There is provided an apparatus and method for assisting speech recovery in people with inability to speak due to aphasia, apraxia or another condition with similar effect. A hollow, rigid, thin-walled tube with semi-circular or semi-elliptical cut out shapes at each open end is positioned such that one end mates with the throat/voice box area of the neck of the assistor and the other end mates with the throat/voice box area of the assisted. The speaking person (assistor) makes sounds that produce standing wave vibrations at the same frequency in the vocal cords of the assisted person. Driving the assisted person's vocal cords with the assisted person being able to hear the correct tone enables the assisted person to speak by simply amplifying the vibration of membranes in their throat.

A dielectric thin-film material for microwave applications, including use as a capacitor, the thin-film comprising a composition of barium strontium calcium and titanium of perovskite type (Ba{sub x}Sr{sub y}Ca{sub 1-x-y})TiO{sub 3}. Also provided is a method for making a dielectric thin film of that formula over a wide compositional range through a single deposition process.

The radometer is a portable instrument for the measurement of the concentration of atmospheric radon/thoron in a test area. A constant velocity pump pulls the air from the outside at a constant flow rate. If the air is too moist, some or all of the sample is passed through a desiccant filter prior to encountering an electrostatic filter. The electrostatic filter prevents any charged particles from entering the sampling chamber. Once the sample has entered the chamber, the progeny of the decay of radon/thoron are collected on a detector and measured. The measured data is compiled by a computer and displayed.

This invention relates to a process for gas cleanup to remove one or more metallic contaminants present as vapor. More particularly, the invention relates to a gas cleanup process using mass transfer to control the saturation levels such that essentially no particulates are formed, and the vapor condenses on the gas passage surfaces. It addresses the need to cleanup an inert gas contaminated with cadmium which may escape from the electrochemical processing of Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) fuel in a hot cell. The IFR is a complete, self-contained, sodium-cooled, pool-type fast reactor fueled with a metallic alloy of uranium, plutonium and zirconium, and is equipped with a close-coupled fuel cycle. Tests with a model have shown that removal of cadmium from argon gas is in the order of 99.99%. The invention could also apply to the industrial cleanup of air or other gases contaminated with zinc, lead, or mercury. In addition, the invention has application in the cleanup of other gas systems contaminated with metal vapors which may be toxic or unhealthy.

A process for fabricating superconducting composite wire by the steps of placing a superconductive precursor admixture capable of undergoing a self propagating combustion in stoichiometric amounts sufficient to form a superconductive product within a metal tube, sealing one end of said tube, igniting said superconductive precursor admixture whereby said superconductive precursor admixture endburns along the length of the admixture, and cross-section reducing said tube at a rate substantially equal to the rate of burning of said superconductive precursor admixture and at a point substantially planar with the burnfront of the superconductive precursor mixture, whereby a clad superconductive product is formed in situ, the product characterized as superconductive without a subsequent sintering stage, is disclosed.

This invention is comprised of an RF transport system which delivers a phase-stable RF signal to a load, such as an RF cavity of a charged particle accelerator. A circuit generates a calibration signal at an odd multiple frequency of the RF signal where the calibration signal is superimposed with the RF signal on a common cable that connects the RF signal with the load. Signal isolating diplexers are located at both the RF signal source end and load end of the common cable to enable the calibration to be inserted and extracted from the cable signals without any affect on the RF signal. Any phase shift in the calibration signal during traverse of the common cable is then functionally related to the phase shift in the RF signal. The calibration phase shift is used to control a phase shifter for the RF signal to maintain a stable RF signal at the load.

An apparatus and a method are disclosed for measuring the average density and relative volumes in an essentially transparent, dispersed two-phase fluid. A laser beam with a diameter no greater than 1% of the diameter of the bubbles, droplets, or particles of the dispersed phase is directed onto a diffraction grating. A single-order component of the diffracted beam is directed through the two-phase fluid and its refraction is measured. Preferably, the refracted beam exiting the fluid is incident upon a optical filter with linearly varying optical density and the intensity of the filtered beam is measured. The invention can be combined with other laser-based measurement systems, e.g., laser doppler anemometry.

The invention is a process for producing improved electrical-junction devices. The invention is applicable, for example, to a process in which a light-sensitive electrical-junction device is produced by: (1) providing a body of crystalline semiconductor material having a doped surface layer; (2) irradiating the layer with at least one laser pulse to effect melting of the layer; (3) permitting recrystallization of the melted layer; and (4) providing the resulting body with electrical contacts. In accordance with the invention, the fill-factor and open-circuit-voltage parameters of the device are increased by conducting the irradiation with the substrate as a whole at a selected elevated temperature, the temperature being selected to effect a reduction in the rate of the recrystallization but insufficient to effect substantial migration of impurities within the body. In the case of doped silicon substrates, the substrate may be heated to a temperature in the range of from about 200/sup 0/C to 500/sup 0/C.

A device is provided for sealing an inner tube and an outer tube without excessively deforming the tubes. The device includes two ferrules which cooperate to form a vacuum-tight seal between the inner tube and outer tube and having mating surfaces such that overtightening is not possible.

A free electron laser and free electron laser amplifier using beam transport devices for guiding an electron beam to a wiggler of a free electron laser and returning the electron beam to decelerating cavities disposed adjacent to the accelerating cavities of the free electron laser. Rf energy is extracted from the electron beam after it emerges from the wiggler by means of the decelerating cavities which are closely coupled to the accelerating cavities, or by means of a second bore within a single set of cavities. Rf energy extracted from the decelerated electron beam is used to supplement energy provided by an external source, such as a klystron, to thereby enhance overall efficiency of the system.

It is the primary objective or aim of the present invention to provide an electrically conductive composition for the fabrication of susceptors useful for induction melting of uranium and uranium alloys and to also provide such a composition for forming crucibles and other containment vessels utilized to contain uranium at elevated temperatures. This composition does not appear to interact with molten uranium, since there is no significant reaction between the compositional consituents of the susceptor or containment vessel and the confined uranium. This objective is achieved by utilizing a sintered ceramic composition which consists essentially of about 13-67 vol. % of a refractory metal carbide and a nonconductive oxide selected from a group consisting of zirconium oxide, calcium aluminate, yttria, and combinations thereof.