AN EVALUATION OF THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE PROGRAM OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY*

The United States Department of Energy is required by law to plan, acquire, store, and maintain a Strategic Petroleum Reserve of crude oil and petroleum products. This is to be used if there is an interruption in crude oil supply. The plan is described and then analyzed with a linear programming model. The results show that the plan is generally well formulated.     

SIZE-FREQUENCY-DISTRIBUTIONS OF EH3 CHONDRULES

The size-frequency-distributions of different chondrule types in the Qingzhen, Kota-Kota and Allan Hills A77156 EH3 chondrites were determined by petrographic analysis of thin sections and, in the case of Qingzhen, by examination of large separated chondrules. EH chondrules are considerably smaller than L and LL chondrules and are probably slightly smaller than H, CM and CO chondrules. In the EH3 chondrites, radial pyroxene (RP) chondrules are somewhat (85% confidence level) larger than cryptocrystalline (C) chondrules, nonporphyritic chondrules have a broader size-frequency-distribution than porphyritic chondrules, and porphyritic olivine-pyroxene (POP) chondrules are considerably (98% confidence level) larger than porphyritic pyroxene (PP) chondrules. The larger size of RP chondrules relative to C chondrules in EH3 chondrites may be due to a tendency of the chondrule-forming mechanism not to have heated large precursor aggregates above the liquidus. Consequent retention of numerous relict grains would have caused these objects to develop RP rather than C textures upon cooling. The large proportion (≥50%) of nonporphyritic EH3 chondrules among the smaller chondrule size-fractions may have been caused by preferential disruption of large nonporphyritic chondrule droplets. The large proportion (≥50%) of nonporphyritic EH3 chondrules among the larger chondrule size-fractions is problematic. The larger size of POP relative to PP chondrules is due to reaction of fine-grained olivine with free silica to form pyroxene during mild thermal metamorphism of the whole-rocks.     

Saturn's electrostatic discharges: Could lightning be the cause?

It is proposed that Saturn's electrostatic discharges (SED) might be generated in the planet's equatorial atmosphere, perhaps as lightning from a storm system. The 10^h10^m periodicity of the signal envelope duplicates that of Saturn's equatorial jet. The rings shield the atmosphere from solar EUV photons, and thereby substantially reduce the local ionospheric cutoff frequency to allow low-frequency SED to leak out. Many of the unusual properties of SED could be explained in terms of changes in the storm system, the relative spacecraft position in the beaming pattern of the source, local refraction of the signal by the highly disturbed ionosphere, and the influence of the ring particles on the highest frequency component of SED. A comparison of SED with planetary lightning on other planets shows that the two are similar in general character and some time behavior; the power output of SED may be higher than most planetary lightnings but that is unclear because of uncertainties in the measurements and variations in the signal's spectrum. Our simple discussion suggests that lightning could be a viable source for SED and that exotic ring mechanisms are not necessarily required.     

Blowing in the wind. II. Creation and redistribution of refractory inclusions in a turbulent protoplanetary nebula

Ca-Al rich refractory mineral inclusions (CAIs) found at 1-6% mass fraction in primitive chondrites appear to be 1-3 million years older than the dominant (chondrule) components which were accreted into the same parent bodies. A prevalent concern is that it is difficult to retain CAIs for this long against gas-drag-induced radial drift into the Sun. We reassess the situation in terms of a hot inner (turbulent) nebula context for CAI formation, using analytical models of nebula evolution and particle diffusion. We show that outward radial diffusion in a weakly turbulent nebula can overcome inward drift, and prevent significant numbers of CAI-size particles from being lost into the Sun for times on the order of 10⁶ years. CAIs can form early, when the inner nebula was hot, and persist in sufficient abundance to be incorporated into primitive planetesimals at a much later time. Small (?0.1 mm diameter) CAIs persist for longer times than large (?5 mm diameter) ones. To obtain a quantitative match to the observed volume fractions of CAIs in chondrites, another process must be allowed for: a substantial enhancement of the inner hot nebula in silicate-forming material, which we suggest was caused by rapid inward drift of meter-sized objects. This early in nebula history, the drifting rubble would have a carbon content probably an order of magnitude larger than even the most primitive (CI) carbonaceous chondrites. Abundant carbon in the evaporating material would help keep the nebula oxygen fugacity low, plausibly solar, as inferred for the formation environment of CAIs. The associated production of a larger than canonical amount of CO₂ might also play a role in mass-independent fractionation of oxygen isotopes, leaving the gas rich in ¹⁶O as inferred from CAIs and other high temperature condensates.     

Recombination of electrons with H3+ and H5+ ions

The dissociative recombination coefficients α for capture of electrons by H₃⁺ and H₅⁺ ions have been determined as a function of electron temperature T_e using a microwave afterglow-mass spectrometer apparatus. At ion and neutral temperatures T_u+ = T_n = 240 K, the coefficient α (H₃⁺) is found to vary slowly with T_e at first, decreasing from 1.6 × 10^?7 cm³/s at T_e = 240 K to 1.2 × 10^?7 cm³/s at T_e = 500 K, thereafter falling as T_e^?1 over the range 500 K ? T_e, ? 3000 K. These results, which have a ± 20% uncertainty, agree satisfactorily over the common energy range (0.03–0.36 eV) with the recombination cross sections determined in merged beam measurements by Auerbach et al. At T₊ = T_n = 128 K, the coefficient α(H₅⁺) is found to be (1.8 ± 0.3) × 10^?6 [T_e(K)/300]^?0.69 cm³/s over the range 128 K ? T_e ? 3000 K, with a more rapid decrease, as T_e^?1, between 3000 K and 5500 K. The implications of these results for modelling planetary atmospheres and interstellar clouds are briefly touched on.     

Are quasar redshifts randomly distributed?

A statistical analysis of possible clumping (not periodicity) of emission line redshifts of QSO's shows the available data to be compatible with random fluctuations of a smooth, nonclumped distribution. This result is demonstrated with Monte Carlo simulations as well as with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. It is in complete disagreement with the analysis by Varshni, which is shown to be incorrect.     

The decay products of 222rn in etched track radon detection

Precipitation of decay products of atmospheric ²²²Rn in small containers and the effects of their precipitation on alpha-particle-track-measurements of radon activities were studied. From decay curves of decay product activities on surfaces exposed to radon-containing air the ratios ²¹⁴Pb/²¹⁸Po (=r) in the precipitates were determined. From r average ages of precipitating decay products were calculated. Average ages and r were low, indicating rapid precipitation of decay products, and decreased with container size. Activities on exposed surfaces were approximately those expected if decay products precipitate completely and uniformly on the internal surfaces of containers.Decay products precipitated on foils of correct thickness covering cellulose nitrate (CN) track detectors produce tracks. Therefore track densities produced by given radon activities are increased by such covers to extents predictable from the decay product activities on the overlays. Tracks formed under overlays may etch to larger, more vertical-sided, more easily counted forms. When suspended, uncovered, in air at distances from surfaces greater than the ranges of the alpha particles, three types of CN recorded tracks at the rate (ρ′) of 0.12 tracks cm^?2 (pCi Rn)^?1 1^?1 hr^?1 as predicted by a theoretical expression. In small containers (ρ′) varied with position and container size.