Scientific Instruments and Systems

In this chapter we will show how modern FPGA offers the possibility of implementing Reconfigurable Virtual Instrumentation, a new kind of electronic instrumentation which generates interesting opportunities for regular users but that also poses several technical challenges for advanced users and instrument developers. We will analyze some of the main problems and we will give some ideas and possible strategies to deal with them. In order to put the subject in the right context we will review some general concepts regarding instrumentation in general and we later proceed with some more specific concepts and definitions. The chapter also describes two hardware/software platforms for science and high-education developed at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) where the concept of RVI proposed in this chapter was applied. Although we mainly adopt a scientist's prospective to define and analyze instrumentation, most of the conclusions drawn along this chapter can b...

Mesospheric water vapour has been observed above ALOMAR in northern Norway (69 • N 16 • E) by our group since 1995 using a 22 GHz ground based microwave spectrometer. A new instrument with higher sensitivity, providing a much better time resolution especially in the upper mesosphere, was installed in May 2008. The time resolution is high enough to provide observations of daily variations in the water vapour mixing ratio. We present the first ground based detections of tidal behaviour in the polar middle atmospheric water vapour distribution. Diurnal and semidiurnal variations of water vapour have been observed and due to the long chemical lifetime of water they are assumed to be caused by changing wind patterns which transport water-rich or poor air into the observed region. The detected tidal behaviour does not follow any single other dynamical field but is instead assumed to be a result of the different wind components. Both the diurnal and semidiurnal amplitude and phase components are resolved. The former shows a stable seasonal behaviour consistent with earlier observations of wind fields and model calculations, whereas the latter appears more complex and no regular behaviour has so far been observed.

This paper presents efficient low-power compact hardware designs for common image processing functions including the median filter, smoothing filter, motion blurring, emboss filter, sharpening, Sobel, Roberts, and Canny edge detection. The designs were described in Verilog HDL. Xilinx ISE design suite was used for code simulation, synthesis, implementation, and chip programming. The designs were all evaluated in terms of speed, area (number of LUTs and registers), and power consumption. Post placement and routing (Post-PAR) results show that they need very small area and consume very little power while achieving good frame per second rate even for HDTV high resolution frames. This makes them suitable for real-time applications with stringent area and power budgets.

In this chapter we will show how modern FPGA offers the possibility of implementing Reconfigurable Virtual Instrumentation, a new kind of electronic instrumentation which generates interesting opportunities for regular users but that also poses several technical challenges for advanced users and instrument developers. We will analyze some of the main problems and we will give some ideas and possible strategies to deal with them. In order to put the subject in the right context we will review some general concepts regarding instrumentation in general and we later proceed with some more specific concepts and definitions. The chapter also describes two hardware/software platforms for science and high-education developed at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) where the concept of RVI proposed in this chapter was applied. Although we mainly adopt a scientist's prospective to define and analyze instrumentation, most of the conclusions drawn along this chapter can b...

In this chapter we will show how modern FPGA offers the possibility of implementing Reconfigurable Virtual Instrumentation, a new kind of electronic instrumentation which generates interesting opportunities for regular users but that also poses several technical challenges for advanced users and instrument developers. We will analyze some of the main problems and we will give some ideas and possible strategies to deal with them. In order to put the subject in the right context we will review some general concepts regarding instrumentation in general and we later proceed with some more specific concepts and definitions. The chapter also describes two hardware/software platforms for science and high-education developed at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) where the concept of RVI proposed in this chapter was applied. Although we mainly adopt a scientist's prospective to define and analyze instrumentation, most of the conclusions drawn along this chapter can b...

In this chapter we will show how modern FPGA offers the possibility of implementing Reconfigurable Virtual Instrumentation, a new kind of electronic instrumentation which generates interesting opportunities for regular users but that also poses several technical challenges for advanced users and instrument developers. We will analyze some of the main problems and we will give some ideas and possible strategies to deal with them. In order to put the subject in the right context we will review some general concepts regarding instrumentation in general and we later proceed with some more specific concepts and definitions. The chapter also describes two hardware/software platforms for science and high-education developed at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) where the concept of RVI proposed in this chapter was applied. Although we mainly adopt a scientist's prospective to define and analyze instrumentation, most of the conclusions drawn along this chapter can b...

The Submillimeter Wave Instrument (SWI) is part of the payload of ESA's L1 mission JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer). It sounds the middle atmosphere of Jupiter and the exospheres and surfaces of the Galilean satellites with a 290 mm telescope, movable in azimuth and elevation using two heterodyne spectrometers covering the frequency ranges of 530 to 625 GHz and 1080 to 1275 GHz. The heterodyne receivers with tunable solid-state local oscillators and subharmonically pumped mixers are passively cooled. The performance of the receivers has been steadily improved during the last 2-3 years. Presently the receiver temperatures are about 1100 and 2000 K DSB (600 and 1200 GHz respectively). The intermediate frequency output of 3.5 to 8.5 GHz is analyzed by two real-time spectrometer backends consisting of broadband autocorrelators, high resolution multi-channel Chirp Transform Spectrometers and continuum channels. In order to fulfill the very stringent mass limitations of the JUICE pa...

In this paper, we present the design of a high resolution Chirp Transform Spectrometer (CTS) which is part of the GREAT (German REceiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies) instrument onboard SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy. The new spectrometer will provide unique spectral resolving power and linearity response, since the analog Fourier transform performed by the CTS spectrometer was improved through a new design, that we call "Adaptive Digital Chirp Processor (ADCP)". The principle behind the ADCP consists on digitally generating the dispersive signal which adapts to the compressor dispersive properties, achieving maximum spectral resolution and higher dynamic range. Excellent test results have been obtained such as a white noise dynamic range of 30 dB, and a spectral resolution (FWHM) of 41.68 kHz which would mean if analyzing signals with the high frequency band receiver on the GREAT instrument (4.7 THz) a spectral resolving power (λ/ λ) higher than 10 8 .

In this paper, we present the design of a high resolution Chirp Transform Spectrometer (CTS) which is part of the GREAT (German REceiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies) instrument onboard SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy. The new spectrometer will provide unique spectral resolving power and linearity response, since the analog Fourier transform performed by the CTS spectrometer was improved through a new design, that we call "Adaptive Digital Chirp Processor (ADCP)". The principle behind the ADCP consists on digitally generating the dispersive signal which adapts to the compressor dispersive properties, achieving maximum spectral resolution and higher dynamic range. Excellent test results have been obtained such as a white noise dynamic range of 30 dB, and a spectral resolution (FWHM) of 41.68 kHz which would mean if analyzing signals with the high frequency band receiver on the GREAT instrument (4.7 THz) a spectral resolving power (λ/ λ) higher than 10 8 .

In this paper, we present the design of a high resolution Chirp Transform Spectrometer (CTS) which is part of the GREAT (German REceiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies) instrument onboard SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy. The new spectrometer will provide unique spectral resolving power and linearity response, since the analog Fourier transform performed by the CTS spectrometer was improved through a new design, that we call "Adaptive Digital Chirp Processor (ADCP)". The principle behind the ADCP consists on digitally generating the dispersive signal which adapts to the compressor dispersive properties, achieving maximum spectral resolution and higher dynamic range. Excellent test results have been obtained such as a white noise dynamic range of 30 dB, and a spectral resolution (FWHM) of 41.68 kHz which would mean if analyzing signals with the high frequency band receiver on the GREAT instrument (4.7 THz) a spectral resolving power (λ/ λ) higher than 10 8 .

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Dimostrazioni delle diseguaglianze delle medie utilizzando i teoremi di Euclide ed i triangoli rettangoli.

Premessa Aristotele (Metafisica, I, 5) ha lasciato scritto che: "I cosiddetti Pitagorici, avendo cominciato ad occuparsi di ricerche matematiche ed essendo grandemente progrediti in esse, furono condotti da questi loro studi ad assumere come principi di tutte le cose esistenti quelli di cui fanno uso le scienze matematiche. E poiché i primi che qui s'incontrano sono, per natura i numeri, sembrò loro di ravvisare in questi, molte più analogie con ciò che esiste e avviene nel mondo, di quante se ne possono trovare nel fuoco, nella terra e nell'acqua [...]. Avendo poi riconosciuto che le proprietà e le relazioni delle armonie musicali corrispondono a rapporti numerici, e che in altri fenomeni naturali si riscontrano analoghe corrispondenze coi numeri furono tanto più indotti ad ammettere che i numeri siamo gli elementi di tutte le cose esistenti e che tutto il cielo sia proporzione ed armonia". I pitagorici inizialmente avrebbero concepito i numeri come componenti ultimi degli oggetti reali e materiali, non distinti dagli oggetti sensibili. I numeri quindi sarebbero l'essenza della realtà ed in particolare, non avrebbero un senso puramente aritmetico, essendo entità tutte uguali fra loro, entità sì molto piccole, ma non infinitesime o nulle (le monadi o unità pitagoriche) e, se non in tutto, per molti versi simili ai nostri atomi. Tutti i corpi venivano così composti di monadi disposte secondo un certo ordine geometrico. Prima di scendere nel dettaglio della presente trattazione, una domanda ci si pone in modo particolarmente urgente: qual era lo stato delle conoscenze matematiche nella Grecia a cavallo tra il VI ed il IV secolo a.C., allorchè Pitagora ebbe a condurre le sue ricerche ed a fondare la sua scuola? Ed in che maniera si collegava essa alla filosofia contemporanea? Ecco una necessariamente breve e sintetica analisi di quanto sostenuto da alcuni dei più importanti filosofi dell'epoca: Talete di Mileto (624-548 a.C.) Conobbe la scienza mesopotamica ed egiziana. È famoso per il teorema secondo cui un angolo inscritto in un semicerchio è retto. Tale teorema è forse di derivazione mesopotamica, ma quasi certamente la sua dimostrazione è di Talete, che perciò viene considerato il prima vero matematico, ossia il fondatore dell'impostazione deduttiva della geometria. La tradizione gli attribuisce altre quattro dimostrazioni: 1) Un cerchio viene bisecato dal suo diametro. 2) Gli angoli alla base di un triangolo isoscele sono uguali. 3) Le coppie di angoli al vertice formati da due rette che si intersecano sono uguali. 4) Se due triangoli sono tali che due angoli e un lato di uno di essi sono uguali rispettivamente a due angoli e a un lato dell'altro, i triangoli sono congruenti.

The majority of the world's medical care facilities and research labs have limited access to optimal tools because of the exorbitant prices of proprietary equipment. This results in both reduced acute public health and slows the rate of medical science hampering future public health. The tremendous success of free and open source software in driving innovation and lowering costs has spread to the world of hardware. Free and open-source hardware (FOSH) provides the “code” for hardware including the bill of materials, schematics, instructions, computer aided designs (CAD), and other information needed to recreate a physical artifact. FOSH has already led to improved product innovation and reduced costs in a wide range of fields and can go far beyond simply sharing data in the medical community. By combining digital manufacturing such as 3-D printing with open-source microcontrollers, hundreds of high-quality low-cost medical and scientific tools have already been developed. Scientists and medical equipment engineers can design, share and build on one another's work to develop better and less costly medical devices. Such latterly scaled replication saves 90-99% of traditional costs. This article summarizes medical research policy to encourage maximizing the return on investment of public funding for medical equipment development by: 1) identifying, funding and disseminating FOSH design of the most costly medical equipment, 2) funding validation studies of this equipment, and 3) enacting purchasing policy preferences for FOSH. Past results indicate that these policies will directly save millions of dollars of public funding for health care, while supporting rapid innovation in medical equipment design.

Los contenidos de esta publicación han sido evaluados por el Comité Científico que en ella se relaciona y según el procedimiento de la ``revisión por pares´´. © editor Víctor Echarri Iribarren © de los textos: los autores © 2017, de la presente edición: Editorial Publicacions Universitat d'Alacant. www.publicaciones.ua.es/ Imprime: ISBN: 978-84-16724-75-8 (Vol. V) Depósito legal: A 493-2017 FORTMED -Modern Age Fortifications of the Mediterranean Coast, Alicante, October 26th, 27th, 28th 2017 151 Defensive Architecture of the Mediterranean. XV to XVIII centuries / Vol V / Echarri Iribarren (Ed.)

In this paper, we present the design of a high resolution Chirp Transform Spectrometer (CTS) which is part of the GREAT (German REceiver for Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies) instrument onboard SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy. The new spectrometer will provide unique spectral resolving power and linearity response, since the analog Fourier transform performed by the CTS spectrometer was improved through a new design, that we call "Adaptive Digital Chirp Processor (ADCP)". The principle behind the ADCP consists on digitally generating the dispersive signal which adapts to the compressor dispersive properties, achieving maximum spectral resolution and higher dynamic range. Excellent test results have been obtained such as a white noise dynamic range of 30 dB, and a spectral resolution (FWHM) of 41.68 kHz which would mean if analyzing signals with the high frequency band receiver on the GREAT instrument (4.7 THz) a spectral resolving power (λ/ λ) higher than 10 8 .

After a brief story of the Pythagorean theorem and the golden section,
two jewels of classical mathematics, connections with the Fibonacci
sequence are shown. This is a way to merge topics of geometry and arithmetic,
always observing the real world and using history to facilitate the
learning of mathematics.

This article explores a new open-source method for developing and manufacturing high-quality scientific equipment suitable for use in virtually any laboratory. A syringe pump was designed using freely available open-source computer aided design (CAD) software and manufactured using an open-source RepRap 3-D printer and readily available parts. The design, bill of materials and assembly instructions are globally available to anyone wishing to use them. Details are provided covering the use of the CAD software and the RepRap 3-D printer. The use of an open-source Rasberry Pi computer as a wireless control device is also illustrated. Performance of the syringe pump was assessed and the methods used for assessment are detailed. The cost of the entire system, including the controller and web-based control interface, is on the order of 5% or less than one would expect to pay for a commercial syringe pump having similar performance. The design should suit the needs of a given research activity requiring a syringe pump including carefully controlled dosing of reagents, pharmaceuticals, and delivery of viscous 3-D printer media among other applications.

I cavi trifase avvolti ad elica, frequentemente utilizzati per la distribuzione di energia elettrica in media e bassa tensione,
sono la più comune tipologia di cavo per la connessione in rete di impianti di produzione dell’energia elettrica da fonti
rinnovabili. La progressiva diffusione di impianti di generazione da fonti rinnovabili da connettere alla rete di distribuzione
rende indispensabile la valutazione dell’impatto ambientale di tali sistemi energetici, incluso il calcolo del campo magnetico
nelle immediate vicinanze dei cavi elicordati di connessione.
La formulazione esatta per tale calcolo risulta estremamente complessa e la formula approssimata già esistente nella
letteratura porta ad errori sempre maggiori all’avvicinarsi del punto-campo ai conduttori. Con una procedura euristica, gli
autori hanno derivato una formula innovativa assai più semplice di quella analitica rigorosa, che inoltre fornisce risultati
migliori della formula approssimata di letteratura, specie in prossimità dei conduttori. In questo lavoro la formula innovativa
semplificata è dapprima applicata alle terne elicordate singole e successivamente viene estesa alle terne elicordate doppie,
mediante diverse simulazioni sviluppate in MatlabTM per vari casi di interesse pratico.

offrono le loro strutture, in collaborazione con Università ed enti di ricerca italiani e stranieri, per la formazione delle più svariate professionalità nel campo dell'archeologia, del restauro e delle scienze applicate ai Beni Culturali. La molteplicità di attività in corso di svolgimento ha suggerito la creazione di una serie di brevi guide -gratuite e scaricabili dal sito del cantiere -, che possano servire come riferimento di base.

We present a new, high time-resolution, heterodyne spectrometer operating at 22.235 GHz for the detection of short timescale mesospheric water vapour variations. The instrument observes the water vapour spectrum in both vertical and horizontal polarisation and averages these in order to get an optimum signal-to-noise ratio. The different polarisations have separate, but identical, signal chains consisting of a 22 GHz cooled HEMT amplifier, a second warm 22 GHz HEMT amplifier, an IF stage and a Chirp Transform Spectrometer (CTS) backend. Continuous calibration of the signal with two internal loads, a wobbling optical table to reduce standing waves in the optical path and the low receiver temperature ensures a time resolution of an order of magnitude better than what has been achieved by earlier instruments.