This document contains information about the characterization and application of microearthquake clusters and fault zone dynamics. Topics discussed include: Seismological studies; fault-zone dynamics; periodic recurrence; scaling of microearthquakes to large earthquakes; implications of fault mechanics and seismic hazards; and wave propagation and temporal changes.

The chemical-properties of rutherfordium (Rf) and its group 4 homologs were studied by sorption on glass support surfaces coated with cobalt(II)ferrocyanide and by solvent extraction with tributylphosphate (TBP) and triisooctylamine (TIOA). The surface studies showed that the hydrolysis trend in the group 4 elements and the pseudogroup 4 element, lb, decreases in the order Rf>Zr{approx}Hf>Th. This trend was attributed to relativistic effects which predicted that Rf would be more prone to having a coordination number of 6 than 8 in most aqueous solutions due to a destabilization of the 6d{sub 5/2} shell and a stabilization of the 7p{sub l/2} shell. This hydrolysis trend was confirmed in the TBP/HBr solvent extraction studies which showed that the extraction trend decreased in the order Zr>Hf>Rf?Ti for HBr, showing that Rf and Ti did not extract as well because they hydrolyzed more easily than Zr and Hf. The TIOA/HF solvent extraction studies showed that the extraction trend for the group 4 elements decreased in the order Ti>Zr{approx}Hf>Rf, in inverse order from the trend of ionic radii Rf>Zr{approx}Hf>Ti. An attempt was made to produce {sup 263}Rf (a) via the {sup 248}Cm({sup 22}Ne, {alpha}3n) reaction employing thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) solvent extraction chemistry and (b) via the {sup …

This dissertation is focused on three problem areas in the performance of inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source. The noise characteristics of aerosols produced by ICP nebulizers are investigated. A laser beam is scattered by aerosol and detected by a photomultiplier tube and the noise amplitude spectrum of the scattered radiation is measured by a spectrum analyzer. Discrete frequency noise in the aerosol generated by a Meinhard nebulizer or a direct injection nebulizer is primarily caused by pulsation in the liquid flow from the pump. A Scott-type spray chamber suppresses white noise, while a conical, straight-pass spray chamber enhances white noise, relative to the noise seen from the primary aerosol. Simultaneous correction for both spectral interferences and matrix effects in ICP atomic emission spectrometry (AES) can be accomplished by using the generalized standard additions method (GSAM). Results obtained with the application of the GSAM to the Perkin-Elmer Optima 3000 ICP atomic emission spectrometer are presented. The echelle-based polychromator with segmented-array charge-coupled device detectors enables the direct, visual examination of the overlapping lines Cd (1) 228.802 nm and As (1) 228.812 nm. The slit translation capability allows a large number of data points to be sampled, therefore, the advantage of noise averaging …

Volume rendering allows us to represent a density cloud with ideal properties (single scattering, no self-shadowing, etc.). Scientific visualization utilizes this technique by mapping an abstract variable or property in a computer simulation to a synthetic density cloud. This thesis extends volume rendering from its limitation of isotropic density clouds to anisotropic and/or noisy density clouds. Design aspects of these techniques are discussed that aid in the comprehension of scientific information. Anisotropic volume rendering is used to represent vector based quantities in scientific visualization. Velocity and vorticity in a fluid flow, electric and magnetic waves in an electromagnetic simulation, and blood flow within the body are examples of vector based information within a computer simulation or gathered from instrumentation. Understand these fields can be crucial to understanding the overall physics or physiology. Three techniques for representing three-dimensional vector fields are presented: Line Bundles, Textured Splats and Hair Splats. These techniques are aimed at providing a high-level (qualitative) overview of the flows, offering the user a substantial amount of information with a single image or animation. Non-homogenous volume rendering is used to represent multiple variables. Computer simulations can typically have over thirty variables, which describe properties whose understanding are useful to …

Combined cross section times branching fraction limits are given for {Sigma}{sub c}{sup +}{sup +} {r_arrow} {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup +} and {Sigma}{sub c}{sup 0} {r_arrow} {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup {minus}} where {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} {r_arrow} {Sigma}{sub s}{sup {plus_minus}}{pi}{sup {plus_minus}}{pi}{sup +}. The {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} is reconstructed with partial information on the {Sigma}{sub s}; the missing {Sigma}{sub s} momentum is established through momentum conservation imposed by a constrained fit. The data are of {pi}{sup {minus}} beam interactions at 250 GeV from Fermilab experiment E769.

Thermal depinning has been studied for a single vortex trapped in a superconducting thin film in order to determine the value of the superconducting order parameter and the superfluid density when the vortex depins and starts to move around the film. For the Pb film in Pb/Al/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/PbBi junction having a gold line, the vortex depins from the artificial pinning site (Au line) and reproducibly moves through the same sequence of other pinning sites before it leaves the junction area of the Pb film. Values of the normalized order parameter {triangle}/{triangle}{sub o} vary from {triangle}/{triangle}{sub o}=0.20 at the first motion of the vortex to {triangle}/{triangle}{sub o}=0.16 where the vortex finally leaves the junction. Equivalently, the value of the normalized superfluid density changes from 4% to 2.5% for this sample in this same temperature interval. For the Nb film in Nb/Al/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Nb junction, thermal depinning occurs when the value of {triangle}/{triangle}{sub o} is approximately 0.22 and the value of {rho}{sub s}/{rho}{sub so} is approximately 5%. These values are about 20% larger than those of a Pb sample having a gold line, but the values are really very close. For the Nb sample, grain boundaries are important pinning sites whereas, …

This dissertation is an examination of the operations of U.S. battleships in World War I. The study examines tactical cooperation between units of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and the British Grand Fleet and relations between the two navies; the efficiency of U.S. battleships in terms of both personnel and material; and the strategic ideas of U.S. naval leaders governing the use of capital ships. The manuscript is based primarily on records of the Department of the Navy in the National Archives and Admiralty records at the Public Record Office. Also important are the private papers of principal naval leaders, located at the Library of Congress and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, U.K. The published memoirs of several of the participants are also utilized. The first chapter examines Anglo-American naval relations and traces diplomatic events leading to the U.S. Navy Department's decision to dispatch dreadnought battleships to European waters. The following two chapters discuss the amalgamation of Battleship Division Nine into the British Grand Fleet. Chapter IV examines the gunnery efficiency of U.S. battleships serving with the Grand Fleet. Chapter V reviews Anglo-American planning for a possible German battle cruiser raid against the Atlantic convoys. Chapter VI deals with the …