Robins have a magnetic compass in both eyes

Arising from W. Wiltschko et al. 419, 467-470 (2002); Wiltschko et al. replyThe magnetic compass of migratory birds is embedded in the visual system and it has been reported by Wiltschko et al. that European Robins, Erithacus rubecula, cannot show magnetic compass orientation using their left eye only. This has led to the notion that the magnetic compass should be located only in the right eye of birds. However, a complete right lateralization of the magnetic compass would be very surprising, and functional neuroanatomical data have questioned this notion. Here we show that the results of Wiltschko et al. could not be independently confirmed using double-blind protocols. European Robins can perform magnetic compass orientation with both eyes open, with the left eye open only, and with the right eye open only. No clear lateralization is observed.     

Lateralization of magnetic compass orientation in a migratory bird

Lateralization of brain functions, once believed to be a human characteristic, has now been found to be widespread among vertebrates. In birds, asymmetries of visual functions are well studied, with each hemisphere being specialized for different tasks. Here we report lateralized functions of the birds' visual system associated with magnetoperception, resulting in an extreme asymmetry of sensing the direction of the magnetic field. We found that captive migrants tested in cages with the magnetic field as the only available orientation cue were well oriented in their appropriate migratory direction when using their right eye only, but failed to show a significant directional preference when using their left eye. This implies that magnetoreception for compass orientation, assumed to take place in the eyes alongside the visual processes, is strongly lateralized, with a marked dominance of the right eye/left brain hemisphere.     

Chemical compass model of avian magnetoreception

Approximately 50 species, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, crustaceans and insects, are known to use the Earth's magnetic field for orientation and navigation. Birds in particular have been intensively studied, but the biophysical mechanisms that underlie the avian magnetic compass are still poorly understood. One proposal, based on magnetically sensitive free radical reactions, is gaining support despite the fact that no chemical reaction in vitro has been shown to respond to magnetic fields as weak as the Earth's ( approximately 50 muT) or to be sensitive to the direction of such a field. Here we use spectroscopic observation of a carotenoid-porphyrin-fullerene model system to demonstrate that the lifetime of a photochemically formed radical pair is changed by application of < or =50 microT magnetic fields, and to measure the anisotropic chemical response that is essential for its operation as a chemical compass sensor. These experiments establish the feasibility of chemical magnetoreception and give insight into the structural and dynamic design features required for optimal detection of the direction of the Earth's magnetic field.     

Biological sensing of small field differences by magnetically sensitive chemical reactions

There is evidence that animals can detect small changes in the Earth's magnetic field by two distinct mechanisms, one using the mineral magnetite as the primary sensor and one using magnetically sensitive chemical reactions. Magnetite responds by physically twisting, or even reorienting the whole organism in the case of some bacteria, but the magnetic dipoles of individual molecules are too small to respond in the same way. Here we assess whether reactions whose rates are affected by the orientation of reactants in magnetic fields could form the basis of a biological compass. We use a general model, incorporating biological components and design criteria, to calculate realistic constraints for such a compass. This model compares a chemical signal produced owing to magnetic field effects with stochastic noise and with changes due to physiological temperature variation. Our analysis shows that a chemically based biological compass is feasible with its size, for any given detection limit, being dependent on the magnetic sensitivity of the rate constant of the chemical reaction.     

地磁导航中载体涡流干扰场特性的仿真分析

地磁导航中的测量误差是影响地磁导航精度的关键因素,而包括涡流磁场在内的载体干扰磁场是产生误差的主要因素。目前各种运载体大量使用铁磁性材料,这样不可避免地会引起涡流磁场等干扰磁场。因此文中采用COMSOL Multiphysics仿真软件,建立了高速运动载体的涡流干扰场仿真模型。首先研究了永磁体与匀强磁场之间的关系,发现永磁体的剩磁越强,匀强场也越强,为模拟地磁场提供了理论依据。其次分析了载体在匀速转动时涡流磁场对地磁测量的影响,最后研究了载体摆动时的涡流场的分布。结果表明涡流磁场随着速度的增大而增强,且涡流磁场主要分布于载体中间位置。仿真结果为下一步地磁导航中的误差建模以及磁场校正技术的研究提供了理论依据。     

Cryptochrome mediates light-dependent magnetosensitivity in Drosophila

Although many animals use the Earth's magnetic field for orientation and navigation, the precise biophysical mechanisms underlying magnetic sensing have been elusive. One theoretical model proposes that geomagnetic fields are perceived by chemical reactions involving specialized photoreceptors. However, the specific photoreceptor involved in such magnetoreception has not been demonstrated conclusively in any animal. Here we show that the ultraviolet-A/blue-light photoreceptor cryptochrome (Cry) is necessary for light-dependent magnetosensitive responses in Drosophila melanogaster. In a binary-choice behavioural assay for magnetosensitivity, wild-type flies show significant naive and trained responses to a magnetic field under full-spectrum light ( approximately 300-700 nm) but do not respond to the field when wavelengths in the Cry-sensitive, ultraviolet-A/blue-light part of the spectrum (<420 nm) are blocked. Notably, Cry-deficient cry(0) and cry(b) flies do not show either naive or trained responses to a magnetic field under full-spectrum light. Moreover, Cry-dependent magnetosensitivity does not require a functioning circadian clock. Our work provides, to our knowledge, the first genetic evidence for a Cry-based magnetosensitive system in any animal.     

基于最小二乘的地磁场测量误差补偿技术研究

地磁导航中获取地磁场的精确测量值是进行地磁匹配导航的前提和基础。论文针对实际地磁测量中磁力仪易受环境磁场干扰带来的影响补偿效果的问题，首先分析了软磁误差以及硬磁误差对磁场测量的影响效果，建立了地磁测量误差的参数化模型。采用ANSYS仿真软件，通过3对内径不同的亥姆霍兹线圈产生了3个方向的匀强磁场，从而实现了对地磁场的模拟。在此基础上，将磁力仪和干扰源建到仿真模型中，通过360度旋转磁力仪分别得到了有干扰和无干扰时的三维磁场值，然后采用最小二乘算法对模型参数进行了估计，最终实现了对磁场测量误差的补偿。仿真结果表明，该方法简单易行，简化了参数的求解过程，具有较高的误差补偿能力，地磁测量误差可以从20 000多纳特减少到几个纳特。     

Magnetic cues trigger extensive refuelling.

Long stretches of sea and desert often interrupt the migration routes of small songbirds, whose fat reserves must be restored before these can be crossed as they provide no opportunity for refuelling. To investigate whether magnetic cues might enable inexperienced migratory birds to recognize a region where they need to replenish their body fat, we caught and held thrush nightingales (Luscinia luscinia) in Sweden just before their first migration and exposed them to a magnetic field simulating that at a migratory stopover in northern Egypt, before the Sahara Desert. We found that this magnetic field stimulated the birds to extend their fat-deposition period, indicating that magnetic cues may help small migratory birds to confront large ecological barriers.     

水下铁磁性腔体外部感应磁场研究

在水下铁磁性腔体上测量地磁场必须消除干扰磁场的影响,其中感应磁场是干扰磁场的主要组成部分,它随着腔体方位的变化而变化。分析腔体感应磁场的有限元计算方法,建立二维、三维数学模型,重点是采用有限元积分法添加了Neumann边界条件,得到了腔体感应磁场方程。通过将二维模型的解析解与数值解相比对,验证了二维和三维感应磁场方程的正确性,从而运用数值计算方法得到腔体位置、姿态变化时感应磁场的分布。     

磁罗经数字转换器的设计

磁罗经作为低价而性能稳定的船用设备得到了大多数船只的配置应用,由于磁罗经通常安装在船头露天的地方,在使用时不太方便。磁罗经数字转换器使用固态磁阻传感器将磁罗经的磁针方位角转换成数字量的角度信号,利用单片机处理并传送到雷达或电子海图仪等设备上,从而实现航向角等航行信息的综合集中显示。磁罗经数字转换器可提供分辨率小于1°的航向角,不但可用在船上作为航行信息集中显示的辅助产品,也可以单独作为数字式电子指南针使用。     

A theoretical model for mid-and low-latitude ionospheric electric fields in realistic geomagnetic fields

The geomagnetic fields, which play important roles in the ionospheric dynamo, can greatly affect the global distribution of ionospheric electric fields, currents and other ionospheric electrodynamics phenomena. In the study of ionospheric electrodynamics phenomena, such as the longitudinal variations of ionospheric electric fields, the non-dipolar component of the geomagnetic fields must be taken into account. In this paper, we deduce a theoretical electric field model for ionospheric dynamo at mid- and low-latitude which adopt a modified magnetic apex coordinates system. In the new electric field model, the geomagnetic fields can be calculated from either the IGRF model or the dipole field model, and the neutral winds and conductivities are calculated based on empirical models. Then the dynamo equation for the electric potential is finally solved in terms of the line-by-line iteration method, and the ionospheric electric fields and currents are derived from the calculated potential. Our model can reproduce the main features of the ionospheric electrodynamics processes, so it will be a useful tool for the investigation of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere.     

磁传感器在航海上的应用

针对磁传感器技术发展中存在的问题,论述了霍尔罗经、磁通门罗经、磁阻罗经和巨磁电阻罗经的基本原理、工作特点及其在航海上的应用.并基于巨磁电阻传感器工作原理,结合微处理机技术,研制了可在船上应用的巨磁电阻罗经,在航海上有广阔的应用前景.     

Proterozoic low orbital obliquity and axial-dipolar geomagnetic field from evaporite palaeolatitudes

Palaeomagnetism of climatically sensitive sedimentary rock types, such as glacial deposits and evaporites, can test the uniformitarianism of ancient geomagnetic fields and palaeoclimate zones. Proterozoic glacial deposits laid down in near-equatorial palaeomagnetic latitudes can be explained by 'snowball Earth' episodes, high orbital obliquity or markedly non-uniformitarian geomagnetic fields. Here I present a global palaeomagnetic compilation of the Earth's entire basin-scale evaporite record. Magnetic inclinations are consistent with low orbital obliquity and a geocentric-axial-dipole magnetic field for most of the past two billion years, and the snowball Earth hypothesis accordingly remains the most viable model for low-latitude Proterozoic ice ages. Efforts to reconstruct Proterozoic supercontinents are strengthened by this demonstration of a consistently axial and dipolar geomagnetic reference frame, which itself implies stability of geodynamo processes on billion-year timescales.     

基于地磁信号的冗余保险方法研究

针对非旋或微旋弹引信第二环境力微弱和不容易识别的问题,考虑到地磁场强度的方向性,提出应用三轴磁传感器检测炮口地磁信号,获取弹丸出炮口信息,以此作为引信冗余保险激励环境信息.分析了基于地磁信号的冗余保险方法,建立了三轴磁传感器检测地磁信号的数学模型,通过对国内不同区域、不同发射情况的仿真分析,结果表明:应用弹丸出炮口的地磁信号作为弹丸引信的第二环境激励,方法可行;应用三轴磁传感器可避免单轴磁传感器敏感地磁信息的盲区问题,保证了基于地磁信号的冗余保险方法的可靠性.     

Influencing intramolecular motion with an alternating electric field

Analogues of mechanical devices that operate on the molecular level, such as shuttles, brakes, ratchets, turnstiles and unidirectional spinning motors, are current targets of both synthetic chemistry and nanotechnology. These structures are designed to restrict the degrees of freedom of submolecular components such that they can only move with respect to each other in a predetermined manner, ideally under the influence of some external stimuli. Alternating-current (a.c.) electric fields are commonly used to probe electronic structure, but can also change the orientation of molecules (a phenomenon exploited in liquid crystal displays), or interact with large-scale molecular motions, such as the backbone fluctuations of semi-rigid polymers. Here we show that modest a.c. fields can be used to monitor and influence the relative motion within certain rotaxanes, molecules comprising a ring that rotates around a linear 'thread' carrying bulky 'stoppers' at each end. We observe strong birefringence at frequencies that correspond to the rate at which the molecular ring pirouettes about the thread, with the frequency of maximum birefringence, and by inference also the rate of ring pirouetting giving rise to it, changing as the electric field strength is varied. Computer simulations and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy show the ring rotation to be the only dynamic process occurring on a timescale corresponding to the frequency of maximum birefringence, thus confirming that mechanical motion within the rotaxanes can be addressed, and to some extent controlled, by oscillating electric fields.     

Magnetic shape-memory effects in a crystal

Magnetic fields affect the motion of electrons and the orientation of spins in solids, but are thought to have little impact on crystal structure, particularly in compounds with low magnetic susceptibility, such as antiferromagnets. Here we describe an unexpected magnetic effect on crystal shape, in which the direction of the crystal's axes are swapped and the shape changes when a magnetic field is applied; this in turn induces curious memory effects in resistivity and magnetic susceptibility. Ironically, this phenomenon occurs in one of the most well-studied two-dimensional antiferromagnets, La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4).     

一种高精度电子罗盘的设计

提出了一种高精度电子罗盘设计方案.完成了硬件电路设计,给出了主要软件的设计思路.电子罗盘以DSP为核心处理器,采用磁阻传感器敏感地磁场三维分量、微惯性测量单元实现载体姿态和地磁扰动补偿,实现了载体磁方位的高精度测量.设计了本机数据显示和以太网接口,既可以作为个人导航设备,也可作为导航系统的一个节点.     

Transport of solar wind into Earth's magnetosphere through rolled-up Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices

Establishing the mechanisms by which the solar wind enters Earth's magnetosphere is one of the biggest goals of magnetospheric physics, as it forms the basis of space weather phenomena such as magnetic storms and aurorae. It is generally believed that magnetic reconnection is the dominant process, especially during southward solar-wind magnetic field conditions when the solar-wind and geomagnetic fields are antiparallel at the low-latitude magnetopause. But the plasma content in the outer magnetosphere increases during northward solar-wind magnetic field conditions, contrary to expectation if reconnection is dominant. Here we show that during northward solar-wind magnetic field conditions-in the absence of active reconnection at low latitudes-there is a solar-wind transport mechanism associated with the nonlinear phase of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. This can supply plasma sources for various space weather phenomena.     

Magnetic rotation imaging method to measure the geomagnetic field

A new imaging method for measuring the geomagnetic field based on the magnetic rotation effect is put forward. With the help of polarization property of the sunlight reflected from the ground and the magnetic rotation of the atmosphere, the geomagnetic field can be measured by an optical system installed on a satellite. According to its principle, the three-dimensional image of the geomagnetic field can be obtained. The measuring speed of this method is very high, and there is no blind spot and distortion. In this paper, the principle of this method is presented, and some key problems are discussed.     

磁罗盘工程校准方法研究

针对磁罗盘的工程应用,分析了磁罗盘测量误差来源。给出了通用磁罗盘校准软件使用模型。提出了磁罗盘工程校准方法,并对系统中存在多个磁罗盘,提出数据融合校准方法。应用结果表明,该方法可有效解决磁罗盘在工程中的校准及应用问题。