[en] Electricity theft can be in the form of fraud (meter tampering), stealing (illegal connections), billing irregularities, and unpaid bills. Estimates of the extent of electricity theft in a sample of 102 countries for 1980 and 2000 are undertaken. The evidence shows that theft is increasing in most regions of the world. The financial impacts of theft are reduced income from the sale of electricity and the necessity to charge more to consumers. Electricity theft is closely related to governance indicators, with higher levels of theft in countries without effective accountability, political instability, low government effectiveness and high levels of corruption. Electricity theft can be reduced by applying technical solutions such as tamper-proof meters, managerial methods such as inspection and monitoring, and in some cases restructuring power systems ownership and regulation

[en] Quantum mechanics may be formulated in pseudo-phasespace in the Weyl picture. The semiclassical expression for the Weyl transform of the usual time evolution operator is evaluated by summing over paths a semiclassical approximation for a new propagator in pseudo-phasespace. As an example the Bohr-Sommerfeld quantisation rule is recovered. The new propagator may in principle be used to construct other interesting quantities, such as the propagator governing the time evolution of the Wigner function. (author)

[en] The project was designed to assess the contribution of transported pollutants to violations of the state ozone standard within the air basins covered by the report using existing data and advanced data analysis techniques. The objectives of the project were to determine the characteristics of ozone and ozone precursor transport within the California air basins covered by the report and to identify whether the contribution of transported pollutants to ozone violations in each downwind area was inconsequential, significant, or overwhelming, relative to locally-emitted pollutants. The precursor pollutants of interest were nitrogen oxides and reactive organic gases. The project evaluated transport to the following areas: The Broader Sacramento Area and the Upper Sacramento Valley; The North Central Coast Air Basin; The Southeast Desert Air Basin (SEDAB); and the Imperial County portion of the SEDAB

No abstract available

[en] In a series of papers, Barnett, Pegg (1986, 1988, 1989, 1992) and various co-authors have proposed a description of quantum phase by means of a collection of s-dimensional states and operators, s≥1. We analyse the limiting procedure they employ for large s, which is known not to be compatible with quantum mechanics in the usual sense. Further, we supply a rigorous demonstration of the asymptotic limits of the 'mean' and 'variance' of their system of operators in coherent states. These values had previously been given but not justified mathematically. Our analysis, based on the asymptotic analysis of certain random variables, shows that the physical deductions that can be drawn from these limits are limited. We also prove that the (s+1)-dimensional 'pure phase' LHW-states they consider form a sequence of approximate eigenvectors for the Weyl-quantized angle operator Δ (φ) and the Toeplitz phase operator X proposed by Garrison and Wong (1970), Popov and Yarunin (1992), and others. These states X_s(θ), to our knowledge first introduced by Lerner, Huang and Waiters (1970), can be used to construct a system of measurement as in the usual quantum theory, sensitive to certain qualities of phase, but not all. Indeed, a feature of the Barnett-Pegg method, when it gives finite answers, is the construction of associated measurement systems for different observables. We give examples of sequences of (s+1)-dimensional devices which represent measurements significantly closer to ideal for X. This serves as a model for corresponding devices for Δ (φ), or indeed, any observable with a continuous spectrum, contingent on its spectral decomposition being obtained explicitly. (author)

[en] Polarized ³He has been used as a spin filter for neutron polarization, as a target to probe neutron structure, and in combination with ¹²⁹Xe for precision measurement of fundamental physics. Spin exchange pumped masers of one and two species have run for weeks and allow CW measurement with precision trending as steeply as τ^-3/2. At SLAC, a program of experiments has studied the neutron spin-dependent structure function in deep inelastic scattering, exploiting the large neutron polarization in a polarized ³He target. Data from the most recent experiment provide new precise data with Bjorken x down to 0.014. Among the conclusions is the need to consider Q² dependence in interpretation of the data and determination of sum rules (sums over the full range in x). (orig.)

[en] We have produced long lifetime ³He spin-exchange cells from Corning 7056 glass. The lifetimes of single cells have approached the ³He-³He bulk-limited lifetime (250 h at a density of 8 x 10¹⁹ cm^-3, (3 amagats)). Corning 7056 glass has the advantage of being a much easier glass for the glassblower to work, allowing for more complex cell designs. In our experiments at Michigan and at SLAC, we have implemented laser diode arrays for spin-exchange optical pumping. In particular, for experiment E154 at SLAC, we achieved high polarizations in high-density ³He targets using laser diode arrays. (orig.)

[en] The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM), began evaluating a multipurpose canister (MPC) concept in October of 1992. This followed recommendations by the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that DOE develop a nuclear waste management system that achieves system integration, standardization, and reduced fuel-handling operations. Industry organizations such as Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) had conducted earlier studies that concluded advantages to the nuclear waste management system may be offered by such a concept. The MPC concept involves a metal canister which would contain multiple spent nuclear fuel assemblies. The canister would be sealed at the nuclear power plant and would not be reopened. The MPC would then be placed inside separate casks or overpacks for storage, transportation, and disposal. An important factor in DOE's evaluation of the MPC concept was the involvement of external parties. This paper describes that involvement process for the OCRWM's MPC implementation program. External parties who have an interest or stake in the program are referred to as stakeholders

[en] The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is proposing to fabricate and deploy a multi-purpose canister (MPC) system for the management of civilian spent nuclear fuel. If implemented, the MPC system could be used for temporary storage and transportation, and eventual disposal of spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants. With the MPC system, multiple spent fuel assemblies would be placed inside a metal canister and sealed at the nuclear power plant. The canister would be placed inside other casks or containers designed for the specific purposes of transportation, temporary storage, and disposal. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being prepared to evaluate the environmental effects of the MPC system technology and several other technologies for managing spent nuclear fuel pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA directs Federal agencies to perform environmental evaluations of proposed major projects and emphasizes public involvement during the entire EIS process. Through an initial process called scoping, other Federal and State agencies and the public are given an opportunity to provide comments on environmental issues and recommend alternatives to be addressed in the EIS. This paper describes the approached used by OCRWM to maximize public input on the MPC EIS

[en] An apparatus for measuring parity-violating asymmetries in gamma-ray emission following polarized cold neutron capture was constructed as a 1/10th scale test of the design for the forthcoming n→+p→d+γ experiment at LANSCE. The elements of the polarized neutron beam, including a polarized ³He neutron spin filter and a radio frequency neutron spin rotator, are described. Using CsI(Tl) detectors and photodiode current mode readout, measurements were made of asymmetries in gamma-ray emission following neutron capture on ³⁵Cl, ¹¹³Cd, and ¹³⁹La targets. Upper limits on the parity-allowed asymmetry s_n·(k_γxk_n) were set at the level of 7x10^-6 for all three targets. Parity-violating asymmetries s_n·k_γ were observed in ³⁵Cl, A_γ=(-29.1±6.7)x10^-6, and ¹³⁹La, A_γ=(-15.5±7.1)x10^-6, values consistent with previous measurements