Several noise barriers made of phononic crystals (i.e. manmade composite materials with a periodic structure) have been designed over the last decade. The periodic structure of phononic crystal avoids sound propagation in a defined frequency range called Bragg band gap (i.e. waves are evanescent). This study aims at quantifying the perceptual impact of a noise barrier based on a phononic crysta...

In the second part of our paper, we address crystal nucleation in the metastable liquid miscibility region of eutectic systems that is always present, though experimentally often inaccessible. While this situation resembles the one seen in single component crystal nucleation in the presence of a metastable vapor-liquid critical point addressed in previous works, it is more complex because of th...

We call a photonic crystal tunable if its spectrum can be altered by an external electric or magnetic field. One of the two constitutive components of the proposed periodic composite structure has either electric permittivity or magnetic permeability dependent on the external electric or magnetic field. Consequently, the electromagnetic spectrum of the photonic crystal can be altered over a wid...

Mode locking based on an epitaxial composite of the monoclinic double tungstate crystal Yb:KLu(WO4)2 is realized. A 100 microm thin Yb:KLu(WO4)2 layer grown on a KLu(WO4)2 substrate is used as an active medium in a laser passively mode locked by a semiconductor saturable absorber. Pulse durations of 114 fs have been achieved for an average power of 31 mW at 1030 nm. Results in the femtosecond a...

In two-dimensional electron systems confined to GaAs quantum wells, as a function of either tilting the sample in a magnetic field or increasing density, we observe multiple spin-polarization transitions of the fractional quantum Hall states at filling factors ν=4/5 and 5/7. The number of observed transitions provides evidence that these are fractional quantum Hall states of interacting two-flu...

Light dispersion is an optical phenomenon wherein lights are decomposed into monochromatic components and become colored such as in crystal stones and diamonds. This paper proposes to render light dispersion with a ray tracer based on a composite spectral model. This model decomposes any spectrum into a smooth component and spikes, and offers a convenient vehicle for describing monochromatic li...

Large scale application of ammonium-perchlorate in the composite rocket fuels defines this compound as an important strategic material. The high content of oxygen in ammonium-perchlorate (54.5% w/w) and the fact that during the thermal decomposition does not yield solid residue, determines its application as an exceptional and irreplaceable oxidative compound in the composite rocket fuels. The ...

Optical integration is essential for practical application, but it remains unexplored for nanoscale devices. A newly designed nanocomposite based on ZnO semiconductor nanowires and Tb(OH)3/SiO2 core/shell nanospheres has been synthesized and studied. The unique sea urchin-type morphology, bright and sharply visible emission bands of lanthanide, and large aspect ratio of ZnO crystalline nanotips...

A new liquid-crystal device for flexible display applications was developed using twofold polymerization process. The cell was fabricated from a homogeneous mixture of a liquid crystal and a polymerforming material. Caused by the spatially nonuniform rate of polymerization and wetting properties, largescale anisotropic phase separation of the liquid-crystal blend and the polymer precursor leads...