In recent years, light-induced atomic desorption (LIAD) of alkali atoms from the inner surface of a vacuum chamber has been employed in cold atom experiments for the purpose of modulating the alkali background vapour. This is beneficial because larger trapped atom samples can be loaded from vapour at higher pressure, after which the pressure is reduced to increase the lifetime of the sample. We...

The saturation vapour pressure of {x BF3 + (1−x)n-C4H10} has been measured at 195.49 K. The system shows large positive deviations from Raoult’s law and liquid–liquid immiscibility over a wide composition range whose limits have been estimated as 0.39±0.03 < x > 0.9785. The excess molar Gibbs energies (Gm) have been calculated as a function of composition from the vapour pressure data. For the ...

A mathematical model for the quasi-steady diffusion-limited evaporation of a thin axisymmetric sessile droplet of liquid with a pinned contact line is formulated and solved. The model generalises the theoretical model proposed by Deegan et al. [Phys. Rev. E, 62 (2000) 756–765] to include the effect of evaporative cooling on the saturation concentration of vapour at the free surface of the dropl...

This paper provides an illustrated description of a proposed LiBr-H2O vapour absorption refrigerator which uses a thermally activated solution pumping mechanism that combines controlled variations in generator vapour pressure with changes it produces in static-head pressure difference to circulate the absorbent solution between the generator and absorber vessels. The proposed system is differen...

The weights of single mealworms were continuously recorded at 20 degrees C during exposure to periods of constant humidity and to abrupt changes in atmospheric vapour pressure. Two exchange stages were recognized in each animal. Weight changes were either limited to slow losses, suggesting transpiration through the external cuticle, or showed more rapid humidity-dependent gains as well as losse...

Atmospheric pressure non-equilibrium water vapour plasma technology was developed, tested and partly employed for fuel conversion and production of hydrogen-rich gas. The results of experimental investigation on plasma source characteristics dependent on the anode material and prevailing external factors are presented. The effect of plasma source anode material on the elemental composition of e...

The interest in phase equilibrium and thermophysical properties of mixtures containing long chain hydrocarbons is increasing. Despite the industrial interest of these systems, the available experimental data are scarce, while new models are required. Corresponding States Theory has been used with success for the estimation of properties of pure components and mixtures of small molecules. This w...

We present a laser absorption technique to measure the saturation vapour pressure of hexagonal ice. This method is referenced to the triple-point state of water and uses frequency-stabilized cavity ring-down spectroscopy to probe four rotation-vibration transitions of at wavenumbers near 7180 cm(-1). Laser measurements are made at the output of a temperature-regulated standard humidity generato...

Asthma is a chronic disease in Barbados with a mean of 10,348 cases per year. This study was undertaken to determine the demographic distribution of the asthmatic attacks, their relationship with several meteorological variables and to provide a predictive equation. The study used data on asthmatic attacks provided by the Accident and Emergency Department of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and met...

A novel framework is presented for the analysis of ecophysiological field measurements and modelling. The hypothesis 'leaves minimise the summed unit costs of transpiration and carboxylation' predicts leaf-internal/ambient CO2 ratios (ci /ca ) and slopes of maximum carboxylation rate (Vcmax ) or leaf nitrogen (Narea ) vs. stomatal conductance. Analysis of data on woody species from contrasting ...