Iron- and cobalt-exchanged ZSM-5 are active catalysts for the dissociation of nitrous oxide. In this study, density functional theory was used to assess a possible reaction pathway for the catalytic dissociation of N2O. The active center was taken to be mononuclear [FeO]+ or [CoO]+, and the surrounding portion of the zeolite was represented by a 24-atom cluster. The first step of N2O decomposition involves the formation of [FeO2]+ or [CoO2]+ and the release of N2. The metal-oxo species produced in this step then reacts with N2O again, to release N2 and O2. The apparent activation energies for N2O dissociation in Fe-ZSM-5 and Co-ZSM-5 are 39.4 and 34.6 kcal/mol, respectively. The preexponential factor for the apparent first-order rate coefficient is estimated to be of the order 107 s-1 Pa-1. While the calculated activation energy for Fe-ZSM-5 is in good agreement with that measured experimentally, the value of the preexponential factor is an order of magnitude smaller than that observed . The calculated activation energy for Co-ZSM-5 is higher than that reported experimentally. However, consistent with experiment, the rate of N2O decomposition on Co-ZSM-5 is predicted to be significantly higher than that on Fe-ZSM-5.

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Expression profiling and genomic DNA sequence comparisons are increasingly being applied to the identification and analysis of the genes involved in lipid metabolism. Not only has genome-wide expression profiling aided in the identification of novel genes involved in important processes in lipid metabolism such as sterol efflux, but the utilization of information from these studies has added to our understanding of the regulation of pathways participating in the process. Coupled with these gene expression studies, cross species comparison, searching for sequences conserved through evolution, has proven to be a powerful tool to identify important non-coding regulatory sequences as well as the discovery of novel genes relevant to lipid biology. An example of the value of this approach was the recent chance discovery of a new apolipoprotein gene (apo AV) that has dramatic effects upon triglyceride metabolism in mice and humans.

Particle physics is driven by five great topics. Neutrino oscillations and masses are now at the fore. The standard model with extensions to supersymmetry and a Higgs to generate mass explains much of the field. The origins of CP violation are not understood. The possibility of extra dimensions has raised tantalizing new questions. A fifth topic lurking in the background is the possibility of something totally different. Many of the questions raised by these topics require powerful new accelerators. It is not an overstatement to say that for some of the issues, the accelerator is almost the experiment. Indeed some of the questions require machines beyond our present capability. As this volume attests, there are parts of the particle physics program that have been significantly advanced without the use of accelerators such as the subject of neutrino oscillations and many aspects of the particle-cosmology interface. At this stage in the development of physics, both approaches are needed and important. This chapter first reviews the status of the great accelerator facilities now in operation or coming on within the decade. Next, midrange possibilities are discussed including linear colliders with the adjunct possibility of gamma-gamma colliders, muon colliders, with precursor neutrino factories, …

We report a method for making weld joints, capable of transmitting high supercurrent densities, in bulk samples of melt textured YBCO. The joining procedure is carried out in a flowing atmosphere of O{sub 2} to eliminate problems associated with nitrogen gas, which can become trapped in the joint. No filler or fluxing material is used. The method can be used to join large areas (several cm{sup 2}) that are capable of transmitting supercurrent densities exceeding 10{sup 4} A/cm{sup 2}.

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The extended use of Zircaloy cladding in light water reactors degrades its mechanical properties by a combination of irradiation embrittlement, coolant-side oxidation, hydrogen pickup, and hydride formation. The hydrides are usually concentrated in the form of a dense layer or rim near the cooler outer surface of the cladding. Utilizing plane-strain ring-stretch tests to approximate the loading path in a reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) transient, we examined the influence of a hydride rim on the fracture behavior of unirradiated Zircaloy-4 cladding at room temperature and 300 C. Failure is sensitive to hydride-rim thickness such that cladding tubes with a hydride-rim thickness >100 {micro}m ({approx}700 wppm total hydrogen) exhibit brittle behavior, while those with a thickness <90 {micro}m ({approx}600 wppm) remain ductile. The mechanism of failure is identified as strain-induced crack initiation within the hydride rim and failure within the uncracked ligament due to either a shear instability or damage-induced fracture. We also report some preliminary results of the uniaxial tensile behavior of low-Sn Zircaloy-4 cladding tubes in a cold-worked, stress-relieved condition in the transverse (hoop) direction at strain rates of 0.001/s and 0.2/s and temperatures of 26-400 C.

We have investigated the surface degradation of bare and sol-gel coated deuterated potassium dihydrogen phosphate (DKDP) crystals when exposed to 351-nm laser pulses in atmospheric air and nitrogen and at pressures ranging from atmospheric down to 10{sup -5} Torr vacuum. Optical microscopy, surface topography, surface chemical analyses, 351-nm pumped photoemission maps, and photometry results have been used to characterize these samples. We report the occurrence of two potentially linked surface degradation phenomena: the development of increased photoemission and the development of unacceptable surface roughening in the region exposed to the beam in vacuum. We note no degradation for surfaces exposed in air or nitrogen at pressures exceeding 1 torr. Diamond-turned DKDP surfaces show a ubiquitous, low-intensity photoemission signature before exposure to any laser fluence. The observed reduction of this emission signal as a function of operating pressure and accumulated laser energy when crystals are exposed to 351-nm laser pulses in air can be correlated with the removal of surface carbon.

A recent increase in interest and development of wind energy in the Midwestern United States has focused the need for updating wind resource maps of this area. The wind resource assessment group at the National Renewable Energy Lab., a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory, has produced updated high-resolution (1-km) wind resource maps for several states in this region. This abstract describes the computerized tools and methodology used by NREL to create the higher resolution maps.

We have investigated the flash of light that accompanies laser damage using time-resolved spectroscopy. Damage events were initiated in the bulk of both fused silica and DKDP crystals with 355-nm 3-ns pulsed radiation. Spectra from the accompanying flash were recorded in the 200-500 nm wavelength range with 5-ns temporal resolution. Ten ns following damage initiation, the spectra were found to be roughly blackbody with temperatures on the order of 5000 K to 7000 K, depending on the material studied and excitation energy used. The observed temperatures and cooling rates can be related to the size and electron density of the plasma ''fireball'' that initiates the damage event.

The plasma wake-field mechanism can be used to couple energy at a high rate from a bunched electron beam into a plasma wave. We will present results from the Fermilab A0 facility where a beam with an initial energy of 14 MeV passes through the plasma to emerge with a much broader energy spread, spanning from a low of 3 MeV to a high of over 20 MeV. Over the 8 cm length of the 10{sup 14} cm{sup -3} plasma, this implies a 140 MeV/m deceleration and 72 MeV/m acceleration gradient.

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Geologic sequestration represents a promising strategy for isolating CO{sub 2} waste streams from the atmosphere. Successful implementation of this approach hinges on our ability to predict the relative effectiveness of subsurface CO{sub 2} migration and sequestration as a function of key target-formation and cap-rock properties, which will enable us to identify optimal sites and evaluate their long-term isolation performance. Quantifying this functional relationship requires a modeling capability that explicitly couples multiphase flow and kinetically controlled geochemical processes. We have developed a unique computational package that meets these criteria, and used it to model CO{sub 2} injection at Statoil's North-Sea Sleipner facility, the world's first saline-aquifer storage site. The package integrates a state-of-the-art reactive transport simulator (NUFT) with supporting geochemical software and databases (SUPCRT92). In our Sleipner study, we have quantified--for the first time--the influence of intra-aquifer shales and aquifer/cap-rock composition on migration/sequestration balance, sequestration partitioning among hydrodynamic, solubility, and mineral trapping mechanisms, and the isolation performance of shale cap rocks. Here, we review the fundamental elements of geologic CO{sub 2} sequestration in saline aquifers as revealed from model XSH of our Sleipner study; this model, unlike CSH and DSH, does not address the complicating (yet advantageous) presence of intra-aquifer shales.

An important purpose of a programming language is to insulate the programmer from low level details and provide a high enough level of abstraction to be productive and develop reasonably portable application codes. For these reasons scientific programming is longer done using assembly language. But high performance of scientific applications often requires that critical sections of code be expressed at a particularly low level to avoid inefficiencies introduced by the comiler (function call overhead, poor cache use, etc.). The use of high-level abstractions exaserbates this problem since the compiler is often unable to generate the equivalent low-level code required for good performance. The result is often significantly degraded performance. Libraries provide a way for domain specific knowledge to be developed for large numbers of users. Libraries thus simplify the development of many application codes and the work spent building libraries can be amortized across large numbers of applications and application developers. Such a hierarchy puts languages and compilers at the root of tree of abstractsions developed within numerous libraries at one level and numerous applications at a second level. Libraries provide a way to define high-level abstractions. We have developed specific libraries to simplify the development of serial and parallel …

The results on directed and elliptic flow for Pb + Pb at the full energy of the SPS (158 GeV/A) and from the first year of Au + Au at RHIC ({radical}s{sub NN} = 130 GeV) are reviewed. The different experiments agree well and a consistent picture has emerged indicating early time thermalization at RHIC.

In order to provide broader scientific recognition and to advance the science of shock compressed condensed matter, a group of American Physical Society (APS) members worked within the Society to make this field an active part of the APS. Individual papers were presented at APS meetings starting in the 1940's and shock wave sessions were organized starting with the 1967 Pasadena meeting. Shock wave topical conferences began in 1979 in Pullman, WA. Signatures were obtained on a petition in 1984 from a balanced cross-section of the shock wave community to form an APS Topical Group (TG). The APS Council officially accepted the formation of the Shock Compression of Condensed Matter (SCCM) TG at its October 1984 meeting. This action firmly aligned the shock wave field with a major physical science organization. Most early topical conferences were sanctioned by the APS while those held after 1992 were official APS meetings. The topical group organizes a shock wave topical conference in odd numbered years while participating in shock wavehigh pressure sessions at APS general meetings in even numbered years.

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The control network for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is designed to meet the needs for common object request broker architecture (CORBA) inter-process communication, multicast video transport, device triggering, and general TCP/IP communication within the NIF facility. The network will interconnect approximately 650 systems, including the embedded controllers, front-end processors (FEPs), supervisory systems, and centralized servers involved in operation of the NIF. All systems are networked with Ethernet to serve the majority of communication needs, and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is used to transport multicast video and synchronization triggers. CORBA software infra-structure provides location-independent communication services over TCP/IP between the application processes in the 15 supervisory and 300 FEP systems. Video images sampled from 500 video cameras at a 10-Hz frame rate will be multicast using direct ATM Application Programming Interface (API) communication from video FEPs to any selected operator console. The Ethernet and ATM control networks are used to broadcast two types of device triggers for last-second functions in a large number of FEPs, thus eliminating the need for a separate infrastructure for these functions. Analysis, design, modeling, and testing of the NIF network has been performed to provide confidence that the network design will meet NIF control requirements.

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Radioactive ion beam production and development at the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) will be detailed in a talk at this conference. A highlight during this period, however, has been providing A{approx}130 neutron-rich RIBs at energies up to {approx}4 MeV/nucleon. At the present time, the HRIBF is the only facility in the world capable of providing such beams.

We demonstrated that it is possible to calculate the complex energy of the deformed Gamow state with a precision that is high enough so that the half-life calculated from the imaginary part of the energy is meaningful. We also performed a comparison between non-adiabatic and adiabatic calculations. It can be concluded that, in many cases, the corrected adiabatic treatment cannot be used as a substitute for the full non-adiabatic calculations.

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), with the support of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has investigated the thermal performance of solar absorbers that are an integral, yet indistinguishable, part of a building's roof. The first roof-integrated solar absorber (RISA) system was retrofitted into FSEC's Flexible Roof Facility in Cocoa, Florida, in September 1998. This ''proof-of-concept'' system uses the asphalt shingle roof surface and the plywood decking under the shingles as an unglazed solar absorber. Data was gathered for a one-year period on the system performance. In Phase 2, two more RISA prototypes were constructed and submitted for testing. The first used the asphalt shingles on the roof surface with the tubing mounted on the underside of the plywood decking. The second prototype used metal roofing panels over a plywood substrate and placed the polymer tubing between the plywood decking and the metal roofing. This paper takes a first look at the thermal performance results for the ''invisible'' solar absorbers that use the actual roof surface of a building for solar heat collection.

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