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MCNC PROPOSES A FEASIBILITY STUDY AND EVALUATION OF THREE PROMISING APPROACHES TO THE FABRICATION OF SURFACE TEST STRUCTURES ON SILICON. SURFACE FEATURES ON THE FIRST STRUCTURE WILL BE PRODUCED BY CONTROLLABLY ETCHING THERMALLYGROWN OXIDES. FEATURES ON THE SECOND WILL BE MADE BY ETCHING PIEZOELECTRIC THIN FILMS. USING THE PIEZOELECTRIC FILM AS PART OF A CAPACITOR, STEP-HEIGHT CAN BE VARIED AND PRO ...

DNA AND BIOSEQUENCES ARE BEING DETERMINED FASTER THAN THEY CAN BE COMPARED AND ANALYZED. PRESENT TECHNIQUES FOR RIGOROUSLY SEARCHING A LARGE DATABASE ARE COSTLY AND TIME CONSUMING. UNDER ALL PLAUSIBLE GROWTH PROJECTIONS, THE PROBLEM WILL SOON BECOME OVERWHELMING. A CUSTOM, VERY LARGE SCALE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT THAT COULD BE USED FOR HIGH SPEED COMPARISON, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DNA AND PROT ...

DIAMOND AND COPPER ARE UNIQUE IN THEIR ABILITY TO EFFICIENTLY CONDUCT HEAT, MAKING THEM PREMIER MATERIALS FOR ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS FOR WHICH HEAT REMOVAL IS CRITICAL TO SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. DIFFERENCES IN THEIR OTHER PROPERTIES MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE TO COMBINE THESE TWO MATERIALS INTO A DIAMOND/COPPER COMPOSITE THAT HAS IMPROVED PROPERTIES OVER THOSE OF COPPER ALONE. DIAMONDS OFFER A COST-EFFECTIVE ...

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THE PARTICLES THAT ARE A NATURAL PRODUCT IN THE HOT GAS EXHAUST OF COAL GASIFIERS AND COMBUSTORS MUST BE REMOVED, OR THEY WILL CAUSE MAJOR DAMAGE TO DOWNSTREAM EQUIPMENT DESIGNED TO EXTRACT ENERGY FROM THE FLOW. A HOT, PARTICLE-LADEN EXHAUST IS AN EXTREME ENVIRONMENT THAT PLACES SEVERE CONSTRAINTS ON THE MATERIALS AND PROCESSES USED IN THE VARIETY OF DEVICES THAT MIGHT REMOVE THESE PARTICLES. THE ...

SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN EFFICIENCY FOR COAL-FIRED POWERPLANTS CAN BE ACHIEVED BY CYCLES THAT EMPLOY A HIGH TEMPERATURE, HIGHLY RECUPERATIVE GAS TURBINE TOPPING CYCLE. THE PRINCIPAL DIFFICULTY IN EMPLOYING A GAS TURBINE IN A COAL FIRED POWER GENERATION SYSTEM IS THE POSSIBLE EROSION AND CORROSION OF THE HIGH TEMPERATURE ROTATING GAS TURBINE COMPONENTS CAUSED BY THE COAL'S INORGANIC AND ORGANICA ...

IT HAS RECENTLY BEEN SHOWN THAT CAGED CARBON CLUSTERS, FULLERENES, ARE PRODUCED IN SIGNIFICANT QUANTITIES IN A CARBON ARC IN A HELIUM ATMOSPHERE AT ABOUT 150 TORR. IT WAS ALSO SHOWN THAT THE FULLERENES ARE SOLUBLE IN COMMON ORGANIC SOLVENTS. THESE TWO IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES OPENED THE DOOR TO SEVERAL POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS OF CARBON FULLERENES. EXAMPLES INCLUDE CERAMIC COATINGS, LUBRICANTS, COATINGS ...

LIQUEFACTION OF LOW RANK COALS OFFERS THE POTENTIAL OF HIGH OIL YIELDS. HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THEIR SMALL AROMATIC RING CLUSTER SIZE, LOW RANK COALS ARE MORE DIFFICULT TO LIQUEFY IN THE FIRST (SOLUBILIZATION) STAGE UNDER CONDITIONS OPTIMIZED FOR BITUMINOUS COALS. IT IS LIKELY THAT CROSSLINKING REACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH OXYGEN FUNCTIONAL GROUPS OCCUR BEFORE THE HOMOLYTIC CLEAVAGE REACTIONS. IF NOT CO ...

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