A new special case computer simulation to model the non-linear, three dimensional dynamic equations of motion of a five degree of freedom point contact joint has been developed and the functionality has been validated with data collected from a physical model. A system physically realistic to model was designed with sphere in sphere contact. A small outboard body articulates within a larger inboard spherical cut out body and springs help provide stability to the system by attaching the outboard body to the ground. The outboard body can move relative to the inboard body in both a rolling and sliding manner. The dynamic equations of motion were determined using Kane’s formulation and a numerical solution was attained through the implementation of a fourth-fifth order, variable time step, Runge-Kutta integrator. The positions of four markers, located on the outboard body of the system, were predicted in ground fixed coordinates by the solution routine. A physical model of the system was constructed and position locations of four markers located on the outboard body were captured by an Optotrak 3020 motion tracking system. Both static and dynamic experimental trials were performed and compared to the simulation. For one test case, the experimental data frequency of oscillation was found to be ωe = 2.33 Hz and the simulation frequency was found to be ωs = 2.37 Hz. Several sources for the discrepancies include viscous damping, a possible additional forcing function caused by lead wire sway, and neglecting the mass of the system’s springs. Coulomb damping was included in the simulation. / Thesis (Master, Mechanical and Materials Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2007-10-30 16:12:57.843

The study of topological superconductivity has been at the forefront of condensed matter physics for the past few years. Topological superconductors are predicted to have odd parity pairing and host so called Majorana fermions, which are not only of fundamental importance, but also proposed to be building blocks for fault-tolerant quantum computing. In this dissertation, we use point contact spectroscopy to study the pairing symmetry of candidate topological superconducting materials. We study proximity induced superconductivity in the topological insulator Bi2Se3 by a superconducting niobium tip, and propose a model to explain its features in point contact spectra. We further study the nature of the superconductivity in highly doped superconducting topological insulators, including CuxBi2Se3 and Sn1-xInxTe, using both a normal metal gold tip and a superconducting niobium tip. For CuxBi2Se3, we observe a robust zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP) in the differential conductance spectra with the gold point contact, while with the niobium point contact we find the height of the peak exhibiting unusual non-monotonic temperature dependence. We argue that both observations cannot be explained by Andreev reflection within the standard Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) model, but signify unconventional superconductivity in the material. For Sn1-xInxTe samples, we observe ZBCP in the differential conductance spectra with the gold point contact, while with the niobium point contact, the temperature dependence of ZBCP is monotonic as expected from conventional theory, leaving the nature of the superconductivity of Sn1-xInxTe still an open question.

<p>Experiments shows that the conductance of a quantum point contact is quantized in steps of  2e²/h, where e is the charge of the electron and h is Planck’s constant, and thereby Ohm’s law is not valid for nanostructures. By using the approximation method finite difference, the transmission for one-dimensional contacts and one- and two-dimensional potentials are investigated. In the case of two-dimensional contacts and a two-dimensional potential the Green’s function method is used. It turns out that if electrons are treated as waves, the transmission and the conductance just differ by the constant 2e²/h, which in this thesis is interpreted numerically in Matlab by using the Green’s function method.</p>

Experiments shows that the conductance of a quantum point contact is quantized in steps of  2e²/h, where e is the charge of the electron and h is Planck’s constant, and thereby Ohm’s law is not valid for nanostructures. By using the approximation method finite difference, the transmission for one-dimensional contacts and one- and two-dimensional potentials are investigated. In the case of two-dimensional contacts and a two-dimensional potential the Green’s function method is used. It turns out that if electrons are treated as waves, the transmission and the conductance just differ by the constant 2e²/h, which in this thesis is interpreted numerically in Matlab by using the Green’s function method.

The present work investigates the phenomena of whip and whirl for a rigid rotor contacting at two bearing locations. The idea originated from an anemometer consisting of a rotor with an elastically supported stator undergoing the phenomena of dry friction whip and whirl at the two bushing contacts. To analyze the behavior, a mathematical model similar to the anemometer is developed and analyzed assuming two possible solutions, Mode1 (normal reaction forces in phase at two contacts) and Mode 2 (normal reaction forces out of phase at two contacts). Analytical solutions are only possible for the models with same RCl (Radius to Clearance ratio) at the two rub locations. A simulation model is constructed using the Texas A&M University (TAMU) Turbomachinery Laboratory rotordynamics software suite XLTRC² comprised of Timoshenko beam finite elements to form multiple degrees of freedom rotor and stator models. The nonlinear connections at the rub surface are modeled using Hunt and Crossley‘s contact model with coulomb friction. Dry friction simulations are performed for three separate models depending on the rotor‘s mass disk location with respect to the contact locations. The three models used have (1) Disk at center location (2) Disk at 3/4 location (3) Disk at overhang location. The adequacy of the analytical solution is investigated using the above simulations. Also, cases are explored where the general assumed solution would not solve the mathematical model, e.g. different RCl ratios at the two contacts. Simulations are performed for increasing as well as decreasing running speeds. There is partial agreement between simulation predictions and the analytical solutions for the cases with the mass center at centered and at 3/4 location. First, whirl-to-whip transitions occur at near the combine rotor-stator bounce frequency for both disk at center and disk at 3/4 location. The case with overhang mass disk predicts the two contacts to whip and at different frequencies simultaneously. Neither of the analytical solutions predicts a case where precession occurs at two different frequencies at the two contact points. Predictions for models with different RCl on the Backward Precessional (BP) graph imitate whirling. The BP graph predicts increasing BP frequency with increasing rotor speeds which is a characteristic of whirling, whereas investigation of individual contact velocities suggest that they are slipping at all conditions, one of them slipping more than the other netting a whirling like motion. For the overhang model with different RCl, apart from whipping at different frequency the two contacts also whirl at different frequencies corresponding to the RCl at the respective contacts. Simulations for decreasing rotor speed predict jump down from whirl- to-whip different BP frequency as compared to the jump up from whip-to-whirl for the speed up.

The generation of high-frequency current oscillations when a constant voltage is applied across an insulating tunnel gap separating two superconductors was one of the fundamental theoretical predictions made by Brian Josephson, which earned him a share of the 1973 Nobel Prize in physics. Our primary objective is to utilize superconducting transport through microscopic objects to both excite and analyze the vibrational degrees of freedom of various molecules of a biological nature. The technique stems from a Josephson junction's ability to generate radiation that falls in the terahertz gap ( 10THz) and consequently can be used to excite vibrational modes of simple and complex molecules. Analysis of the change in IV characteristics coupled with the differential conductance ( ) allows determination of both the absorption spectra and the vibrational modes of biological molecules. Presented here are both the theoretical foundations of superconductivity relevant to our experimental technique and the fabrication process of our samples. Comparisons between our technique and that of other absorption spectroscopy techniques are included as a means of providing a reference upon which to judge the merits of our novel procedure. This technique is meant to improve not only our understanding of the vibrational degrees of freedom of useful biological molecules, but also these molecule's structural, electronic and mechanical properties.

Research into molecular electronics has exploded in recent years due to a proliferation of new and exciting techniques for producing atomic level structures (e-beam lithography, self-assembled monolayers, etc.); coupling these techniques with the ability to accurately manipulate atomic systems (such as with Scanning Tunneling Microscopes (STM), Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM), or Mechanically Controllable Break Junctions (MCBJ)) opens the possibility to create novel quantum coherent devices for both engineering applications, as well as research into fundamental physics. Along these lines, presented here is a series of experiments on superconducting point contacts which were aimed at understanding the dynamics of coupling superconducting effects to the mechanical degrees of freedom of a nanowire. In addition, another series of experiments presented here explore the nature of charge transport at high biases in superconducting point contacts. Specifically, an investigation of point contacts at high voltage biases revealed a suppression of one component of the total current, which is explained through a phenomenological model.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The Sea Point contact, Cape Town, South Africa, exposes the contact between the Neoproterozoic Malmesbury Group metasedimentary rocks of the Pan-African Saldania belt and the intrusive S-type Peninsula Granite of the Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic Cape Granite Suite (CGS). The exposure outcrops over an area of approximately 170 m × 60 m with the northern end of the exposure being characterized by the country rock–microgranite intrusive contact. Heading further south, the outcrop transitions to the main contact zone, which is a predominantly gradational zone marked by sheets of compositionally variable granitic injections (collectively referred to as hybrid granite phases) concordant to the country rock structure, before reaching the main pluton area comprising the voluminous coarse-grained porphyritic granite. Using a combined study incorporating field, structural, geochemical, isotopic and U-Pb geochronological data, the intrusive contact is investigated to determine the construction history of the pluton and delineate possible emplacement mechanisms.

No description available.

Spintronics in metallic multilayers, composed of ferromagnetic (F) and non-magnetic (N) metals, grew out of two complementary discoveries. The first, Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR), refers to a change in multilayer resistance when the relative orientation of magnetic moments in adjacent F-layers is altered by an applied magnetic field. The second, Spin-Transfer-Torque (STT), involves a change in the relative orientation of F-layer moments by an electrical current. This novel physical phenomenon offers unprecedented spatial and temporal control over the magnetic state of a ferromagnet and has tremendous potential in a broad range of technologies, including magnetic memory and recording. Because of its small size (<10nm), point contact is a very efficient probe of electrical transport properties in extremely small sample volumes yet inaccessible with other techniques. We have observed the point-contact excitations in magnetic multilayers at room temperature and extended the capabilities of our point-contact technique to include the sensitivity to wavelengths of the current-induced spin waves. Recently MacDonald and coworkers have predicted that similar to ferromagnetic multilayers, the magnetic state of an antiferromagnetic (AFM) system can affect its transport properties and result in antiferromagnetic analogue of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) = AGMR; while high enough electrical current density can affect the magnetic state of the system via spin-transfer-torque effect. We show that a high density dc current injected from a point contact into an exchange-biased spin valve (EBSV) can systematically change the exchange bias, increasing or decreasing it depending on the current direction. This is the first evidence for current-induced effects on magnetic moments in antiferromagnetic (FeMn or IrMn) metals. We searched for AGMR in multilayers containing different combinations of AFM=FeMn and F=CoFe layers. At low currents, no magnetoresistance (MR) was observed in any samples suggesting that no AGMR is present in these samples. In samples containing F-layers, high current densities sometimes produced a small positive MR – largest resistance at high fields. For a given contact resistance, this MR was usually larger for thicker F-layers, and for a given current, it was usually larger for larger contact resistances (smaller contacts). We tentatively attribute this positive MR to suppression at high currents of spin accumulation induced around and within the F-layers. / text