Why the Afshar experiment does not refute complementarity

A modified version of Young's experiment by Shahriar Afshar demonstrates that, prior to what appears to be a “which-way” measurement, an interference pattern exists. Afshar has claimed that this result constitutes a violation of the Principle of Complementarity. This paper discusses the implications of this experiment and considers how Cramer's Transactional Interpretation easily accommodates the result. It is also shown that the Afshar experiment is analogous in key respects to a spin one-half particle prepared as “spin up along x”, subjected to a nondestructive confirmation of that preparation, and post-selected in a specific state of spin along z. The terminology “which-way” or “which-slit” is critiqued; it is argued that this usage by both Afshar and his critics is misleading and has contributed to confusion surrounding the interpretation of the experiment. Nevertheless, it is concluded that Bohr would have had no more problem accounting for the Afshar result than he would in accounting for the aforementioned pre- and post-selection spin experiment, in which the particle's preparation state is confirmed by a nondestructive measurement prior to post-selection. In addition, some new inferences about the interpretation of delayed choice experiments are drawn from the analysis.     

Predictability of Plastic Parts Behaviour Made from Rapid Manufacturing

One of the most important issues to resolve in parts manufactured from rapid manufacturing (RM) technologies is to know their behavior working under real conditions. Total quality manufacturing (TQM) is only possible if mechanical properties are well known in the design stage depending on the processing parameters. This work is mainly focused on testing of several samples made with different selective laser sintering (SLS) parameters and technologies. This procedure is the starting point to establish a basis for designing for RM and the standardization of RM testing. The experiments and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyzed the effects of several factors on mechanical properties. The SLS technologies were 3DSystem and EOS. The results show which factor has a large effect on the variables and the interaction between them. The conclusions are very useful for developing rules for designing (designing for RM) and creating new standard rules (ISO, AISI, and DIN) for RM materials and parts testing. The ANOVA gives a better knowledge of the effects of these factors and eliminates unimportant parameters.     

单模跳跃算法的分析与改进

为改进串匹配的效率,通过引入有效载荷,对Horspool算法进行了分析。在字符集较小而模式串长度较大时,跳跃距离受字符集大小限制严重。结合好后缀思想,提出了基于好后缀的Horspool算法GsHor:比较窗口内对应末位字符相同的情况下使用好后缀距离移动窗口;结合Quick Search思想,提出了基于坏字符块的Horspool算法BcbHor。实验表明:字符集大小为4时,GsHor算法的比较次数比Horspool算法减小18%以上,BcbHor算法至少减少42.4%。     

南京栖霞山铅锌矿山中的现代钙华:一种高度富锌和锰的方解石

金属硫化物矿山开发引发的重金属污染已成为当前急需解决的环境问题. 以南京栖霞山铅锌矿采矿巷道壁上的现代钙华为研究对象, 利用电子探针、扫描电子显微镜和X射线粉末衍射分析等矿物学手段, 分析了钙华中的矿物组成及其重金属元素的赋存形态和分布状况. 结果表明钙华的主要矿物成分为方解石. 尽管地层水的重金属含量较低, 但是钙华中碳酸盐矿物的微量元素含量却较高, 最高含量分别为: Mn 23.65%, Zn 9.60%, Mg 0.76%, Fe 4.44%和Pb 0.66%. 钙华在电子探针背散射电子像中呈现出复杂的韵律壳层构造, 成分分析表明这种韵律壳层构造与重金属的分布有关. 另外, 在钙华中见有螺旋状及团絮状物质可能表明微生物参与了钙华的形成过程, 并与重金属的富集存在关联. 所报道的高度富锌-锰方解石对矿山环境中的重金属污染治理具有可借鉴意义.     

东方龙虱鞘翅:形态学及力学性能研究

研究了东方龙虱鞘翅的拓扑结构及其鞘翅生物材料的力学性能. SEM观测表明鞘翅横向截面和纵向截面结构相同, 是一种具 “桥墩” 状连接的空腔轻质结构, 由致密的黑色外表皮层和其下数十层几丁质纤维层平行、螺旋交织构成的内表皮层组成; 纳米压痕仪测得新鲜鞘翅外侧区域的硬度和弹性模量分别为0.31和6.13 GPa; 拉伸实验得到新鲜鞘翅横向和纵向的强度极限分别为169.2和194.5 MPa; 干燥鞘翅对应的强度极限为85.38和90.91 MPa, 新鲜鞘翅的强度是干燥鞘翅值的2倍; 结果表明甲虫鞘翅是一种力学性能呈现拓扑分布规律的轻质生物复合材料, 该研究为航空航天材料的轻质结构的设计提供了生物学的参考.     

一种改进的地震灾害倒塌房屋遥感信息自动识别方法

地震灾害倒塌房屋的识别是地震灾害损失评价的重要环节, 也是判断地震强度的指标之一. 5.12汶川大地震发生后, 中欧地震灾害评估项目组使用自动识别技术处理0.5 m分辨率的ADS40航空遥感数据, 需要克服航空遥感数据中未倒塌混凝土桥梁、滑坡体滚石与倒塌房屋反射光谱的相似性. 经过多次实验改进后的技术, 一次性识别的倒塌房屋面积覆盖率优于95%. 介绍了这次实验过程和结果, 实验表明, 该方法也可以用于其他灾害造成的倒塌房屋的自动识别.     

正常新生儿及婴儿睡眠振幅整合脑电图分析

为研究振幅整合脑电图(aEEG)在脑发育过程中的变化规律,根据87例无特殊疾病的新生儿和婴儿的睡眠脑电数据绘制aEEG图形。分析aEEG随受孕后年龄(PMA)增加的变化趋势。结果表明,PMA极小新生儿的aEEG呈现高度非连续性;约27周后可从aEEG波形中发现睡眠周期;37周后睡眠周期表现为高、低幅值顺次相接的波谱带。aEEG上、下边缘随PMA的增加呈上升趋势,其中脑电波幅升高较明显的年龄阶段为PMA<33周以及PMA>44周。aEEG能够反映新生儿脑发育成熟度,在临床领域有一定的应用价值。     

Wolves in sheep’s clothing: three new cases of aggressive mimicry in Red Sea coral reef fishes

ABSTRACT

Here we document three cases of mimicry in coral reef fishes not previously reported in the literature involving two groupers (Epinephelus leucogrammicus and Plectropomus marisrubri) and a soapfish (Diploprion drachi) as mimics, and two wrasses (Larabicus quadrilineatus and Cheilinus quinquecinctus) and a blenny (Meiacanthus nigrolineatus) as models. All three cases are of aggressive mimicry, with a predatory species mimicking a harmless one, and in one of the cases, the mimicry is also Müllerian, where both the predator and harmless species are unpalatable.     

Liquid marbles.

The transport of a small amount of liquid on a solid is not a simple process, owing to the nature of the contact between the two phases. Setting a liquid droplet in motion requires non-negligible forces (because the contact-angle hysteresis generates a force opposing the motion), and often results in the deposition of liquid behind the drop. Different methods of levitation-electrostatic, electromagnetic, acoustic, or even simpler aerodynamic techniques-have been proposed to avoid this wetting problem, but all have proved to be rather cumbersome. Here we propose a simple alternative, which consists of encapsulating an aqueous liquid droplet with a hydrophobic powder. The resulting 'liquid marbles' are found to behave like a soft solid, and show dramatically reduced adhesion to a solid surface. As a result, motion can be generated using gravitational, electrical and magnetic fields. Moreover, because the viscous friction associated with motion is very small, we can achieve quick displacements of the droplets without any leaks. All of these features are of potential benefit in microfluidic applications, and also permit the study of a drop in a non-wetting situation-an issue of renewed interest following the recent achievement of super-hydrophobic substrates.