Abstract: Defects in AgG tabular crystals with {111} surfaces are characterised by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and their influence on the growth process is discussed. In the tabular crystals, twins parallel to the tabular face as well as dislocations along different directions are observed. The twins induce the tabular growth, while the dislocations do not influence the morphology. In 10 to 30% of the crystals that have been characterised, thickness growth is observed and it is shown that in all cases twins on other planes than the tabular ones are present. Two configurations occur more frequently and are analysed in detail. For the first group, twins parallel to the tabular face as well as a microtwin along a non-parallel {111} plane and ending inside the crystal are present. In the crystals of the second group only one extra non-parallel twin occurs giving rise to a bicrystal built up by a tetrahedral shaped part and a flat triangular or trapezoidal part. More complex twin configurations give rise to various, less characteristic morphologies.

Abstract: Not much about the effect of thiocyanate addition on the sulphur ripening is known, although it is used for many applications in photographic practice. Via a combination of tracer analysis and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy the effect of thiocyanate addition on the sulphur and sulphur-plus-gold ripening could be unveiled. When thiocyanate is added prior to the sulphur addition, it appears to rearrange the silver halide surface in such way that the sulphur deposition rate is enhanced, but the supply of interstitials is limited. Addition of thiocyanate after the sulphur reaction results in the formation of thiocyanate complexes with silver, from which a silver ion is more easily deposited in a surface cell of the silver sulphide clusters thus enhancing the sensitization rate. For sulphur-plus-gold sensitized emulsions it was observed that part of the gold ions could be removed out of the Ag2-xAuxS clusters by addition of thiocyanate ions and subsequent washing. Hence, it was concluded that two different types of gold ions are present in the silver sulphide clusters; 1. gold ions which are substitutional for silver (bound between sulphur and bromide ions) 2. gold ions which bridge two or three sulphur atoms. Incorporation of gold ions into silver sulphide clusters suppresses their optical absorption in diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Since the optical absorption at 505 nm can completely be restored by addition of thiocyanate, it is assumed that the entity absorbing at this wavelength is a monomer of silver sulphide.

Abstract: In this paper we used a one dimensional fluid model, for the simulations of a Dielectric Barrier Discharge at atmospheric pressure. From the current and voltage profiles and the density profiles, we notice that two different regimes can be obtained in a uniform DBD. Furthermore a two dimensional flud model was developed and we describe how the gasflow can be included in such a model.

Abstract: Responses of mesoscopic superconducting rings and disks to perpendicular magnetic fields are studied by using the multiple-small-tunnel-junction method, in which transport properties of several small tunnel junctions attached to the sample are measured simultaneously. This allows us for a direct experimental observation of the paramagnetic supercurrent, which is closely related to the paramagnetic Meissner effect. The results are compared with numerical results based on the nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau theory.

Abstract: A single crystal of Cu74.08Al23.13Be2.79 undergoes a martensitic phase transition at 246K and 232K under heating and cooling, respectively. Surprisingly, the martensite phase is elastically much harder than the austenite phase showing that interfaces between various crystallographic variants are strongly pinned and can not be moved by external stress while the phase boundary between the austenite and martensite regions in the sample remains mobile. This unusual behavior was revealed by Dynamical Mechanical Analysis and Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy. Transmission Electron Microscopy shows that the pinning is generated by dislocations, which are inherited from the austenite phase. Such dislocations can hinder the movement of stacking faults in the 18R martensite structure or twin boundaries between martensite variants.