Electric field detection

The sensitivity of ZEKE spectroscopy is high because, even though a small fraction of the molecules excited by the PROBE laser have n-values within the range capable of being ionized by the electric field detection pulse, the ions produced from these special ZEKE states are detected with 100% quantum efficiency against a perfectly dark background. 

FIGURE 17.5 The volume conductivity of the body means that bioelectric current generators such as the heart produce electric fields detectable elsewhere on the body. 

The nonlinear response of an individual molecule depends on die orientation of the molecule with respect to the polarization of the applied and detected electric fields. The same situation prevails for an ensemble of molecules at an interface. It follows that we may gamer infonnation about molecular orientation at surfaces and interfaces by appropriate measurements of the polarization dependence of the nonlinear response, taken together with a model for the nonlinear response of the relevant molecule in a standard orientation. 

Historically, the first and most important capacitance method is the vibrating capacitor approach implemented by Lord Kelvin in 1897. In this technique (now called the Kelvin probe), the reference plate moves relative to the sample surface at some constant frequency and tlie capacitance changes as tlie interelectrode separation changes. An AC current thus flows in the external circuit. Upon reduction of the electric field to zero, the AC current is also reduced to zero. Originally, Kelvin detected the zero point manually using his quadrant electrometer. Nowadays, there are many elegant and sensitive versions of this technique. A piezoceramic foil can be used to vibrate the reference plate. To minimize noise and maximize sensitivity, a phase-locked... 

Other types of mass spectrometer can use point, array, or both types of ion detection. Ion trap mass spectrometers can detect ions sequentially or simultaneously and in some cases, as with ion cyclotron resonance (ICR), may not use a formal electron multiplier type of ion collector at all the ions can be detected by their different electric field frequencies in flight. 

Because the electrically charged droplets retain their charge but get smaller, their electric field increases. At some point, mutual repulsion between like charges causes charged particles (ions) to leave the surface of the droplet (ion evaporation). These ions can be detected by the mass spectrometer. 

Thus, ions are produced, deflected in a magnetic field, then focused in an electric field, and finally detected by an electron multiplier or other ion detector. 

Electrochemical treeing is appHed in those cases of water treeing in which the water contains solute ions which move under the action of an electric field and are detected within the insulation layer, or at an electrode surface after having passed through the insulation. They are not encountered as often as the first two classes, for example, trees formed in a cable exposed to a hydrogen sulfide environment called sulfide trees. 

Response to Electric and Acoustic Fields. If the stabilization of a suspension is primarily due to electrostatic repulsion, measurement of the zeta potential, can detect whether there is adequate electrostatic repulsion to overcome polarizabiUty attraction. A common guideline is that the dispersion should be stable if > 30 mV. In electrophoresis the appHed electric field is held constant and particle velocity is monitored using a microscope and video camera. In the electrosonic ampHtude technique the electric field is pulsed, and the sudden motion of the charged particles relative to their counterion atmospheres generates an acoustic pulse which can be related to the charge on the particles and the concentration of ions in solution (18). 

The contribution to the stress from electromechanical coupling is readily estimated from the constitutive relation [Eq. (4.2)]. Under conditions of uniaxial strain and field, and for an open circuit, we find that the elastic stiffness is increased by the multiplying factor (1 -i- K ) where the square of the electromechanical coupling factor for uniaxial strain, is a measure of the stiffening effect of the electric field. Values of for various materials are for x-cut quartz, 0.0008, for z-cut lithium niobate, 0.055 for y-cut lithium niobate, 0.074 for barium titanate ceramic, 0.5 and for PZT-5H ceramic, 0.75. These examples show that electromechanical coupling effects can be expected to vary from barely detectable to quite substantial. 

The several experimental methods allow a wide range of relaxation times to be studied. T-Jump is capable of measurements over the time range 1 to 10 s P-jump, 10 to 5 X 10" s electric field jump, 10 to 10 s and ultrasonic absorption, 10 to 10 " s. The detection method in the jump techniques depends upon the systems being studied, with spectrophotometry, fluorimetry, and conductimetry being widely used. 

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