Langley Research Center

About: Langley Research Center is a facility organization based out in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Mach number & Wind tunnel. The organization has 15945 authors who have published 37602 publications receiving 821623 citations. The organization is also known as: NASA Langley & NASA Langley Research Center.

The Use, Design, Synthesis, and Properties of High Performance/High Temperature Polymers: An Overview

Abstract: An overview of the definition and development of, factors that contribute to, applications and markets for and the design of high performance/high temperature polymers is presented. Of the many families of high performance/high temperature polymers known, the most popular families consisting of polyimides, polyarylene ethers and phenylethynyl-terninated oligomers are used to demonstrate the basic principles in polymer development. Chemical structure/property relationships are used to show how polymers can be designed with a unique combination of properties. The estimated worldwide market for high temperature polymers in 2000 was 206,700,000 kgs constituting $4.36B with polyimides comprising 3,982,000 kgs or $1 .07B (24% of the dollar value). With an improvement in the world economy, this market is predicted to grow substantially

Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA) Edition-4.0 Data Product

Abstract: The Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) Energy Balanced and Filled (EBAF) top-of-atmosphere (TOA), Edition 4.0 (Ed4.0), data product is described. EBAF Ed4.0 is an update to EBAF Ed2.8, incorporating all of the Ed4.0 suite of CERES data product algorithm improvements and consistent input datasets throughout the record. A one-time adjustment to shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) TOA fluxes is made to ensure that global mean net TOA flux for July 2005–June 2015 is consistent with the in situ value of 0.71 W m−2. While global mean all-sky TOA flux differences between Ed4.0 and Ed2.8 are within 0.5 W m−2, appreciable SW regional differences occur over marine stratocumulus and snow/sea ice regions. Marked regional differences in SW clear-sky TOA flux occur in polar regions and dust areas over ocean. Clear-sky LW TOA fluxes in EBAF Ed4.0 exceed Ed2.8 in regions of persistent high cloud cover. Owing to substantial differences in global mean clear-sky TOA fluxes, the net cloud radiative eff...

Absorption of solar radiation by clouds: observations versus models.

Abstract: There has been a long history of unexplained anomalous absorption of solar radiation by clouds. Collocated satellite and surface measurements of solar radiation at five geographically diverse locations showed significant solar absorption by clouds, resulting in about 25 watts per square meter more global-mean absorption by the cloudy atmosphere than predicted by theoretical models. It has often been suggested that tropospheric aerosols could increase cloud absorption. But these aerosols are temporally and spatially heterogeneous, whereas the observed cloud absorption is remarkably invariant with respect to season and location. Although its physical cause is unknown, enhanced cloud absorption substantially alters our understanding of the atmosphere's energy budget.

Microwave remote sensing

Abstract: Microwave remote sensing is rapidly reaching the stage af maturity enjoyed by optical and infra-red systems. The value of microwaves is that the atmosphere is almost transparent within this band. Microwaves therefore offer a view of the earth surface that is completely unobstructed by clouds. Both passive and active microwave systems have been utilized for measuring several geophysical phenomena. Microwave radiometers have, for example, measured ocean temperature and salinity, winds over the ocean, soil moisture through vegetation, and the age of arctic ice. Active microwave systems (scatterometers, short pulse altimeters, and imaging radars) have proven their capability to measure wind speed and direction over the ocean, ocean wave height, the topography of the earth, and the conditions of crops. Numerous other applications can be found in the recent technical literature. As detailed examples of the value of microwave remote sensing, this article describes two systems which are approaching an operational stage.