Canal Ray Research Articles

Influence of wood’s anatomical and resin traits on the radial permeability of the hybrid pine (Pinus elliottii × Pinus caribaea) wood in Australia

Wood permeability has a major effect on industrial wood processing and utilization. Wood anatomy and resin influence the permeability of wood. Understanding and manipulating these influences is important to optimize the manufacture and use of forest products. This study investigated the relationships between wood anatomical traits, radial permeability, and resin content of samples collected from 19-year-old hybrid pines (Pinus elliottii var. elliottii × Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis) from Queensland, Australia. The earlywood tracheid tangential lumen diameter and axial resin canal diameter were statistically positively correlated with radial permeability. The heartwood proportion and the frequency of axial resin canals were statistically negatively correlated with radial permeability and positively correlated with resin content. The axial resin canal diameter, sapwood proportion, latewood content, ray frequency, and earlywood tracheid lumen diameter increased from pith to bark, whereas the axial resin canal frequency decreased. Resin was found distributed throughout the wood microstructure, from pith to bark in many samples, and in both heartwood and sapwood. However, there was a much greater quantity of resin in heartwood and wood from the middle (inner radius) of the tree, with widespread occurrence of resin impregnation in the axial tracheids.

Pharmacognostic evaluation of the leaves and stem-bark of <i>Commiphora africana</i> (A. Rich) Engl. (Burseraceae)

The study establishes some important pharmacognostic profile of Commiphora africana leaf and stem-bark with the hope of assisting in its proper identification as well as standardization for quality and sample purity. Evaluation of the fresh, powdered and anatomical sections of the leaves and stem bark were carried out to determine the macromorphological, micromorphological, chemomicroscopic and some physicochemical parameters. Macroscopical studies indicated presence of leaf with trifoliate arrangement, crenate margin with ovate shape, acute apex, cuneate base, petiolate with pinnate venation. The microscopy revealed the dorsiventral nature of the leaf and was observed to be hypostomatic with anomocytic type of stomata, with numerous unicellular covering and glandular trichomes on the abaxial surface. Chemomicroscopic characters present include; lignin, starch, cellulose, tannin, suberin and calcium oxalate crystals. The physicochemical parameters evaluated include moisture contents (8.1%), total ash value (9.3%), water soluble ash (5.5%), acid insoluble ash (3.2%), ethanol extractive values (22.3%) and water extractive values (19.0%). For quantitative leaf microscopy, on the average, stomatal number (38.0) and index (25.0), palisade ratio (11.7), vein termination numbers (5.7) and vein islets (1.3). The microscopy of stem bark revealed some prominent features like the cork, prism types and microcrystal of calcium oxalate crystals, fibres, phloem parenchyma cells, secretion canal and medullary ray. The physicochemical parameters evaluated include moisture contents (8.6%), total ash value (11.3%), water soluble ash (7.0%), acid insoluble ash (2.7%), ethanol extractive values (12.3%) and water extractive values (9.3%). Keywords: Commiphora africana, Macroscopic, Microscopic, Physicochemical parameters

Emil Rupp, Albert Einstein, and the canal ray experiments on wave-particle duality: Scientific fraud and theoretical bias

In 1926, Emil Rupp published a number of papers on the interference properties of light emitted by canal ray sources. These articles, particularly one paper that came into being in close collaboration with Albert Einstein, drew quite some attention as they probed the wave versus particle nature of light. They also significantly propelled Rupp's career, even though from the outset they were highly controversial. This article reviews this episode, and in particular Rupp's collaboration with Einstein. Evidence that Rupp forged his results is presented and their critical reception in the socially and politically-divided German physics community is discussed. These divisions fail to explain the full dynamic; the latter is approached by turning to the role that theoretical bias has on occasion in assessing experiment. Einstein's responses are also analyzed in this context.

Impregnation of radiata pine wood by vacuum treatment II: effect of pre-steaming on wood structure and resin content

Radiata pine sapwood and heartwood were dried using high-temperature, conventional-temperature, and air drying schedules with and without pre-steaming. They were then impregnated by vacuum treatment with double-distilled water, toluidine blue, and fluorescein dye. For sapwood, there were only minor differences in uptake between drying methods and when pre-steaming was used. Using microscopy, the primary flow pathways in sapwood were found to be the resin canal network and ray parenchyma cells, which provided conduction without large resistance. In heartwood, uptake was strongly influenced by pre-steaming the green lumber. After pre-steaming heart-wood, there was an increase in uptake from all surfaces but especially from the radial surfaces. Lower extractive contents, disruption of epithelial and ray parenchyma cells, and alteration of the condition of bordered pits were also associated with pre-steaming. It was therefore possible to classify flow paths in radiata pine heartwood five ways, according to uptake values and wood anatomical features.

Plasma Stimulated Growth of InP from TEL and PH3

AbstractThis study describes the application of a dc-plasma to stimulate growth of InP in a MOCVD system using In(C2 H5)3 and PH3. Precracking of PH3 enables a substantial reduction of the growth temperature to well below 500 K. In addition, at temperatures where InP is commonly deposited (∼870 K) a significant lowering of the V/III input ratio is possible. The fact that InP is relatively insensitive to low energy ion bombardement permits deposition in a canal ray configuration.

Erratum: “Simultaneous Excitation and Dissociation of Water Molecule by Hydrogen Canal Ray Impact”

Erratum: “Simultaneous Excitation and Dissociation of Water Molecule by Hydrogen Canal Ray Impact”

Simultaneous Excitation and Dissociation of Water Molecule by Hydrogen Canal Ray Impact

By electron impact, a water molecule dissociates into an OH radical. in the excited ,state and a H atom in the ground state. Immediately after the dissociation, the excited radical makes a transition into the ground state, emitting the intensive (0, 0)-band of OH. According to the studies on intensity measurement of the rotational lines of the band, it has so far been shown that the excited radicals have an exceedingly abnormal distribution of rotational energy. Any sufficient interpretation of this phenomenon, however, has not yet been given from a theoretical standpoint. In order to obtain a key to solve the problem, the present paper is concerned with the measurement of the rotational intensity distribution of the fragment molecule OH dissociated from water molecule by hydrogen canal ray impact. According to the experiment, it does not show so much abnormality as in the case of electron impact, but up to a certain extent it fades into a normal Maxwellian distribution in the case of hydrogen canal ray i...

The stark effect in hydrogen and deuterium

Since hydrogen and deuterium present observable differences in the fine structure of the Balmer series, it was thought advisable to examine the Stark efforts with special reference to intensities. The photographs have been taken from a Lo Surdo source containing a mixture of hydrogen and deuterium. Plate 19 shows the results that the analyses of H α D α , H β D β , H γ D γ and H δ D δ . It may be noted that the intensity pattern for D α is asymmetric and that it is nearly the mirror image of the asymmetric pattern for H α . Although gradually less prominent in later members of the series, this feature is not entirely absent from H γ D γ as published in Nature (Foster and Snell 1934). Moreover, the contrasting asymmetries of D α , H α persist to some extent in analyses (Plate 20 (1)) from a canal ray source specially constructed with opposing beams, and operated at a pressure enormously in excess of usual values.

Radiation From Canal Ray Impact

Hydrogen canal rays accelerated in fields up to 40 kv were allowed to impinge on a metal target and the beam of particles and radiation emitted from the target were investigated. Pinhole images of the focal spot were obtained on Schumann plates and plates coated with molybdenum trioxide. The presence of atomic hydrogen was shown by a characteristic light blue color produced on molybdenum trioxide plates. By means of a deflecting magnetic field it was found that the beam from the target consisted mainly of neutral particles (or of radiation) but contained a smaller number of protons whose velocity was practically equal to that of the protons incident on the target. The neutral particles by virtue of their ability to affect a photographic plate could suggest the presence of electromagnetic radiation. A grating was used to detect such radiation. Radiation of wave-length 1216A was excited in the residual gas by the canal ray beam when the pressure was as low as ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ mm of Hg. Any characteristic radiation from the target excited by canal ray impact is too small to be measured.

Experiments with high velocity positive ions.―(I) Further developments in the method of obtaining high velocity positive ions

In a previous communication we described the development of a method of obtaining positive ions of hydrogen with energies up to 300 kilovolts. A system of rectifiers was built which allowed steady potentials of this order to be obtained, and the methods necessary for the acceleration of positive ions from a hydrogen discharge tube were worked out. With this apparatus, investigations were made to determine whether any X-radiations or γ-radiations of appreciable intensity were produced by the impact of protons and molecular ions of hydrogen on matter. It was found, when all secondary effects were excluded, that if any such radiation is produced its intensity was comparable with the limits of error of the experiment, and was certainly not greater in intensity than one-millionth of the intensity of the continuous X-radiation which would have been produced by an equal electron source of the same energy. Since the intensity of any radiation would be expected to increase rapidly with the energy of the ions it became apparent that to obtain results of interest it would be necessary to extend the field of the work to higher voltages. The method used in the present experiments is an extension of that described in the previous paper. A source of high voltage has been developed, using thermionic rectifiers and condensers, which is capable of producing 800,000 volts steady potential. This potential is applied to an experimental tube down the axis of which protons from a hydrogen canal ray tube are accelerated. The protons can be transmitted through a mica window into an experimental chamber. Up to the present we have been able to produce and carry out experiments with protons having energies up to 710 kilovolts, and there seems no reason to doubt that the method will allow of this range being extended considerably.

Canal Ray and Electron Excitation of the Band Spectrum of Nitrogen

The idea is suggested that the excitation of band spectra by canal ray* impact on the one hand, and by electron impact on the other, may give quite different intensity distributions. The results of three groups of experiments on the band spectra of nitrogen are presented.In the first, the relative intensities of the lines in the 3914 negative band were studied. There seemed to be a small weakening of the lower rotational lines in the canal-ray excitation compared to electron excitation.In the second, the relative intensities of the second positive group and of the negative group were observed in a canal-ray beam. The intensities of the transitions from high initial vibrational states were abnormally great. The variations in comparison plates taken by us and by others with various sources were so great that no satisfactory standard of comparison could be chosen as representing excitation purely by electron impact.This suggested the third phase of the work, a study of the excitation by a beam of 700 volt electrons. This gave a most unusual distribution of intensity with nearly all the energy in the 0\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0 and 0\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1 bands of the negative group and a similar concentration in the second positive group.

The Magnetic Analysis of a Luminous Canal Ray Beam in Hydrogen

The Magnetic Analysis of a Luminous Canal Ray Beam in Hydrogen