Water-clocks and time measurement in classical antiquity

The water-clock was the first mechanical device for time measurement to be used by the Greeks. Previously they had relied on sundials, or observation of the phases of the moon or the position of the sun in the zodiac to locate points of time within the day, month or year; and by the mid-fifth century BC they had made some progress with the difficult calendar problems due to the fact that the solar day, the lunar month, and the solar year are not commensurable with each other in whole numbers.     

The graph-theoretic field model—I. Modelling and formulations

The Graph-Theoretical Field Model provides a unifying approach for developing numerical models of field and continuum problems. The methodology examines the field problem from the first stages of conceptualization without recourse to the governing differential equations of the field problem; this is accomplished by deriving discrete statements of the physical laws which govern the field behaviour. There are generally three laws, and these are modelled by the “cutset equations”, the “circuit equations”, and the “terminal equations”. In order to establish these three sets of equations it is expedient first to spatially discretize the field in a manner similar to the finite difference method and then to associate a linear graph (denoted as the field graph) with the spatial discretization. The concept of “through” and “across” variables, which underlies the cutset and circuit equations respectively, enables one to define the graph in an unambiguous manner such that each “edge” of the graph identifies a pair of complementary variables. From a knowledge of the constitutive properties and the boundary conditions of the field it is possible to associate terminal equations with sets of edges. Since the resulting sets of equations represent the field equations, these equations provide the basis for a complete (but approximate) solution to the field or continuum problem. In fact, this system approach uses a two part model: one for the components and another for the interconnection pattern of the components which renders the formulation procedures totally independent of the solution procedure.This paper presents the theoretical basis of the model and several graph-theoretic formulations for steady-state problems. Examples from heat conduction and small- deformation elasticity are included.     

The development of an innovation: the case of porvair

Economists and management “scientists” tend to adopt a rationalistic, “black box” approach to the treatment of technological innovation, with decisions to invest in innovation being viewed as climactic acts and with the significant impact of risk and uncertainty often being disregarded. This paper examines an alternative analytical perspective: that a least the early development of technological innovation is a process of incremental decision making where managerial responses are affected by the consequences of previous decisions and by alterations in external information. The development of the “poromeric” Porvair discussed here illustrates the considerable risks that have to be borne when undertaking radical innovation, and the nature of the uncertainties, the interdependency between them and the manner in which they persist, in this case even beyond the commercialization of the new product.     

Infant visual acuity as a function of viewing distance.

Dynamic retinoscopy has suggested that near vision may be more acute than far vision during early infancy. To test this, acuity thresholds were determined by presenting square wave gratings in a preference paradigm to 1- and 2-month-old human infants at 4 viewing distances. Gratings were paired with unpatterned fields; direction of first fixation was the dependent measure. Infants exhibited the same acuity at each of the distances at which gratings were presented. The results were interpreted as compatible with the fact that considerable optical defocusing does not seriously affect a visual system, such as the infant's, that is sensitive only to low spatial frequencies.     

An efficient computation of thick microstrip properties on anisotropic substrates

The reproducibility of microwave integrated circuits can be improved by employing substrates which are anisotropic. A method is presented which facilitates the computation of the characteristics of distributed integrated microwave circuits of finite conductor thickness on anisotropic and inhomogeneous substrates. The method is variational and it relies on a quasi-static approach which assumes that the charge distribution on each side of the conductor can be represented by a spatially dependent set of exponential functions.     

Modeling of Star-shaped and Parallel-wire Carrier Distribution Systems

It is often desirable to represent carrier distribution systems by networks so that analysis can be made to predict the behavior of these systems. Modeling of two canonical carrier distribution systems, the star-shaped system and the parallel-wire system by networks was carried out in this paper. The representation is given in terms of lumped parameters when the lengths of the carrier lines are short and it is given in terms of lumped and distributed parameters when the lengths of the carrier lines are long.     

X-ray photoemission and the electronic structure of solids

The principles of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are outlined. The application of this technique to the study of the electronic structure of metals, alloys and compounds is illustrated using data in Ag, β-brass, ReO₃ and VO₂. In the latter a major change in the density of states is observed on passing through the metal-insulator transition.