A novel technique to introduce high energy ion beams to atmospheric environment is presented, which enables in-air PIXE measurements. Slightly tapered glass capillary optics is applied to work as a differential pumping orifice as well as a focusing lens. The flux intensity is enhanced by at least one order of magnitude due to the focusing effect. Using capillaries of 10-20 microns outlet diameters, we obtain several hundreds pA of 4 MeV-He ++ ion beam and apply it to PIXE analysis of the seabed sludge without any sample treatments. A comparison of spectra between wet and dry sludge samples suggests the usefulness of our new technique.
Hydrogels have low frictional properties, permeability and biocompatibility thanks to their high water content. However the problem of common gels is their brittleness as industrial materials. In the last decade, several high-strength gels have been developed, promising for applications of gels as new smart industrial materials. Here we study the smartness of novel ultrahigh ductile gels having Inter-Crosslinking Network (ICN), focusing on mechanical properties and structure. Three types of mesh densities of the ICN gels were experimentally determined from the size of internal structure, water content and Young's modulus of tensile test. By comparing the three mesh densities, the relation between the network structure and mechanical properties of the gels is possibly discussed. The new way to evaluate the ductility of the ICN gels was also introduced on the analogy of the small-world network model. The effect of the degree of polymerization on the ductility was discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.