Boron nitride (BN) is a synthetic binary compound located between III and V group elements in the Periodic Table. However, its properties, in terms of polymorphism and mechanical characteristics, are rather close to those of carbon compared with other III-V compounds, such as gallium nitride. BN crystallizes into a layered or a tetrahedrally linked structure, like those of graphite and diamond, respectively, depending on the conditions of its preparation, especially the pressure applied. Such correspondence between BN and carbon readily can be understood from their isoelectronic structures [1, 2]. On the other hand, in contrast to graphite, layered BN is transparent and is an insulator. This material has attracted great interest because, similar to carbon, it exists in various polymorphic forms exhibiting very different properties; however, these forms do not correspond strictly to those of carbon. Crystallographically, BN is classified into four polymorphic forms: Hexagonal BN (h-BN) (Figure 1(b)); rhombohedral BN (r-BN); cubic BN (c-BN); and wurtzite BN (w-BN). BN does not occur in nature. In 1842, Balmain [3] obtained BN as a reaction product between molten boric oxide and potassium cyanide under atmospheric pressure. Thereafter, many methods for its synthesis were reported. h-BN and r-BN are formed under ambient …

Current practices within the oceanographic community have been reviewed with regard to the use of metrics to assess the realism of the upper-ocean circulation, ventilation processes diagnosed by time-evolving mixed layer depth and mode water formation, and eddy heat fluxes in large-scale fine resolution ocean model simulations. We have striven to understand the fidelity of these simulations in the context of their potential use in future fine-resolution coupled climate system studies. A variety of methodologies are used to assess the veracity of the numerical simulations. Sea surface height variability and the location of western boundary current paths from altimetry have been used routinely as basic indicators of fine-resolution model performance. Drifters and floats have also been used to provide pseudo-Eulerian measures of the mean and variability of surface and sub-surface flows, while statistical comparisons of observed and simulated means have been carried out using James tests. Probability density functions have been used to assess the Gaussian nature of the observed and simulated flows. Length and time scales have been calculated in both Eulerian and Lagrangian frameworks from altimetry and drifters, respectively. Concise measures of multiple model performance have been obtained from Taylor diagrams. The time-evolution of the mixed layer depth …

In the past, the vast majority of nuclear physics calculations were carried out using nonrelativistic quantum mechanics. Relativistic effects were usually regarded as small corrections, primarily kinematic in origin. However, as understanding of hadronic matter has developed, and as high energy accelerators capable of probing hadronic systems to very high momenta become available, interest in relativistic methods has grown and theoretical techniques have matured. Until the early 1980's, most research was centered on methods for computing relativistic corrections to calculations which are essentially non-relativistic. The idea was to find corrections to lowest order in (v/c){sup 2}, where v is a typical particle velocity regarded as small compared to nuclear energies and masses. Recent work goes far beyond such expansion methods. Fully covariant approaches, in which the dynamics is closely connected to field theory, are now being developed.

Proceedings of the Environmental Health Information Partnership (EnHIP) Meeting March 25-26, 2010

A joint NREL, ORNL, and PNNL team conducted market analysis to help inform DOE/EERE's Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program planning and management decisions. This chapter presents the results of the market analysis for the Buildings sector.

The 14th Workshop will provide a forum for an informal exchange of technical and scientific information between international researchers in the photovoltaic and relevant non-photovoltaic fields. It will offer an excellent opportunity for researchers in private industry and at universities to prioritize mutual needs for future collaborative research. The workshop is intended to address the fundamental properties of PV silicon, new solar cell designs, advanced solar cell processing techniques, and cell-related module issues. A combination of oral presentations by invited speakers, poster sessions, and discussion sessions will review recent advances in crystal growth, new cell designs, new processes and process characterization techniques, cell fabrication approaches suitable for future manufacturing demands, and solar cell encapsulation. This year's theme, ''Crystalline Si Solar Cells: Leapfrogging the Barriers,'' reflects the continued success of crystalline Si PV in overcoming technological barriers to improve solar cell performance and lower the cost of Si PV. The workshop will consist of presentations by invited speakers, followed by discussion sessions. In addition, there will be two poster sessions presenting the latest research and development results. Some presentations will address recent technologies in the microelectronics field that may have a direct bearing on PV. The sessions will include: Advances in …

The purpose of this handbook is to furnish guidance for planning and conducting a"high-performance building" charrette, sometimes called a"greening charrette." The handbook answers typical questions that will arise, such as"What is a charrette?""Why conduct a charrette?""What topics should we cover during the charrette?" and"Whom should we invite?" It also contains samples of agendas, invitation letters, and other commonly used charrette materials. This handbook also outlines the characteristics of a good charrette facilitator. It gives suggestions for the types of experts to invite to the event to motivate participants and answer their questions. The handbook includes sample presentations that can be used by these experts to ensure they address the required technical content. It suggests the types of participants, including technical, political, and community representatives, to invite to the charrette. It offers advice for forming effective breakout groups to ensure that a broad range of complementary expertise is represented in each group. We have also included guidance on how best to include key decision makers and stakeholders who are able to attend only portions of the event.

The 13th Workshop will provide a forum for an informal exchange of technical and scientific information between international researchers in the photovoltaic and relevant non-photovoltaic fields. It will offer an excellent opportunity for researchers in private industry and at universities to prioritize mutual needs for future collaborative research. The workshop is intended to address the fundamental aspects of impurities and defects in silicon: their properties, the dynamics during device processing, and their application for developing low-cost processes for manufacturing high-efficiency silicon solar cells. A combination of oral, poster, and discussion sessions will review recent advances in crystal growth, new cell structures, new processes and process characterization techniques, and cell fabrication approaches suitable for future manufacturing demands.

Ruthenium is a metal of a considerable importance in electrochemical science and technology. It is a catalyst or co-catalyst material in Pt-Ru alloys for methanol- and reformate hydrogen-oxidation in fuel cells, while ruthenium oxide, a component in chlorine-evolution catalysts, represents an attractive material for electrochemical supercapacitors. Its facile surface oxidation generates an oxygen-containing species that provides active oxygen in some reactions. Ru sites in Pt-Ru catalysts increase the ''CO tolerance'' of Pt in the catalytic oxidation-reaction in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) and in reformate hydrogen-oxidation in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). The mechanism of Ru action is not completely understood, although current consensus revolves around the so-called ''bifunctional mechanism'' wherein Ru provides oxygenated species to oxidize CO that blocks Pt sites, and has an electronic effect on Pt-CO interaction. While various studies of polycrystalline Ru go back several decades those involving single crystal surfaces and the structural sensitivity of reactions on Ru surfaces emerged only recently. Using well-ordered single crystalline surfaces brings useful information as the processes on realistic catalysts are far too complex to allow identification of the microscopic reaction steps. In this article, we focus on progress in model systems and conditions, such as electrochemistry and …

This book traces the early history of nuclear power regulation in the US. It focuses on the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the federal agency that until 1975 was primarily responsible for planning and carrying out programs to protect public health and safety from the hazards of the civilian use of nuclear energy. It also describes the role of other groups that figured significantly in the development of regulatory policies, including the congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, federal agencies other than the AEC, state governments, the nuclear industry, and scientific organizations. And it considers changes in public perceptions of and attitudes toward atomic energy and the dangers of radiation exposure. The context in which regulatory programs evolved is a rich and complex mixture of political, legislative, legal, technological, scientific, and administrative history. The basic purpose of this book is to provide the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which inherited responsibility for nuclear safety after Congress disbanded the AEC, and the general public with information on the historical antecedents and background of regulatory issues.

When generated from renewable sources, hydrogen production and use is part of a clean, cyclic process. Hydrogen can be used to generate electricity, heat homes and businesses, fuel vehicles, and produce commodities used every day. The Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel's (HTAP) primary functions are to advise the Secretary of Energy on the implementation of the U.S.DOE programs in hydrogen RD and D and to review and make recommendations on the economic, technical, and environmental consequences of deploying safe hydrogen energy systems.

Guidance offers instruction and guidelines on how to receive credits for biodiesel fuel use.

A quarterly magazine with articles the proposed National Energy Policy; the 2001 National Clean Cities Conference including Clean Cities Coalition Award and National Partner Award recipients; station cars (shared my multiple drivers); and new emissions-reducing incentives in Texas.

New developments in instrumentation have recently allowed photoemission measurements to be performed with very high energy and momentum resolution.[1] This has allowed detailed studies of the self-energy corrections to the lifetime and mass renormalization of excitations in the vicinity of the Fermi level. These developments come at an opportune time. Indeed the discovery of high temperature superconductivity in the cuprates and related systems is presenting a range of challenges for condensed matter physics.[2] Does the mechanism of high T{sub c} superconductivity represent new physics? Do we need to go beyond Landau's concept of the Fermi liquid?[3] What, if any, is the evidence for the presence or absence of quasiparticles in the excitation spectra of these complex oxides? The energy resolution of the new instruments is comparable to or better than the energy or temperature scale of superconductivity and the energy of many collective excitations. As such, photoemission has again become recognized as an important probe of condensed matter. Studies of the high T{sub c} superconductors and related materials are aided by the observation that they are two dimensional. To understand this, we note that the photoemission process results in both an excited photoelectron and a photohole in the final state. …