[en] Methodological aspects of the foundations of quantum theory are dealt with in relation to the quantum description of macroscopic systems, biological in particular. Attention is paid to the philosophical content of the problems of 1) the logical status of the reduction postulate in quantum mechanics, and 2) the paradox of Schroedinger's cat, whose physical solution has not yet been attained. The problem of the quantum description of complex macroscopic systems is also treated, as is Herbert Froehlich's important concept of the excitation of dominant modes in biological systems. (author). 61 refs

[en] Recent great progress in construction and application of bright sources of soft X-rays gave a strong impetus for the development of methods of their dosimetric diagnostics. The soft X-ray sources are primarily represented by synchrotron radiation sources and by sources based on laser-produced plasma, including X-ray lasers. Their characteristics spread over a very wide region of photon energies, peak and average powers and densities. From our preliminary experiments it follows that thermoluminescent dosemeters can serve as a suitable tool for the determination of these characteristics. Problem lies in the fact that routine use of the thermoluminescent dosemeters for the dosimetry of soft X-rays requires their spectral calibration, which can be carried out with low peak power sources (synchrotron radiation and radionuclide sources). On the contrary, many important sources, especially these based on laser-produced plasmas, exhibit a very high peak power, i.e. dosemeters are irradiated at extremely high dose rate. In comparative experiments carried out with laser-produced plasmas and radionuclides using TLD 200 (CaF₂:Dy) and GR 200A (LiF:Mg,Cu,P) it was satisfactorily proven that total thermoluminescent signals are independent of the dose rate. Dependence of glow curve shapes on the dose, dose rate and photon energy were equally determined

[en] The thermoluminescent properties of polycrystalline chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond, as free-standing CVD cutting tool material, type CVDITE-CDM (De Beers Company), were studied with respect to its use in the dosimetry of soft X-ray emission from laser-produced plasma. The range of linearity for 5.9-keV radiation was measured to be only two orders of magnitude, ranging from a sensitivity threshold of ∼0.01 to ∼2 Gy. In this linearity range, the sensitivity of CVD diamonds is about 65 times lower than the sensitivity of TLD-100 dosimeters. The unpolished (grained) face of CVD diamonds shows ∼1.5-times higher thermoluminescence (TL) response after irradiation than the polished face, in the high-temperature range, but the polished face shows slightly higher TL response in the low-temperature range. A strong TL sensitivity to the blue portion of the visible light spectrum was measured. Simultaneous irradiation of TLD-100 dosimeters and CVD diamonds by soft X-rays emitted from a laser-produced plasma showed that CVDITE-CDM diamonds can be applied as detectors of intense soft X-ray radiation

[en] A multichannel detection system having a dynamic range of ''1x10^-9 Gy - 20 Gy was developed with the use of commercially produced Si-photodiodes and TLDs for accurate measurement of X ray energy emitted from plasma-focus facility and from laser-produced plasmas. The proof of linearity of the employed detectors accomplished by a comparison of their responses to a broad band spectrum of X rays emitted from plasmas, is reported. It is demonstrated that TLDs irradiated with no protective filter show an incorrect response due to overloading in the sub-keV range and repopulation of dosimetric peaks induced by the UV radiation. The measurement of the power of undesirable secondary X ray sources driven by the primary plasma inside the interaction chamber was performed on the basis of analysis of space dependence of X ray intensity with respect to the assumed r^-2 decrease in the intensity far away from the plasma. (author)

[en] Radiation-chemical desulfurization and denitrification of flue gases is a highly promising method for removing SO₂ and NO_x from gases emerging from the combustion of coal and heating oils, from the heat treatment of ores, etc. Its principle is as follows. Into the flue gases, freed from solid particles, are injected a suitable base and water. The gaseous mixture, or aerosol, enters a reactor in which it is exposed to accelerated electrons. The latter thermalize gradually and their energy is transferred to the surrounding molecules, whereby radiolysis is initiated. The primary products are positively charged ions, secondary electrons, excited states of molecules and free radicals. Some amount of negatively charged ions is also formed. These particles enter into fast reactions with the molecules, and as a result, SO₂ and NO_x are oxidized and transformed into acids (H₂SO₄, HNO₃) which ultimately react with the base to give salts as the final products. In suitable conditions the final products are formed in the solid state and can be removed by filtration, electrostatic separation, etc. The topic is treated in detail with respect to its physico-chemical and radiation-chemical principles as well as its characteristics and technical implementation, and a survey of research, demonstration and pilot-plant units aimed at its industrial application is given. The method is considered promising in Czechoslovak conditions and deserves attention of technologists as well as national economy experts. (P.A.). 7 figs., 3 tabs., 49 refs

[en] Results on iodine laser production of Ag, Au, Pb, Sn and Ta ions are presented and experiments on their implantation into steel, Al and plastics are compared and discussed. Ions were implanted without additional acceleration into metals to the depth of several hundreds of nanometers, and into plastics to depths of up to several micrometers. (author)

[en] Responses of thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) of CaF₂:Dy, CaF₂:Mn, and LiF:Mg,Cu,P to the deposited energy of monochromatic 1.75-3.5 keV radiation were measured with respect to an increase in the local dose due to the attenuation length that was much shorter than the TLD thickness. The responses of TLDs to X-ray emission from the laser-produced aluminium plasma were found to be independent of the dose rate within a wide range. (author)

[en] The first successful production is reported of macroscopic amounts of fullerene, prepared by vaporizing graphite with long laser pulses generated by the high-power iodine laser system Perun. The relatively high amount of fullerene produced made it possible to apply chemical extraction methods and ultraviolet absorption spectrophotometry for its detection. The experimental setup is described in detail, and the mechanism of fullerene formation is discussed. The reported experiments indicate that iodine lasers might be a more efficient tool in fullerene production than excimer lasers, despite the UV degrading of fullerene clusters. (J.U.) 4 figs., 18 refs

[en] A new application of thermoluminescent dosemeters in hot plasma diagnostics is demonstrated, based on numerical analysis of the glow curves. By decomposing the glow curves, the parameters of single glow peaks corresponding to various activation energies in the dosemeter can be determined. The ratio of heights of the peaks depends on the energy of the absorbed photons. It is shown that the known dependence of the peak height ratio on the photon energy can be used for estimates of the mean photon energy of the absorbed soft X radiation within the range 1 - 22 keV. (J.U.) 4 figs., 5 refs

[en] Interest in laser-driven plasma jets is justified by their relevance for high-energy-density laboratory astrophysics and for the fusion directed research. In experiments carried out on the iodine laser system PALS, interactions of plasma jets with solid surfaces are studied in context with phenomena accompanying the material erosion and migration at plasma facing components, i.e., an issue of paramount importance for development of future fusion devices. The energetic ions were produced at burnt-through foils with low-to-high atomic numbers (Al, Ag, Ta). The formation of the outflow plasma was investigated using the three-frame interferometry, the observed density distribution was complemented by numerical modeling of the plasma parameters based on the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian code PALE. The found optimum conditions for the jet production were used in a design of alternate experimental configurations. The interaction of the directional plasma flows with secondary targets was studied via x–ray imaging, optical and high–resolution x–ray spectroscopy. The examples of jet applications for investigating the transition phenomena at surfaces of plasma-exposed solids are presented. (author)