This invention is comprised of a radiation detection method and system for continuously correcting the quantization of detected charge during pulse pile-up conditions. Charge pulses from a radiation detector responsive to the energy of detected radiation events are converted to voltage pulses of predetermined shape whose peak amplitudes are proportional to the quantity of charge of each corresponding detected event by means of a charge-sensitive preamplifier. These peak amplitudes are sampled and stored sequentially in accordance with their respective times of occurrence. Based on the stored peak amplitudes and times of occurrence, a correction factor is generated which represents the fraction of a previous pulses influence on a preceding pulse peak amplitude. This correction factor is subtracted from the following pulse amplitude in a summing amplifier whose output then represents the corrected charge quantity measurement.

This invention is comprised of a method and apparatus for selectively removing species of ions from an area of soil. Permeable membranes and impregnated with an ion exchange resin that is specific to one or more species of chemical ions are inserted into ground in close proximity to, and on opposing sides of, a soil area of interest. An electric potential is applied across electrodes and to cause the migration of ions out of soil area toward the membranes. Preferably, the resin exchanges ions of sodium or hydrogen for ions of mercury that it captures from soil area. Once membranes and become substantially saturated with mercury ions, the potential applied across electrodes and is discontinued and membranes and are preferably removed from soil for storage or recovery of the ions. The membranes are also preferably impregnated with a buffer to inhibit the effect of the hydrolysis of water by current from the electrodes.

This invention is comprised of a method and device for disinfecting a flush toilet. The device is an electrocell mounted in the tank of the toilet, with two wire mesh electrodes immersed in the water in the tank and a battery applying approximately one to two volts of electric potential to the electrodes so that they chemically reduce a portion of the water in the tank to hydrogen peroxide. Then, when the tank is flushed, the peroxide is carried into the bowl where it can kill bacteria.

A method and system for enhancing the motility of microorganisms by placing an effective amount of chlorinated hydrocarbons, preferably chlorinated alkenes, and most preferably trichloroethylene in spaced relation to the microbes so that the surprisingly strong, monomodal, chemotactic response of the chlorinated hydrocarbon on subsurface microbes can draw the microbes away from or towards and into a substance, as desired. In remediation of groundwater pollution, for example, TCE can be injected into the plume to increase the population of microbes at the plume whereby the plume can be more quickly degraded. A TCE-degrading microbe, such as Welchia alkenophilia, can be used to degrade the TCE following the degradation of the original pollutant.

This invention is comprised of a method for dissolving silica-rich fibers such as borosilicate fibers, fiberglass and asbestos to stabilize them for disposal. The method comprises (1) immersing the fibers in hot, five-weight-percent sodium hydroxide solution until the concentration of dissolved silica reaches equilibrium and a only a residue is left (about 48 hours), then immersing the residue in hot, five-weight-percent nitric acid until the residue dissolves (about 96 hours). After adjusting the pH of the dissolved fibers to be caustic, the solution can then be added to a waste vitrification stream for safe disposal. The method is useful in disposing contaminated HEME and HEPA filters.

A process for dissolving plutonium, and in particular, delta-phase plutonium. The process includes heating a mixture of nitric acid, hydroxylammonium nitrate and potassium fluoride (HAN) to a temperature between 40 and 70 C, then immersing the metal in the mixture. Preferably, the nitric acid has a concentration of not ore than 2M, the HAN approximately 0.66M, and the potassium fluoride 1M. Additionally, a small amount of sulfamic acid, such as 0.1M can be added to assure stability of the HAN in the presence of nitric acid. The oxide layer that forms on plutonium metal may be removed with a non-oxidizing acid as a pre-treatment step.

An improved cryptographic method utilizing exponentiation is provided which has the advantage of reducing the number of multiplications required to determine the legitimacy of a message or user. The basic method comprises the steps of selecting a key from a pre-approved group of integer keys g; exponentiating the key by an integer value e, where e represents a digital signature, to generate a value g{sup e}; transmitting the value g{sup e} to a remote facility by a communications network; receiving the value g{sup e} at the remote facility; and verifying the digital signature as originating from the legitimate user. The exponentiating step comprises the steps of initializing a plurality of memory locations with a plurality of values g{sup xi}, computing a{sub i} representations for a integer base b, where a{sub i} represents the weighing factor of the ith digit of the integer e; computing the individual values of c{sub d} according to the rule: c{sub d}={product}a{sub i}=d g{sup x {sub i}}; and computing the product of {product}{sup h}/{sub d=1} c{sub d}{sup d} from the stored values of from the plurality of memory locations so as to determine a value for g{sup e}.

This invention is comprised of a method for treating waste water such as that from an industrial processing facility comprising the separation of the waste water into a dilute waste stream and a concentrated waste stream. The concentrated waste stream is treated chemically to enhance precipitation and then allowed to separate into a sludge and a supernate. The supernate is skimmed or filtered from the sludge and blended with the dilute waste stream to form a second dilute waste stream. The sludge remaining is mixed with cementitious material, rinsed to dissolve soluble components, then pressed to remove excess water and dissolved solids before being allowed to cure. The dilute waste stream is also chemically treated to decompose carbonate complexes and metal ions and then mixed with cationic polymer to cause the precipitated solids to flocculate. Filtration of the flocculant removes sufficient solids to allow the waste water to be discharged to the surface of a stream. The filtered material is added to the sludge of the concentrated waste stream. The method is also applicable to the treatment and removal of soluble uranium from aqueous streams, such that the treated stream may be used as a potable water supply.

A method and system for converting the chemical energy of methane to electrical energy. Methane is thermally decomposed to hydrogen and carbon in a decomposing unit at a temperature not less than about 1200{degree}K and at a pressure at least slightly above atmospheric pressure. Carbon and substantially pure oxygen and a cesium or potassium seed material is transmitted to a combustor which is maintained at a pressure of at least about 50 atmospheres to combust the carbon and oxygen and provide an ionized plasma having a temperature not less than about 2900{degree}K. The ionized plasma is accelerated to a velocity not less than about 1000 m/sec and transported through an MHD generator having a magnetic field in the range of from about 4 to about 6 Tesla to generate dc power. The ionized plasma is deaccelerated and passed from the MHD generator in heat exchange relationship with the methane to heat same for decomposition, and thereafter any cesium or potassium seed material is recovered and transported to the combustor, and the dc power from the MHD generator is converted to ac power.

A method for impregnating a porous, non-metallic construction material with a solid phase-change material is described. The phase-change material in finely divided form is spread onto the surface of the porous material, after which the porous material is exposed to microwave energy for a time sufficient to melt the phase-change material. The melted material is spontaneously absorbed into the pores of the porous material. A sealing chemical may also be included with the phase-change material (or applied subsequent to the phase-change material) to seal the surface of the porous material. Fire retardant chemicals may also be included with the phase-change materials. The treated construction materials are better able to absorb thermal energy and exhibit increased heat storage capacity.

Disclosed are apparatus and method for producing articles of alumina and of alumina and silicon carbide in which the articles are sintered at high temperatures using microwave radiation. The articles are placed in a sintering container which is placed in a microwave cavity for heating. The rates at which heating and cooling take place is controlled.

This report discusses a mode trap to trap and absorb transverse modes formed by a beam in a linear accelerator includes a waveguide having a multiplicity of electrically conductive (preferably copper) irises and rings, each iris and ring including an aperture, and the irises and rings being stacked in a side-by-side, alternating fashion such that the apertures of the irises and rings are concentrically aligned. An absorbing material layer such as a dielectric is embedded in each iris and ring, and this absorbing material layer encircles, but is circumferentially spaced from its respective aperture. Each iris and ring includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced slots around it`s aperture and extending radially out toward it`s absorbing material layer.

This patent pertains to compositions consisting essentially of molybdenum disilicide, silicon carbide, and a zirconium oxide component. The silicon carbide used in the compositions is in whisker or powder form. The zirconium oxide component is pure zirconia or partially stabilized zirconia or fully stabilized zirconia. Fabrication, fracture toughness, and bend strength are covered.

None

The report describes a non-linear optical crystal vibration sensing device including a photorefractive crystal and a laser. The laser produces a coherent light beam which is split by a beam splitter into a first laser beam and a second laser beam. After passing through the crystal the first laser beam is counter-propagated back upon itself by a retro-mirror, creating a third laser beam . The laser beams are modulated, due to the mixing effect within the crystal by vibration of the crystal. In the third laser beam modulation is stable and such modulation is converted by a photodetector into a usable electrical output, intensity modulated in accordance with vibration applied to the crystal.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically and adaptively normalizing analog signals representative of video images in object detection systems. Such normalization maximizes the average information content of the video images and, thereby, provides optimal digitized images for object detection and identification. The present invention manipulates two system control signals -- gain control signal and offset control signal -- to convert an analog image signal into a transformed analog image signal, such that the corresponding digitized image contains the maximum amount of information achievable with a conventional object detection system. In some embodiments of the present invention, information content is measured using parameters selected from image entropy, image mean, and image variance.

This invention is comprised of a nozzle device for causing two fluids to mix together. In particular, a spray nozzle comprise two hollow, concentric housings, an inner housing and an outer housing. The inner housing has a channel formed therethrough for a first fluid. Its outer surface cooperates with the interior surface of the outer housing to define the second channel for a second fluid. The outer surface of the inner housing and the inner surface of the outer housing each carry a plurality of vanes that interleave but do not touch, each vane of one housing being between two vanes of the other housing. The vanes are curved and the inner surface of the outer housing and the outer surface of the inner housing converge to narrow the second channel. The shape of second channel results in a swirling, accelerating second fluid that will impact the first fluid just past the end of the nozzle where mixing will take place.

This invention is comprised of an oil/gas collector/separator for recovery of oil leaking, for example, from an offshore or underwater oil well. The separator is floated over the point of the leak and tethered in place so as to receive oil/gas floating, or forced under pressure, toward the water surface from either a broken or leaking oil well casing, line, or sunken ship. The separator is provided with a downwardly extending skirt to contain the oil/gas which floats or is forced upward into a dome wherein the gas is separated from the oil/water, with the gas being flared (burned) at the top of the dome, and the oil is separated from water and pumped to a point of use. Since the density of oil is less than that of water it can be easily separated from any water entering the dome.

An open apex shape charge explosive device is disclosed having an inner liner defining a truncated cone, an explosive charge surrounding the truncated inner liner, a primer charge, and a disc located between the inner liner and the primer charge for directing the detonation of the primer charge around the end edge of the disc means to the explosive materials surrounding the inner liner. The disc comprises a material having one or more of: a higher compressive strength, a higher hardness, and/or a higher density than the material comprising the inner liner, thereby enabling the disc to resist deformation until the liner collapses. The disc has a slide surface thereon on which the end edge of the inner liner slides inwardly toward the vertical axis of the device during detonation of the main explosive surrounding the inner liner, to thereby facilitate the inward collapse of the inner liner. In a preferred embodiment, the geometry of the slide surface is adjusted to further control the collapse or {beta} angle of the inner liner.

An optical voltage reference for providing an alternative to a battery source. The optical reference apparatus provides a temperature stable, high precision, isolated voltage reference through the use of optical isolation techniques to eliminate current and impedance coupling errors. Pulse rate frequency modulation is employed to eliminate errors in the optical transmission link while phase-lock feedback is employed to stabilize the frequency to voltage transfer function.

A method is given for incorporating diverse varieties of intercalants or templates directly during hydrothermal synthesis of clays such as hectorite or montmorillonite-type layer-silicate clays. For a hectorite layer-silicate clay, refluxing a gel of silica sol, magnesium hydroxide sol and LiF for 2 days with an organic or organometallic intercalant or template results in crystalline products containing either (a) organic dye molecules such as ethyl violet and methyl green, (b) dye molecules such as alcian blue based on a Cu(II)-phthalocyannine complex, or (c) transition metal complexes such as Ru(II)phenanthroline and Co(III)sepulchrate or (d) water-soluble porphyrins and metalloporphyrins. Montmorillonite-type clays are made by the method taught by US patent No. 3,887,454 issued to Hickson, June 13, 1975; however, a variety of intercalants or templates may be introduced. The intercalants or templates should have water-solubility, positive charge, and thermal stability under moderately basic (pH 9-10) aqueous reflux conditions or hydrothermal pressurized conditions for the montmorillonite-type clays.

Disclosed is a hydrogen-absorbing composition and method for making such a composition. The composition comprises a metal hydride, preferably palladium, deposited onto a porous substrate such as kieselguhr, for use in hydrogen-absorbing processes. The composition is made by immersing a substrate in a concentrated solution containing palladium, such as tetra-amine palladium nitrate. Palladium from the solution is deposited onto the porous substrate, which is preferably in the form of kieselguhr particles. The substrate is then removed from the solution, calcined, and heat treated. This process is repeated until the desired amount of palladium has been deposited onto the substrate.

This report describes phase-sensitive flow cytometer (FCM) which provides additional FCM capability to use the fluorescence lifetime of one or more fluorochromes bound to single cells to provide additional information regarding the cells. The resulting fluorescence emission can be resolved into individual fluorescence signals if two fluorochromes are present or can be converted directly to a decay lifetime from a single fluorochrome. The excitation light for the fluorochromes is modulated to produce an amplitude modulated fluorescence pulse as the fluorochrome is excited in the FCM. The modulation signal also forms a reference signal that is phase-shifted a selected amount for subsequent mixing with the output modulated fluorescence intensity signal in phase-sensitive detection circuitry. The output from the phase-sensitive circuitry is then an individual resolved fluorochrome signal or a single fluorochrome decay lifetime, depending on the applied phase shifts.

A high precision pressure transducer system for checking the reliability of a second pressure transducer system used to monitor the level of a fluid confined in a holding tank. Since the response of the pressure transducer is temperature sensitive, it is continually housed in an battery powered oven which is configured to provide a temperature stable environment at specified temperature for an extended period of time. Further, a high precision temperature stabilized oscillator and counter are coupled to a single board computer to accurately determine the pressure transducer oscillation frequency and convert it to an applied pressure. All of the components are powered by the batteries which during periods of availability of line power are charged by an on board battery charger. The pressure readings outputs are transmitted to a line printer and a vacuum florescent display.