No abstract

We examine the classical energy-balance equation for a fluorescing system consisting of a molecule near a small, spherical metal particle capable of sustaining electromagnetic resonances and irradiated with laser light. From the energy-flow distribution in the entire system, we obtain the enhancement factor for the fluorescence emission of the adsorbed molecule. Numerical results demonstrate that the electromagnetic interactions of the molecule and the surface can be understood in terms of energy flow through the entire system and applied to investigate spectroscopic properties of adsorbates in similar systems. Absorption and emission rates of the adsorbed molecule are determined considering the energy-flow distribution and its dependence on the substrate as well as molecular parameters. Such understanding is useful in predicting spectroscopic responses of adsorbates.

In this article, the propagation of digital and analog signals through media which, in general, are both dissipative and dispersive is modeled using the one-dimensional telegraph equation. Input signals are represented using impulsive, Heaviside unit step, Gaussian, rectangular pulse, and both unmodulated and modulated sinusoidal pulse type boundary data. Applications to coaxial transmission lines and freshwater signal propagation, for both digital and analog signals, are included. The analysis presented here supports the finding that digital transmission in dispersive media is generally superior to that of analog. The boundary data ͑input signals͒ give rise to solutions of the telegraph equation which contain propagating discontinuities. It is shown that the magnitudes of these discontinuities, as a function of distance, can be found without the need of solving the governing equation. Thus, for digital signals in particular, signal strength at a given distance from the input source can be easily determined. Furthermore, the magnitudes of these discontinuities are found to be independent of both the dispersion coefficient k and the elastic coefficient b. In addition, it is shown that, depending on the algebraic sign of k, one of two distinct forms of dispersion is possible and that for small-time intervals, solutions are approximately independent of k.

No abstract

Classically, a compressible, isothermal, viscous fluid is regarded as a mathematical continuum and its motion is governed by the linearized continuity, Navier-Stokes, and state equations. Unfortunately, solutions of this system are of a diffusive nature and hence do not satisfy causality. However, in the case of a half-space of fluid set to motion by a harmonically vibrating plate the classical equation of motion can, under suitable conditions, be approximated by the damped wave equation. Since this equation is hyperbolic, the resulting solutions satisfy causal requirements. In this work the Laplace transform and other analytical and numerical tools are used to investigate this apparent contradiction. To this end the exact solutions, as well as their special and limiting cases, are found and compared for the two models. The effects of the physical parameters on the solutions and associated quantities are also studied. It is shown that propagating wave fronts are only possible under the hyperbolic model and that the concept of phase speed has different meanings in the two formulations. In addition, discontinuities and shock waves are noted and a physical system is modeled under both formulations. Overall, it is shown that the hyperbolic form gives a more realistic description of the physical problem than does the classical theory. Lastly, a simple mechanical analog is given and connections to viscoelastic fluids are noted. In particular, the research presented here supports the notion that linear compressible, isothermal, viscous fluids can, at least in terms of causality, be better characterized as a type of viscoelastic fluid.