No abstract

A liquid drop falling in a lighter miscible fluid either undergoes a cascade of fragmentations, each appearing as a dynamic instability, or it mixes by diffusion, depending on the value of a fragmentation number F . F is the ratio of the diffusion time to the time required for the fluid to convectively mix. We assign an accurate experimental value to the critical fragmentation number F,, which appears to be universal. When the fragmentation occurs, the interfacial area increases via successive splittings which display striking symmetries. We present experimental evidence and a qualitative explanation of such a phenomenon.

A portable fibre-probe fluorescence detection system comprising a continuous-wave high-power ultraviolet light emitting diode (UV LED) emitting at 365 nm as excitation source, a bifurcated fibre probe with a six-around-one fibre configuration to illuminate and read from a large target area (∼3.6 mm2) and an integrated PC-coupled spectrometer has been developed. The construction, calibration and operation of the fluorescence detection system are described. Demonstrative test measurements with the system for possible inspection of different ripening stages on some batches of horticultural and agricultural products (lemon, mandarin, banana leaf and ivy leaf) have been performed and results presented. The system is portable, comparatively low cost, easily operated and relative immune to ambient light, thus being suitable for field measurements.

The use of violet laser-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (LICF) emission spectra to monitor the growth of five varieties of cowpea in the University of Cape Coast Botanical Garden is presented. Radiation from a continuous-wave violet laser diode emitting at 396 nm through a fibre is closely incident on in vivo leaves of cowpea to excite chlorophyll fluorescence, which is detected by an integrated spectrometer with CCD readout. The chlorophyll fluorescence spectra with peaks at 683 and 731 nm were used for growth monitoring of the cowpea plants over three weeks and analysed using Gaussian spectral functions with curve fitted parameters to determine the peak positions, area under the spectral curve and the intensity ratio F683/F731. The variation in the intensity ratio of the chlorophyll bands showed sensitive changes indicating the photosynthetic activity of the cowpea varieties. A discussion of the fluorescence result as compared to conventional assessment is presented with regard to discrimination between the cowpea varieties in terms of crop yield performance.