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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Development And Characterization Of A High Speed Mid-Ir Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectrometer For Co And Co2 Detection In Detonation Events, Stephen D. Wakefield Mar 2014

Development And Characterization Of A High Speed Mid-Ir Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectrometer For Co And Co2 Detection In Detonation Events, Stephen D. Wakefield

Theses and Dissertations

A tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy system, capable of collecting data at a 10 kHz repetition rate near 4.5 microns. This system was made feasible in recent years due to the development of quantum cascade lasers active in the 4.5 microns region of the spectrum. Reaching into the mid-IR region of the electromagnetic spectrum allowed for an analysis of the fundamental absorption bands for both CO and CO2. The spectral absorption was measured for ethylene, methane, ethane, and propane across a variety of equivalence ratios, at various heights above a Hencken Burner surface. For each fuel, the concentration …


Characterization And Discrimination Of Large Caliber Gun Blast And Flash Signatures, Bryan J. Steward Dec 2011

Characterization And Discrimination Of Large Caliber Gun Blast And Flash Signatures, Bryan J. Steward

Theses and Dissertations

Two hundred and one firings of three 152 mm howitzer munitions were observed to characterize firing signatures of a large caliber gun. Muzzle blast expansion was observed with high-speed (1600 Hz) optical imagery. The trajectory of the blast front was well approximated by a modified point-blast model described by constant rate of energy deposition. Visible and near-infrared (450 - 850 nm) spectra of secondary combustion were acquired at 0.75 nm spectral resolution and depict strong contaminant emissions including Li, Na, K, Cu, and Ca. The O2 (X-b) absorption band is evident in the blue wing of the potassium D lines …


Positron Annihilation Ratio Spectroscopy (Psars) Applied To Positronium Formation Studies, Robert C. Slaughter Mar 2010

Positron Annihilation Ratio Spectroscopy (Psars) Applied To Positronium Formation Studies, Robert C. Slaughter

Theses and Dissertations

A Positron Annihilation of Radiation Spectrometer (PsARS) was developed and characterized. PsARS spectroscopy as well as digital Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) was applied to measure positronium formation on gold nanoparticles deposited through an evaporative method onto a thin capillary tube. This gold coated capillary tube was designed to be used for positronium lifetime studies in local electric field experiments. High local electric fields can polarize a positron-electron pair, which may result in an extended lifetime of the positron. These fields may be created through the interaction of an external electric field with silver nanoparticles deposited onto the surface of …


Hard Collisions In Rubidium Using Sub-Doppler Spectroscopy, Douglas E. Thornton Mar 2010

Hard Collisions In Rubidium Using Sub-Doppler Spectroscopy, Douglas E. Thornton

Theses and Dissertations

To better understand the laser kinetics of an alkali gain medium, hard collisions, or velocity-changing collisions, has been studied and a velocity-changing collisional rate has been calculated. Previous works have studied these collisions, but no rate has been calculated. Using the precise tool of sub-Doppler spectroscopy, atomic hard collisions can be observed. The collected spectra are fitted with two different line shapes to demonstrate the accuracy of this method. From the fits, the number of hard collisions can be extracted. The time scale of the hard collisions in rubidium is interpolated by varying the chopping frequency of the pump beam, …


A Study Of The Irradiance-And-Temperature-Dependence Of Mid-Wave-Infrared (Mwir)Absorption In Indium Antimonide (Insb), John M. Callahan Sep 2008

A Study Of The Irradiance-And-Temperature-Dependence Of Mid-Wave-Infrared (Mwir)Absorption In Indium Antimonide (Insb), John M. Callahan

Theses and Dissertations

This work entails further investigation of the absorption of photons in indium antimonide (InSb). Previously work at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) attributed laser blooming effects in InSb focal plane arrays (FPA’s) to the Burstein-Moss effect. The contributing effect is from a decrease in the absorption of the InSb material, such that the transmitted optical energy scatters off the integrated circuitry beneath the InSb thin film back into the optical system. To evaluate this, irradiance-dependent laser-absorption experiments were performed on thinned, InSb wafers prior to their FPA fabrication. The samples were illuminated with a focused CO2 laser at …


Hyperspectral Analysis Of Space Objects: Signal To Noise Evaluation, Daniel Hrovat Dec 1993

Hyperspectral Analysis Of Space Objects: Signal To Noise Evaluation, Daniel Hrovat

Theses and Dissertations

Hyperspectral analysis of space objects is being considered as a means of enhancing Space Object Identification. SOI capabilities. This study develops a mathematical simulation based on fundamental radiometry principles to evaluate the feasibility of hyperspectral analysis of space objects. The study uses Signal to Noise Ratio SNR as the basis for the feasibility evaluation, and addresses the question Is there enough target signal in narrow wavelength bandwidths to conduct hyperspectral measurements of space objects The analysis characterizes the target signal and noise sources using fundamental radiometry, and develops a flexible radiometry model which calculates the target signal count rate, and …