ELABORATION AND TESTING OF MATERIALS USING CONCENTRATED SOLAR ENERGY
1. Brief history of the use of solar energy to transform matter 2. Main characteristics of solar furnaces 3. Elaboration of materials using concentrated solar energy 3.1 Surface treatments 3.2 Melting and purification of bulk materials 3.3 Production of chemical commodities and ceramics 3.4 Elaboration of carbon molecules, nanomaterials and thin films 4. Testing of materials using concentrated solar energy 4.1 Original devices at the focus of solar furnaces 4.2 Test of materials for aerospace applications 4.2.1 Atmopsheric re-entry (oxidation and catalycity) 4.2.2 Solar probe mission 4.3 Test of materials for future system of energy production 5. Conclusion Bibliography Biographical Sketches
Concentrated solar energy applications in materials science and metallurgy
Abstract New energy sources have been researched with the objective of achieving a reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases as well as other polluting gases. Solar energy is one of the options as when properly concentrated offers a great potential in high temperature applications. This paper offers a review on all fields connected with materials where concentrated solar energy has been applied. These applications include metallurgy, materials processing (welding and cladding; surface treatments; coatings and surface hardening; and, powder metallurgy), and non-metallic materials (ceramics, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and production of lime).
Testosterone levels, handedness and sex ratio at birth.
Geschwind has hypothesized that levels of androgens in utero affect postnatal laterality preferences, high levels being associated with left-handedness of offspring. I have hypothesized that high parental androgen levels at the time of conception are associated with subsequent male births. However, left-handed parents seem to produce an excess of female, not male, offspring. This finding could be reconciled with the two hypotheses if individuals who were exposed to high levels of androgens in utero had low circulating levels in adulthood. Some evidence for this loophole is reviewed here. Lyster & Lloyd (1987, J. theor. Biol. 126, 125) have reported that (consistent with the hypotheses) index left-handed men have an excess of brothers; but, contrary to the hypotheses, index left-handed women have an excess of sisters. Accordingly these authors proposed that left-handedness in females is associated not with high levels of androgen in utero, but with a "sensitivity" to it. If such sensitivity were associated with low androgen levels, it might explain an excess of sisters among the sibs of left-handed women. It is shown here that evidence in agreement with this hypothesis (though not discriminating between it and Geschwind's) suggests that the sex ratios of offspring of LH male x RH female and of RH male x LH female matings, are both low.