Abstract:
In a Michelson interferometer system arranged to give four output interferograms, two at each orthogonal direction of polarisation, the reflection and transmission coefficients of the interferometer beam splitter (10) at the two polarisation directions are chosen so that the ratios of the a.c. component to the d.c. component are equal in three of the interferograms. Difference signals derived from the three interferograms are suitable for use with an automatic, reversible, fringe counting system.
Abstract:
An electrically-operable fluid pressure control device (10) in which the valve elements are magnetically susceptible discs (51, 52) operable by pot-coil electromagnets (63, 64) to close or not close at separate or simultaneous times respective ports (41, 44). When not closing these ports the discs can close other ports (42, 43) but not both at one time by the opposition of a link member (7) which is also effective to aid the unseating of one disc from the respective port of 42 and 43 when the other disc approaches. The speed and reliability of operation are obtained from this construction by relatively simple and non-critical manufacture. The fluid can be gas or liquid e.g. water/hydraulic oil as no close-tolerance sliding surfaces exist.
Abstract:
A fluorimetric detector comprises a radionuclide source e.g. a sNi or sPm source, as the fluorescence excitation source; and when adapted for use with flowing liquid systems, especially liquid chromatography systems, comprises a passageway for liquid flow and a monitoring system for monitoring fluorescent radiation, in which the monitoring system is located outside the liquid passageway the walls of which are transparent at least in part. Also a method for detection and determination of a species, either a fluorescent species or a species which quenches fluorescence, by fluorescence measurements comprises exposing liquid comprising the species to fluorescence exciting radiation from a radionuclide source, monitoring fluorescence thereby produced and comparing this with the fluorescence of the same liquid in the absence of the species. The use of a radionuclide as the fluorescence exciting source overcomes problems of instability of excitation of prior art visible radiation excitation fluorescence detectors.
Abstract:
In apparatus for conditioning crops such as grass, one or more conditioning devices engage crop passing through a passage and condition the crop by relative movement between the conditioning device and the crop. Preferably each conditioning device is a brush (10) having a multiplicity of stiff, resilient, elongated elements (10) which are of stiff, resilient, elongated elements (10) which are yieldable in more than one plane in response to engagement by the crop by bending of the elements. One brush may form a rotary conveying device (12) for conveying crop through the passage, and another brush (10, 37) may accelerate or retard the crop relative to the first brush. The second brush may be stationary (10) or may be another rotary brush (37). The conditioning apparatus may be mobile or stationary, and when mobile may include cutting means (22) For cutting crop to be conditioned.
Abstract:
Measurement of small oscillatory movements of an irregular surface (12) involves the production of a speckle pattern therefrom by coherent light illumination, and the arrangement of a photodetector (14) for direct response to such pattern, variations in photodetector output component at the frequency of the surface movement representing that movement. Another, stationary, illuminated irregular surface (13) can be involved to produce a speckle interference pattern for response of the photodetector (14) thereto and, in the case where the two surfaces (12, 13) are closely adjacent, a single beam can be used to illuminate the first and other surfaces predominantly and by stray light, respectively. This common beam illumination can be used in prior speckle interferometry. The first surface (12) can be an eardrum oscillated by a sound wave, suitably of swept frequency or impulse form, with detection of the photodetector variations respectively being in synchronous manner or by Fourier analysis, respectively.
Abstract:
A process for making steel in an electric arc furnace includes providing a molten charge which is a melt composed of a high carbon ferrous metal in the electric arc furnace by one of preparing the melt in the furnace or introducing the melt into the furnace, the high carbon ferrous metal being composed of less than 3% carbon, less than 0.2% silicon, and less than 0.2% manganese, and the melt having a temperature of at least 1375° C.; adding to the molten charge provided in the furnace a solid metallic charge composed of least one material selected from the group consisting of scrap steel, hot briquetted iron, direct reduced iron, and iron ore to provide a charge mixture; refining the charge mixture by melting in the absence of gaseous oxygen to provide a molten steel; and superheating, finishing and tapping the molten steel into a ladle for subsequent casting thereof.