LOW INTENSITY X-RAY AND GAMMA-RAY NASA Case No. GSC-12263 Inventor: Lo I. Yin Australia, Belgium, Canada, Address inquiries to: Corresponding to U.S. Patent No. 4,142,101 Filed 7-20-77 Issued 2-27-79 A radiation to visible light converter is combined with a visible light intensifier. The converter is a phosphor or scintillator material which is modified to block ambient light. The intensifier includes fiber optics input and output face plates with a photocathodemicrochannel plate amplifier-phosphor combination. Incoming radiation is converted to visible light by the converter which is piped into the intensifier by the input fiber optics face plate. The photocathode converts the visible light to electrons which are amplified by a microchannel plate amplifier. The electrons are converted back to light by a phosphor layer and piped out for viewing by the output fiber optics face plate. The converter-intensifier combination may be further combined with it's own radiation source or used with an independent source. A free-piston regenerative hydraulic engine includes a displacer piston which is driven pneumatically by a high-pressure or lowpressure gas. The present invention includes an inertial mass such as a piston to effectively store and supply energy during portions of the cycle. Power is transmitted from the working fluid to a hydraulic fluid across a diaphragm to achieve a hydraulic power output. The displacer piston may be driven pneumatically, hydraulically or electromagnetically. The displacer piston and the inertial mass may be positioned on the same side of the diaphragm member or may be separated by the diaphragm member. METHOD OF IMPROVING IMPACT RESISTANCE NASA Case No. LEW-12301 Canada Address inquiries to: Lewis Research Center Corresponding to U.S. Patent No. 3,953,636 Filed 4-24-74 Issued 4-27-76 A difficulty with the proposed uses of ceramic materials for such high temperature applications as the stator vanes in aircraft and stationary gas turbínes, and rotating parts in automotive gas turbines is their relatively low impact resistance. This invention is a method of improving the impact resistance of bodies of polycrystalline ceramic such as alumina, silicon nitride and silicon carbide, and bodies produced by the method. The body is provided with a layer of a low elastic modulus polycrystalline ceramic material which has microcracks therein, formed by such factors as thermalexpansion coefficient anisotropy, differences in thermalexpansion coefficients between phases of the material, and by changes in volume during phase transformations in the material. The layer can be applied by preforming the layer and then applying, or by hot pressing the material of the layer onto the body. A paint binder utilizing a potassium or sodium silicate dispersion having a silicon dioxide to alkali-metal oxide mol ratio of from 4.8:1 to 6.0:1, the binder exhibiting stability during both manufacture and storage. The process of making the binder is predictable and repeatable and the binder may be made with inexpensive components. The high mol ratio is achieved with the inclusion of a silicon dioxide hydrogel. The binder, which also employs a silicone, is in the final form of a hydrogel sol. 12 = A phase insensitive ultrasonic transducer which includes a CdS crystal that is annealed for a selected period of time and at a selected temperature to provide substantially maximum acoustic attunuation at the operating frequency of the transducer. Two electrodes are attached to the crystal with amplifier means and a signal processing system connected to one of the electrodes to provide an ultrasonic receiver. |