The following report contains two reports to summarize a thesis: first, a report describing the classical moment techniques of Tchebycheff, Markov, and Stieltjes that have been applied to the problem of diagonalizing the Hamiltonian operator; and the second report describes an investigation of the higher-order corrections to the mesic disintegration of deuterons that is considered.

Abstract: "Two parallel wires close together with an arc between them form a hairpin-type of current configuration which should magnetically propel the plasma of the arc. By the time-of-flight measurements with probes it has been demonstrated that directed translational energies of 290 ev can be imparted to deuterons in a plasma produced by a high-current pulsed arc at the tips of two titanium wires loaded with deuterium. It is believed that three deuterons are actually magnetically propelled."

Abstract: "The self-consistent equations have been found for a plasma which lies in a mainly unidirectional magnetic field, which has a circular symmetry and which has a harmonic variation in the direction of the magnetic field. The equations have been solved in two cases, 1) where the harmonic variation of the field is finite and the plasma is weak, and 2) where the plasma is strong but the harmonic variation of the field is weak. The configurations thus found can form an important starting point for calculations of the stability of plasmas."

The transient aerothermodynamic processes in a gas-cooled reactor are described in a simplified manner to illustrate some of the fundamental physical phenomena involved, to provide some approximate but useful methods of analysis, and to aid in the understanding and use of more complex computer solutions. The transient heat balance equation for an element of a single reactor channel is derived in terms of aerothermodynamic time constants, and typical analytic solutions for transients are presented. This equation is used in generating the time-dependent equation for the channel exhaust gas temperature. The single-channel analysis is extended to multiple channels. A method for determining the approximate transient temperature envelopes for various reactor components is presented. The effects of aerodynamic and thermal coupling between different reactor channels are illustrated. Some of the simplifying assumptions are investigated with respect to the conditions under which they are valid.

Females heterozygous for a wildtype X chromosome from a Samarkand stock and an chromosome of the composition [formula] were tested for the frequency of X-chromosomal non-disjunction and segregation of the X's when Y chromosomes of different types were present in the females. The Y chromosomes used were 1) a normal unmarked Y, 2) [formula], 3) [formula] and 4) [formula] (a chromosome which arose in one of our experiments and has not yet been analyzed). Since this was only a preliminary test no attempt was made to isogenize the stocks. Larger scale experiments are planned in which these and other Y's will be used and the genetic background will be strictly controlled.

The effect of temperature on the yield strength of the polycrystalline hexagonal Ag-Al intermetallic phase was investigated over the temperature range 77 to 775 K. It was found that the curve for yield stress vs temperature for both polycrystalline Ag-33 at .% Al specimens that were heavily cold worked prior to deformation and those that were recrystallized prior to deformation was parallel to that for prismatic slip in single crystals.

Abstract. A neutron diffraction crystal spectrometer with a resolution of 13 microseconds per meter and monochromatic beam intensity up to 10(4)n/cm(2)=sec in the range 0.012-0.400 ev has been constructed for study of the activation cross section of Be7 as a function of energy in the thermal region. First preliminary results using ZnS(Ag) as a detector suggest the possibility of a resonance for the Be7(n,p)Li7 reaction in the region of 0.025-0.050 ev.

Report of progress on the metabolic properties of various materials, biological studies of radiation effects, health chemistry and physics.

The field of mathematics which deals with the construction of charts representing mathematical laws is known as Nomography. Often it is necessary to repeatedly solve mathematical formulae, but with different values for the symbols involved. The manipulation of the formulae, or repeated constructions of graphs, may require considerable work, as well as carry with it the possibility of errors invalidating the results. In such a situation, the construction of a single chart which would serve for all the solutions would obviously be of considerable value.

At high excitation energies, competition of proton and c-particle emission with neutron emission becomes important. For low excitation, the competition between Y-emission, neutron emission, and fission should be taken into account. To aid in the evaluation of this competition an experiment has been performed to measure the number and energy spectrum of the protons and c-particles emitted in the high energy bombardment of uranium with protons, deuterons, and c-particles.