[en] A melting curve maximum in cesium which is associated with a continuous 6s to 5d electronic transition cannot be explained by conventional Lindemann model. A new melting equation which reduces to the Kennedy equation for normal melting solids when the energy gap ΔE is large has been derived. This equation places melting maximum in cesium at 15 kbar, in fair agreement with the experimental value of 17 kbar. At about 200 kbar, the metallic radius of rubidium approaches that of yttrium (4d¹) supporting the prominent d-band character of rubidium at high pressures. Little is known about the change in character of the d-bonding as a function of the metallic radius. High pressure studies on alkali metals may provide valuable information in this area. (auth.)

No abstract available

[en] The pressure dependence (0 to 4 GPa) of the melting points (320 to 550 K) of Cd is presented graphically as one of the results of a newly proposed theory for the melting curve of metals

[en] Highlights: • Hydrogen bonds break down in water adsorbed on diamond or nanodiamond, causing. • Contraction of molar volume up to 50%. • Depression of freezing point. • Depression of evaporation temperature and heat. • Blue shift of IR spectra. The molar volume of water adsorbed on the surface of micro- and nano-powders of diamond was determined from the measured densities of dry and variously hydrated diamond powders. This volume decreases near the diamond surface and in the first adsorbed monolayer can be as low as half that of bulk water. This effect can be attributed to breakdown of the hydrogen bond network, as confirmed by IR spectroscopy and calorimetrical data for crystal hydrates of diamond.

[en] The thermal protective performance of the fire fighter protective clothing is of vital importance for fire fighters. In the study fabrics treated by phase change materials (PCMs) were applied in the multi-layered fabrics of the fire fighter protective clothing ensemble. The PCM fabrics were placed at the different layers of the clothing and their thermal protective performance were measured by a TPP tester. Results show that with the application of the PCM fabrics the thermal protection of the multi-layered fabrics was greatly increased. The time to reach a second degree burn was largely reduced. The location of the PCM fabrics at the different layers did not affect much on the thermal protective performance. The higher amount of the PCM adds on, the higher thermal protection was brought. The fabrics with PCMs of a higher melting temperature could contribute to higher thermal protection. (paper)

[en] Self-supported polyethylene and deuterated polyethylene targets of thickness in the range of 0.3 mg/cm² to 2.5 mg/cm² were prepared using the solvent casting technique. A quantitative estimation of material required for the solvent casting technique has been presented. Overall target preparation time has been reduced from the earlier reported methods. Comparative studies between polyethylene of the two different isotopes (hydrogen/deuterium) were performed in terms of their different characteristic properties e.g. target thickness, uniformity in the target thickness, infrared transmission and melting temperature. The effect of deuteration is clearly seen in the infrared transmission and melting point of the polyethylene, which may have potential applications in other fields of research. Target prepared in this work has been used for an in-beam experiment, where yield of the deuteron produced is found to be sensitive to the hydrogen isotope present in the polyethylene target. (paper)

[en] Highlights: • Freezing points of ternary ZnSO₄-H₂SO₄-H₂O were measured using the dynamic method. • Freezing points were predicted with a multicomponent Pitzer model and also using Zdanovskii's rule. • Good agreement between measurements and predicted results was achieved. -- Abstract: Freezing points in the ternary ZnSO₄-H₂SO₄-H₂O system were measured from (0.25 to 2.0) mol kg⁻¹ ZnSO₄ and (0.25 to 2.0) mol kg⁻¹ H₂SO₄. The experimental data was compared with predictions made with a multi-component Pitzer model and Zdanovskii's mixing rule. Good agreement between measured and predicted results was achieved.

[en] Bi-22l2 tubes for fault current limiter (FCL) were fabricated by centrifugal melting process. SrSO₄ (10 wt. %) was added to Bi-2212 powder to lower the melting point of Bi-22l2 and to improve the mechanical properties. The BSCCO powder was completely melted at 1300 degree C using the RF furnace and then poured into rotating steel mold. The steel mold, preheated at 450 degree C - 550 degree C for 2 hour was rotated at 1020 - 2520 RPM. The solidified BSCCO tube was cooled down to room temperature in the furnace for 48 hours and separated from the mold between Bi-2212 and the mold. ZrO₂ solution was used to separate it easily from the mold and Ag tape was attached in the mold inner wall of the mold to analysis electrical property. Bi-22l2 tube was often cracked when the cooling rate was high. BSCCO tubes with 70 φ x 100 mm, 50 φ x 100 mm and 30 φ x 150 mm size were fabricated by centrifugal melting process. The J_c³ of tubes with 50 φ x 100 mm x 4.0 t and 50 φ x 100 mm x 4.0 t were 178 and 74.2 A/cm² at 77K, respectively. The processing condition for Bi-2212 tube fabrication was investigated using XRD and SEM analyses.

[en] By intelligently utilizing the odd-even effect existing in the melting points of alkanes as presented in the basic textbook of Organic Chemistry, different alkoxy groups were introduced to modify the structure of commercial Spiro-OMeTAD to give new Spiro derivatives of Spiro-OEtTAD, Spiro-OPrTAD, Spiro-OiPrTAD and Spiro-OBuTAD, with the aim to adjust the molecular packing status in perovskite solar cells as hole transporting compounds. Excitedly, with the introduction of ethoxy groups instead of the methoxy ones in Spiro-OMeTAD, Spiro-OEtTAD-based perovskite solar cells demonstrated the highest device performance of 20.16%, higher than that of Spiro-OMeTAD (18.64%).

[en] A key property of glass forming alloys, the anomalously small volume difference with respect to the crystal, is shown to arise as a direct consequence of the soft repulsive potentials between metals. This feature of the inter-atomic potential is demonstrated to be responsible for a significant component of the glass forming ability of alloys due to the decrease in the enthalpy of fusion and the associated depression of the freezing point.