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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

In Quantum Physics, Free Will Leads To Nonconservation Of Energy, Vladik Kreinovich Aug 2012

In Quantum Physics, Free Will Leads To Nonconservation Of Energy, Vladik Kreinovich

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

Modern physical theories are deterministic in the sense that once we know the current state of the world, we can, in principle, predict all the future states. This was true for classical (pre-quantum) theories, this is true for modern quantum physics. On the other hand, we all know that we can make decision that change the state of the world -- even if, for most of us, a little bit. This intuitive idea of free will permeates all our life, all our activities -- and it seems to contradict the determinism of modern physics. It is therefore desirable to incorporate …


Confirmation And Investigation Of Higher Science Curiosity In Juarez Middle School Students Compared To Their Peers In El Paso, Texas, Karla Carmona Miranda Jan 2012

Confirmation And Investigation Of Higher Science Curiosity In Juarez Middle School Students Compared To Their Peers In El Paso, Texas, Karla Carmona Miranda

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the last 20 years attitudes towards science and science classes in K-12 education have been an important topic of investigation due to the decreasing number of students choosing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) related careers, and the increasing need for STEM prepared workers to cover the job demands of the future. The purpose of this study is to confirm a previously measured difference in scientific curiosity between middle school students in El Paso and in Ciudad Juarez, and to collect additional data that might tell us what the possible factors or reasons for this difference are. Our sample …


A Study Of Wo3 And W0.95ti0.05o3 Thin Films Using Comparative Spectroscopy, James Heyward Howard Jan 2012

A Study Of Wo3 And W0.95ti0.05o3 Thin Films Using Comparative Spectroscopy, James Heyward Howard

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Tungsten oxide (WO3) is important and well-studied in materials science, particularly for sensor applications. In this research work, we consider the innovation of adding Ti to thin films of this material. Since the characteristics of any such material are strongly dependent on the conditions and methods used in its deposition, the main objective of this project is to provide a detailed spectroscopic characterization by Raman scattering, infrared absorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of WO3 and of W0.95Ti0.05O3. This characterization will be based on comparison of the morphology and composition of WO3-based thin films, grown by radio frequency magnetron reactive …


High Pressure Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction Studies Of Superprotonic Transitions In Phosphate Based Solid Acids, Juan Daniel Hermosillo Jan 2012

High Pressure Synchrotron X-Ray Diffraction Studies Of Superprotonic Transitions In Phosphate Based Solid Acids, Juan Daniel Hermosillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Certain phosphate based solid acids, such as CsH2PO4 and RbH2PO4, have been shown to exhibit an abrupt, several-order-of-magnitude increase in their proton conductivity when heated above a temperature threshold. This so called superprotonic behavior allows the above-mentioned materials to function as fuel cell electrolytes at temperatures between 150C and 300C, a remarkable application that attracted significant interest especially from the automobile industry. Yet, the microscopic structures and dynamic mechanisms responsible for this behavior are not fully understood. In fact, until very recently, the very nature of the superprotonic behavior has been debate, with some groups attributing the steep proton enhancement …


Applications Of Density Functional Theory In Materials Science And Engineering, Manuel Alvarado Jan 2012

Applications Of Density Functional Theory In Materials Science And Engineering, Manuel Alvarado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Density Functional Theory (DFT) is a powerful tool that can be used to model various systems in materials science. Our research applies DFT to two problems of interest. First, an organic/inorganic complex dye system known as a Mayan pigment is modeled to determine chemical binding sites, verifying each model with physical data such as UV/Vis spectra. Preliminary studies on palygorskite-based mayan pigments (mayacrom blue, mayacrom purple) show excellent agreement with experimental studies when using a dimer dye geometry binding with tetrahedrally-coordinated aluminum impurity sites in palygorksite. This approach is applied to a sepiolite-based organic/inorganic dye system using thioindigo attached to …


Upgrades To Nrlmol Code, Luis Basurto Jan 2012

Upgrades To Nrlmol Code, Luis Basurto

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This project consists of performing upgrades to the NRLMOL code in order to enhance its performance by increasing its flexibility by utilizing dynamically allocated arrays and enable the simulating of larger systems than it's currently capable of executing, as well as exploring simultaneous concurrent executions of the program through the use of an already existing MPI environment.


Raman And Infrared Study Of Electrospun Plla/Pcl Nanofiber Blends For Use In Tissue Engineering, Jose Luis Enriquez Carrejo Jan 2012

Raman And Infrared Study Of Electrospun Plla/Pcl Nanofiber Blends For Use In Tissue Engineering, Jose Luis Enriquez Carrejo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recently, the biomedical engineering field has developed at a very fast pace as improved techniques and materials become available to promote its growth. Consequently, the research in polymeric biomaterials has been highly stimulated by this trend. The goal of the current research is to demonstrate the usefulness of the Raman scattering, Raman mapping, and infrared absorption spectroscopies to tissue engineering, by spectroscopically characterizing blends of PLLA and PCL polymers, which were prepared by electrospinning with and without cell addition. The proposed use of these blends is as primary biomaterials in biodegradable scaffolds used in tissue engineering. Both Raman and infrared …