Measurements are reported of the time dependence of the current during electrochemical oxidation and reduction at a fixed voltage of single crystals and ceramic samples of La2CuO4+d. Staging peaks in neutron measurements of the single crystals together with the electrochemical measurements and magnetization measurements confirm that stage n=6 corresponds to d=0.055 +/- 0.05, the high-d side of the oxygen-rich–oxygen-poor miscibility gap. Furthermore, stage n=4 occurs at a value of d consistent with d { n^(-1). For ceramic samples it is shown that two different superconducting compounds are formed depending on the oxidation voltage used.

The low-temperature magnetic excitations of the two-dimensional spin- 52 square-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnetRb2MnF4 have been probed using pulsed inelastic neutron scattering. In addition to dominant sharppeaks identified with one-magnon excitations, a relatively weak continuum scattering is also observed at higherenergies. This is attributed to neutron scattering by pairs of magnons and the observed intensities are consistentwith predictions of spin wave theory.

We report a neutron scattering study of the spin correlations for the spin-5/2 two-dimensional antiferromagnet Rb2MnF4 in an external magnetic field. Choosing fields near the system’s bicritical point, we tune the effective anisotropy in the spin interaction to zero, constructing an ideal S ­ = 5/2 Heisenberg system. The correlation length and structure factor amplitude are closely described by the semiclassical theory of Cuccoli 'et al.' over a broad temperature range, but show no indication of approaching the low-temperature renormalized classical regime of the quantum nonlinear sigma model.

The critical fluctuations of CuGeO3 have been measured by synchrotron x-ray scattering, and two length scales are clearly observed. The ratio between the two length scales is found to be significantly different along the a axis, with the a axis along the surface normal direction. We believe that such a directional preference is a clear sign that random surface strains, especially those caused by dislocations, are the origin of the long length scale fluctuations.

We study phase separation in a deeply quenched colloid-polymer mixture in microgravity on the International Space Station using small-angle light scattering and direct imaging. We observe a clear crossover from early-stage spinodal decomposition to late-stage, interfacial-tension-driven coarsening. Data acquired over 5 orders of magnitude in time show more than 3 orders of magnitude increase in domain size, following nearly the same evolution as that in binary liquid mixtures. The late-stage growth approaches the expected linear growth rate quite slowly.

We show that the dynamics of large fractal colloid aggregates are well described by a combination of translational and rotational diffusion and internal elastic fluctuations, allowing both the aggregate size and internal elasticity to be determined by dynamic light scattering. The comparison of results obtained in microgravity and on Earth demonstrates that cluster growth is limited by gravity-induced restructuring. In the absence of gravity, thermal fluctuations ultimately inhibit fractal growth and set the fundamental limitation to the lowest volume fraction which will gel.

Colloidal silica gels are shown to stiffen with time, as demonstrated by both dynamic light scattering and bulk rheological measurements. Their elastic moduli increase as a power law with time, independent of particle volume fraction; however, static light scattering indicates that there are no large-scale structural changes. We propose that increases in local elasticity arising from bonding between neighboring colloidal particles can account for the strengthening of the network, while preserving network structure.

We report a neutron-scattering study of the dynamic spin correlations in Rb2MnF4, a two-dimensional spin-5/2 antiferromagnet. By tuning an external magnetic field to the value for the spin-flop line, we reduce the effective spin anisotropy to essentially zero, thereby obtaining a nearly ideal two-dimensional isotropic antiferromagnet. From the shape of the quasielastic peak as a function of temperature, we demonstrate dynamic scaling for this system and find a value for the dynamical exponent z. We compare these results to theoretical predictions for the dynamic behavior of the two-dimensional Heisenberg model, in which deviations from z=1 provide a measure of the corrections to scaling.

The low-temperature magnetic excitations of the two-dimensional spin-5/2 square-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet Rb2MnF4 have been probed using pulsed inelastic neutron scattering. In addition to dominant sharp peaks identified with one-magnon excitations, a relatively weak continuum scattering is also observed at higher energies. This is attributed to neutron scattering by pairs of magnons and the observed intensities are consistent with predictions of spin wave theory.

Colloidal silica gels are shown to stiffen with time, as demonstrated by both dynamic light scattering and bulk rheological measurements. Their elastic moduli increase as a power law with time, independent of particle volume fraction; however, static light scattering indicates that there are no large-scale structural changes. We propose that increases in local elasticity arising from bonding between neighboring colloidal particles can account for the strengthening of the network, while preserving network structure.

This article reports on the International Nanofluid Property Benchmark Exercise, or INPBE, in which the thermal conductivity of identical samples of colloidally stable dispersions of nanoparticles or “nanofluids,” was measured by over 30 organizations worldwide, using a variety of experimental approaches, including the transient hot wire method, steady-state methods, and optical methods. The nanofluids tested in the exercise were comprised of aqueous and nonaqueous basefluids, metal and metal oxide particles, near-spherical and elongated particles, at low and high particle concentrations. The data analysis reveals that the data from most organizations lie within a relatively narrow band (±10% or less) about the sample average with only few outliers. The thermal conductivity of the nanofluids was found to increase with particle concentration and aspect ratio, as expected from classical theory. There are (small) systematic differences in the absolute values of the nanofluid thermal conductivity among the various experimental approaches; however, such differences tend to disappear when the data are normalized to the measured thermal conductivity of the basefluid. The effective medium theory developed for dispersed particles by Maxwell in 1881 and recently generalized by Nan et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 81, 6692 (1997)] , was found to be in good agreement with the experimental data, suggesting that no anomalous enhancement of thermal conductivity was achieved in the nanofluids tested in this exercise.

The critical fluctuations of CuGeO3 have been measured by synchrotron x-ray scattering, and two length scales are clearly observed. The ratio between the two length scales is found to be significantly different along the a axis, with the a axis along the surface normal direction. We believe that such a directional preference is a clear sign that random surface strains, especially those caused by dislocations, are the origin of the long length scale fluctuations.

We report a neutron-scattering study of the dynamic spin correlations in Rb2MnF4, a two-dimensional spin-5/2 antiferromagnet. By tuning an external magnetic field to the value for the spin-flop line, we reduce the effective spin anisotropy to essentially zero, thereby obtaining a nearly ideal two-dimensional isotropic antiferromagnet. From the shape of the quasielastic peak as a function of temperature, we demonstrate dynamic scaling for this system and find a value for the dynamical exponent z. We compare these results to theoretical predictions for the dynamic behavior of the two-dimensional Heisenberg model, in which deviations from z=1 provide a measure of the corrections to scaling.

We show that the dynamics of large fractal colloid aggregates are well described by a combination of translational and rotational diffusion and internal elastic fluctuations, allowing both the aggregate size and internal elasticity to be determined by dynamic light scattering. The comparison of results obtained in microgravity and on Earth demonstrates that cluster growth is limited by gravity-induced restructuring. In the absence of gravity, thermal fluctuations ultimately inhibit fractal growth and set the fundamental limitation to the lowest volume fraction which will gel.

We report a neutron scattering study of the spin correlations for the spin-5/2 two-dimensional antiferromagnet Rb2MnF4 in an external magnetic field. Choosing fields near the system’s bicritical point, we tune the effective anisotropy in the spin interaction to zero, constructing an ideal S ­ = 5/2 Heisenberg system. The correlation length and structure factor amplitude are closely described by the semiclassical theory of Cuccoli 'et al.' over a broad temperature range, but show no indication of approaching the low-temperature renormalized classical regime of the quantum nonlinear sigma model.

Measurements are reported of the time dependence of the current during electrochemical oxidation and reduction at a fixed voltage of single crystals and ceramic samples of La2CuO4+d. Staging peaks in neutron measurements of the single crystals together with the electrochemical measurements and magnetization measurements confirm that stage n=6 corresponds to d=0.055 +/- 0.05, the high-d side of the oxygen-rich–oxygen-poor miscibility gap. Furthermore, stage n=4 occurs at a value of d consistent with d { n^(-1). For ceramic samples it is shown that two different superconducting compounds are formed depending on the oxidation voltage used.

We present results of a systematic x-ray scattering study of the effects of Mg doping on the high-field incommensurate phase ofCuGeO3. Lorentzian-squared line shapes, the changing of the first-order transition to second order, and the destruction of long-range order with infinitesimal doping are observed, consistent with random-field effects in a three-dimensional XY system. Values for the soliton width in pure and lightly doped CuGeO3 are deduced. We find that even a very small doping has a drastic effect on the shape of the lattice modulation.