Topic Review
Wearable Airbags
Fall-related injury is a common cause of mortality among the elderly. Hip fractures are especially dangerous and can even be fatal. In this study, a threshold-based preimpact fall detection algorithm was developed for wearable airbags that minimize the impact of falls on the user’s body. Acceleration sum vector magnitude (SVM), angular velocity SVM, and vertical angle, calculated using inertial data captured from an inertial measurement unit were used to develop the algorithm. To calculate the vertical angle accurately, a complementary filter with a proportional integral controller was used to minimize integration errors and the effect of external impacts. In total, 30 healthy young men were recruited to simulate 6 types of falls and 14 activities of daily life. The developed algorithm achieved 100% sensitivity, 97.54% specificity, 98.33% accuracy, and an average lead time (i.e., the time between the fall detection and the collision) of 280.25 ± 10.29 ms with our experimental data, whereas it achieved 96.1% sensitivity, 90.5% specificity, and 92.4% accuracy with the SisFall public dataset. This paper demonstrates that the algorithm achieved a high accuracy using our experimental data, which included some highly dynamic motions that had not been tested previously.
  • 1.0K
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Weak Interaction
In nuclear physics and particle physics, the weak interaction, which is also often called the weak force or weak nuclear force, is one of the four known fundamental interactions, with the others being electromagnetism, the strong interaction, and gravitation. It is the mechanism of interaction between subatomic particles that is responsible for the radioactive decay of atoms. The weak interaction participates in nuclear fission, and the theory describing its behaviour and effects is sometimes called quantum flavourdynamics (QFD). However, the term QFD is rarely used, because the weak force is better understood by electroweak theory (EWT). The effective range of the weak force is limited to subatomic distances, and is less than the diameter of a proton.
  • 2.9K
  • 27 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Waveguide-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
Photonic chip-based methods for spectroscopy are of considerable interest due to their applicability to compact, low-power devices for the detection of small molecules. Waveguide-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (WERS) has emerged over the past decade as a particularly interesting approach. WERS utilizes the evanescent field of a waveguide to generate Raman scattering from nearby analyte molecules, and then collects the scattered photons back into the waveguide. The large interacting area and strong electromagnetic field provided by the waveguide allow for significant enhancements in Raman signal over conventional approaches.
  • 377
  • 29 Dec 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Wavefunction Collapse Broadens Molecular Spectrum
Spectral lines in the optical spectra of atoms, molecules, and other quantum systems are characterized by a range of frequencies ω or a range of wavelengths λ=2πc/ω, where c is the speed of light. Such a frequency or wavelength range is called the width of the spectral lines (linewidth). It is influenced by many specific factors. Thermal motion of the molecules results in broadening of the lines as a result of the Doppler effect (thermal broadening) and by their collisions (pressure broadening). The electric fields of neighboring molecules lead to Stark broadening. The linewidth to be considered here is the so-called parametric broadening (PB) of spectral lines in the optical spectrum. PB can be considered the fundamental type of broadening of the electronic vibrational–rotational (rovibronic) transitions in a molecule, which is the direct manifestation of the basic concept of the collapse of a wavefunction that is postulated by the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. Thus, that concept appears to be not only valid but is also useful for predicting physically observable phenomena.
  • 748
  • 11 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Wavefront shaping concepts in OCT
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables three-dimensional imaging with resolution on the micrometer scale. The technique relies on the time-of-flight gated detection of light scattered from a sample and has received enormous interest in applications as versatile as non-destructive testing, metrology and non-invasive medical diagnostics. However, in strongly scattering media such as biological tissue, the penetration depth and imaging resolution are limited. Combining OCT imaging with wavefront shaping approaches significantly leverages the capabilities of the technique by controlling the scattered light field through manipulation of the field incident on the sample.
  • 762
  • 24 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Wavefront Sensors and Aberration Sensors in Ophthalmology
The wavefront sensor is one of the main elements of the adaptive vision correction system. Its task is to measure the aberrations of the wavefront and transmit the results of these measurements to the processing device. The main causes of wavefront aberrations in the eye are the shape and optical properties of the cornea, pupil and lens. In modern diagnostic devices, wave aberrations are described in terms of Zernike polynomials (OSA and ANSI standards). Nowadays, there are a wide variety of wavefront sensors.
  • 81
  • 02 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Wave-particle Duality Relation
The Wave–particle duality relation, often loosely referred to as the Englert–Greenberger–Yasin duality relation, or the Englert–Greenberger relation, relates the visibility, [math]\displaystyle{ V }[/math], of interference fringes with the definiteness, or distinguishability, [math]\displaystyle{ D }[/math], of the photons' paths in quantum optics. As an inequality: Although it is treated as a single relation, it actually involves two separate relations, which mathematically look very similar. The first relation, derived by Greenberger and Yasin in 1988, is expressed as [math]\displaystyle{ P^2+ V^2\le 1 \, }[/math]. It was later extended by Jaeger, Shimony, and Vaidman in 1995. This relation involves correctly guessing which of the two paths the particle would have taken, based on the initial preparation. Here [math]\displaystyle{ P }[/math] can be called the predictability. An year later Englert, in 1996, derived a related relation which dealt with experimentally acquiring knowledge of the two paths using an apparatus, as opposed to predicting the path based on initial preparation This relation is [math]\displaystyle{ D^2+ V^2\le 1 \, }[/math]. Here [math]\displaystyle{ D }[/math] is called the distinguishability. The significance of the relations is that they express quantitatively the complementarity of wave and particle viewpoints in double slit experiments. The complementarity principle in quantum mechanics, formulated by Niels Bohr, says that the wave and particle aspects of quantum objects cannot be observed at the same time. The wave–particle duality relations makes Bohr's statement more quantitative – an experiment can yield partial information about the wave and particle aspects of a photon simultaneously, but the more information a particular experiment gives about one, the less it will give about the other. The predictability [math]\displaystyle{ P }[/math] which expresses the degree of probability with which path of the particle can be correctly guessed, and the distinguishability [math]\displaystyle{ D }[/math] which is the degree to which one can experimentally acquire information about the path of the particle, are measures of the particle information, while the visibility of the fringes [math]\displaystyle{ V }[/math] is a measure of the wave information. The relations shows that they are inversely related, as one goes up, the other goes down.
  • 339
  • 27 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Water-Based Liquid Scintillators
Monolithic optical detectors, either water–Cherenkov detectors or liquid scintillator detectors, are a well-established technique in neutrino physics. Using water-based liquid scintillators (WbLS) is an approach that exploits Cherenkov and scintillation signals simultaneously; i.e., water is loaded with 1% to 10% liquid scintillator. 
  • 438
  • 04 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Water Retention on Mathematical Surfaces
Water retention on mathematical surfaces is the catching of water in ponds on a surface of cells of various heights on a regular array such as a square lattice, where water is rained down on every cell in the system. The boundaries of the system are open and allow water to flow out. Water will be trapped in ponds, and eventually all ponds will fill to their maximum height, with any additional water flowing over spillways and out the boundaries of the system. The problem is to find the amount of water trapped or retained for a given surface. This has been studied extensively for two mathematical surfaces: magic squares and random surfaces. The model can also be applied to the triangular grid.
  • 469
  • 01 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Water Ice Resources on Shallow Subsurface of Mars
The planet Mars is the most probable among the terrestrial planets in our solar system to support human settlement or colonization in the future. The detection of water ice or liquid water on the shallow subsurface of Mars is a crucial scientific objective for both the Chinese Tianwen-1 and United States Mars 2020 missions, which were launched in 2020. Both missions were equipped with Rover-mounted ground-penetrating radar (GPR) instruments, specifically the RoPeR on the Zhurong rover and the RIMFAX radar on the Perseverance rover. The in situ radar provides unprecedented opportunities to study the distribution of shallow subsurface water ice on Mars with its unique penetrating capability. The presence of water ice on the shallow surface layers of Mars is one of the most significant indicators of habitability on the extraterrestrial planet.
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  • 27 Mar 2024
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