examine the pulse behavior on the femtosecond scale have been developed and are of crucial importance to gain insight on the behavior of physical systems. These techniques will be discussed with specific application to guided pulse propagation and ionization dynamics of noble gases.

NREL PV Working With Industry is a quarterly newsletter devoted to the research, development, and deployment performed by NREL staff in concert with their industry and university partners. The Second Quarter, 1999 issue, titled ''Shedding Light on the Matter,'' focuses on the PV-related research activities of NREL's Basic Sciences Center. The editorialist is Satyen Deb, in his role as Director of the Basic Sciences Center.

With the implementation of a transmission-type curved crystal spectrometer at the Livermore high-energy electron beam ion trap (SuperEBIT) the window on sub-eV level measurements of the ground-state quantum electrodynamics and the two-electron quantum electrodynamics of high-Z ions has been opened. High-resolution spectroscopic measurements of the K{alpha} spectra of hydrogenlike Xe{sup 53+} and heliumlike Xe{sup 52+} are presented. The electron-impact excitation cross sections have been determined relative to the radiative recombination cross sections. The electron-impact energy was 112 keV which is about 3.7 times the excitation threshold for the n = 2 {yields} 1 transitions. Although the relative uncertainties of the measured electron-impact excitation cross sections range from about 20% to 50%, significant disagreement between the measured and calculated cross section values has been found for one of the heliumlike xenon lines. Overall, the comparison between experiment and theory shows that already for xenon (Z=54) the Breit interaction plays a significant part in the collisional excitation process. The measured cross sections for the hydrogenlike transitions are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. Additionally, the Xe{sup 53+} Ly-{alpha}{sub 1} transition energy has been measured utilizing the K{alpha} emission of neutral cesium and barium for calibration. Surprisingly, the experimental result, (31279.2 {+-} 1.5) …

Energy Matters is a quarterly newsletter to update partners on Motor Challenge progress. This issue includes these topics: small town plastics manufacturer produces big local energy and cost savings; technical advances improve industrial energy efficiency; energy service companies: cost-savings partners for industry; choosing the right energy service company to prove the value of motor upgrades projects; energy assets: tapping the hidden value; steam workshops promote energy efficiency; performance optimization tips.

Starting from the microscopic light-matter interaction in form of the minimal coupling Hamiltonian, the multipole approximation for the optical response of localized electrons in atomic systems is extended to delocalized electrons in solids. A spatial averaging procedure is used to derive the electromagnetic sources for macroscopic Maxwell's equations as well as the corresponding many particle Hamiltonian on a coarse grained length scale. The results are illustrated for semiconductor bulk material up to quadruple moments for the interband transitions, where gauge invariant equations of motion for the optical response are obtained.

AstroPower is developing a manufacturing process for Silicon-Film{trademark} solar cell production under the Photovoltaic Manufacturing Technology (PVMaT) cost-share program. This document reports on results from the first phase of a three-phase effort. Progress is reported on developing new procedures and equipment for in-line wet-chemical processes, metallization processes, sheet fabrication, solar cell processing, module assembly, solar cell testing, metallurgical-grade silicon purification, and recycling of Silicon-Film{trademark} sheet materials. Future concepts and goals for the Silicon-Film{trademark} process are also discussed.

This report describes work performed by Global Solar Energy (GSE) under Phase I of this subcontract. GSE has initiated an extensive and systematic plan to accelerate the commercialization of thin-film photovoltaics (PV) on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). GSE is developing the technology to deposit and monolithically integrate CIGS photovoltaics on a flexible substrate. CIGS-deposited on flexible substrates can be fabricated into either flexible or rigid modules. Low-cost, rigid PV panels for remote power, bulk/utility, telecommunications, and rooftop applications will be produced by affixing the flexible CIGS to an expensive rigid panel by lamination or adhesive. In the GSE approach, long (up to 700 m) continuous rolls of substrate are processed, as opposed to individual small glass plates. In combination with roll-to-roll processing, GSE is developing evaporation deposition operations that enable low-cost and high-efficiency CIGS modules. Efforts are under way to transition the CIGS deposition process into manufacturing at GSE. CIGS process development is focused on synchronizing the operation of the effusion sources, the Se delivery profile, substrate temperature, and a host of other parameters. GSE has selected an interconnect scheme and procured, installed, and tested the equipment necessary to implement the cell interconnection for thin-film CIGS modules on a …

This report summarizes our findings from pressurized unsaturated flow (PUF) and single-pass flow-through (SPFT) experiments to date. Results from the PUF test of a Pu-bearing ceramic with enclosing surrogate high-level waste glass show that the glass reacts rapidly to alteration products. Glass reaction causes variations in the solution pH in contact with the ceramic materials. We also document variable concentrations of Pu in solution, primarily in colloidal form, which appear to be related to secular variations in solution composition. The apparent dissolution rate of the ceramic waste form, based on Ba concentrations in the effluent, is estimated at {le} 10{sup {minus}5} g/(m{sup 2} {center_dot} d). Pu-bearing colloids were recovered in the size range of 0.2 to 2 {micro}m, but it is not clear that such entities would be transported in a system that is not advective-flow dominated. Results from SPFT experiments give information on the corrosion resistance of two surrogate Pu-ceramics (Ce-pyrochlore and Ce-zirconolite) at 90 C over a pH range of 2 to 12. The two ceramics were doped with minor quantities ({approximately}0.1 mass%) of MoO{sub 3}, so that concentrations of Mo in the effluent solution could be used to monitor the reaction behavior of the materials. The data …

Recent developments in solid-state radio frequency (RF) power technologies allow for the practical consideration of RF heated plasmas for space propulsion. These technologies permit the use of any electrical power source, de-couple the power and propellant sources, and allow for the effcient use of both the propellant mass and power. Effcient use of the propellant is obtained by expelling the rocket exhaust at the highest possible velocity, which can be orders of magnitude higher than those achieved in chemical rockets. Handling the hot plasma exhaust requires the use of magnetic nozzles, and the basic physics of ion detachment from the magnetic #12;eld is discussed. The plasma can be generated by RF using helicon waves to heat electrons. Further direct heating of the ions helps to reduce the line radiation losses, and the magnetic geometry is tailored to allow ion cyclotron resonance heating. RF #12;eld and ion trajectory calculations are presented to give a reasonably self-consistent picture of the ion acceleration process.