6887 results about "Liquid medium" patented technology

Disclosed is a liquid immersion type exposure apparatus which is applicable not only to a liquid immersion exposure apparatus of the type that an exposure substrate as a whole is immersed in a liquid vessel but also to a liquid immersion exposure apparatus of the type that a liquid medium is held in a portion between the exposure substrate and a termination end portion of a projection optical system, and by which production of bubbles can be reduced without interference with exposure. In one preferred from, a degassing system for removing a gas dissolved in the liquid is provided in a liquid medium supplying path and / or a liquid medium collecting path, by which production of bubbles is reduced sufficiently.

Disclosed is an exposure apparatus which includes a projection optical system for projecting a pattern of a reticle onto a substrate, wherein the substrate is exposed through a liquid medium kept at least in a portion between the substrate and an optical element of the projection optical system which optical element is nearest to the substrate, a supplying system for supplying a liquid medium, a collecting system for collecting a liquid medium, and an exhausting system for removing a bubble in the liquid medium through a bubble removing material having such property that it passes a gas but it does not pass a liquid.

A device for storing and vaporizing liquid media can comprise an annular liquid media storage tank and a heater configured to vaporize liquid stored in the annular liquid media storage tank.

Multilayered magnetic pigment flakes and foils are provided. The pigment flakes can have a symmetrical coating structure on opposing sides of a magnetic core, or can be formed with encapsulating coatings around the magnetic core. The magnetic core can be a magnetic layer between reflector or dielectric layers, a dielectric layer between magnetic layers, or only a magnetic layer. Some embodiments of the pigment flakes and foils exhibit a discrete color shift so as to have distinct colors at differing angles of incident light or viewing. The pigment flakes can be interspersed into liquid media such as paints or inks to produce colorant compositions for subsequent application to objects or papers. The foils can be laminated to various objects or can be formed on a carrier substrate.

Interference pigment flakes and foils are provided which have luminescent and color-shifting properties. A luminescent material coating structure is provided which partially covers or encapsulates a color-shifting pigment flake, or covers the outer surface of a foil. The pigment flakes can have a symmetrical coating structure on opposing sides of a core layer, can have an asymmetrical coating structure with all of the layers on one side of the core layer, or can be formed with encapsulating coatings around the core layer. The coating structure of the flakes and foils includes a core layer, a dielectric layer overlying the core layer, and an absorber layer overlying the dielectric layer. The luminescent pigment flakes and foils exhibit a discrete color shift so as to have a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. The luminescent pigment flakes can be interspersed into liquid media such as paints or inks to produce colorant materials for subsequent application to objects or papers. The luminescent foils can be laminated to various objects or can be formed on a carrier substrate.

Certain embodiments and aspects of the present invention relate to photobioreactor apparatus (100) designed to contain a liquid medium (108) comprising at least one species of photosynthetic organism therein, and to methods of using the photobioreactor apparatus (100) as part of a gas-treatment process and system able to at least partially remove certain undesirable pollutants from a gas stream (608). In certain embodiments, the disclosed photobioreactor apparatus (100 can be utilized as part of an integrated combustion method and system, wherein photosynthetic organisms utilized within the photobioreactor (100) at least partially remove certain pollutant compounds contained within combustion gases, e.g. CO2 and / or NOX, and are subsequently harvested from the photobioreactor (100), processed, and utilized as a fuel source for a combustion device (e.g. an electric power plant generator and / or incinerator).

Certain embodiments and aspects of the present invention relate to photobioreactor apparatus designed to contain a liquid medium comprising at least one species of photosynthetic organisms therein, and to methods of using the photobioreactor apparatus as part of a production process for forming an organic molecule-containing product, such as a polymeric material and / or fuel-grade oil (e.g. biodiesel), from biomass produced in the photobioreactor apparatus. In certain embodiments, the disclosed organic molecule / polymer production systems and methods, photobioreactor apparatus, methods of using such apparatus, and / or gas treatment systems and methods provided herein can be utilized as part of an integrated combustion and polymer and / or fuel-grade oil (e.g. biodiesel) production method and system, wherein photosynthetic organisms utilized within the photobioreactor are used to at least partially remove certain pollutant compounds contained within combustion gases, e.g. CO2 and / or NOx, and are subsequently harvested from the photobioreactor, processed, and utilized as a source for generating polymers and / or organic molecule-containing products (e.g. fuel-grade oil (e.g. biodiesel)) and / or as a fuel source for a combustion device (e.g. an electric power plant generator and / or incinerator).

The present invention provides a method of exfoliating a layered material (e.g., graphite and graphite oxide) to produce nano-scaled platelets having a thickness smaller than 100 nm, typically smaller than 10 nm. The method comprises (a) dispersing particles of graphite, graphite oxide, or a non-graphite laminar compound in a liquid medium containing therein a surfactant or dispersing agent to obtain a stable suspension or slurry; and (b) exposing the suspension or slurry to ultrasonic waves at an energy level for a sufficient length of time to produce separated nano-scaled platelets. The nano-scaled platelets are candidate reinforcement fillers for polymer nanocomposites. Nano-scaled graphene platelets are much lower-cost alternatives to carbon nano-tubes or carbon nano-fibers.

A bioreactor with substance injection capability. In one embodiment, the bioreactor includes a first substrate having a first surface, an opposite second surface and edges. The bioreactor further includes a second substrate having a first surface and an opposite second surface, defining a cavity with a bottom surface, where the bottom surface is located therebetween the first surface and the second surface. The first surface of the first substrate is received by the second surface of the second substrate to cover the cavity so as to form a chamber for receiving cells and a liquid medium. A port is formed in the second substrate between the bottom surface and the first surface of the second substrate. As formed, the port is in fluid communication with the chamber to allow a stream of substance to be introduced into the chamber. The stream of substance is controlled so as to provide a gradient, or a concentration gradient of the substance, to the chamber. The stream of substance includes a substance affecting the growth of cells such as chemokine.

Certain embodiments and aspects of the present invention relate to photobioreactor apparatus designed to contain a liquid medium comprising at least one species of photosynthetic organism therein, and to methods of using the photobioreactor apparatus as part of a hydrogen production process and system configured to generate hydrogen with and / or from biomass produced in the photobioreactor apparatus. In certain embodiments, the disclosed hydrogen production systems and methods, photobioreactor apparatus, methods of using such apparatus, and / or gas treatment systems and methods provided herein can be utilized as part of an integrated combustion and hydrogen production method and system, wherein photosynthetic organisms utilized within the photobioreactor are used to at least partially remove certain pollutant compounds contained within combustion gases, e.g. CO2 and / or NOx, and are subsequently harvested from the photobioreactor, processed, and utilized as a fuel source for generating hydrogen and / or as a fuel source for a combustion device (e.g. an electric power plant generator and / or incinerator).

A surgical instrument for delivering energy to lung tissue, for example to cause lung volume reduction. In one embodiment, an elongated catheter has a handle portion that includes an interior chamber that is supplied with a biocompatible liquid media under pressure. An energy source delivers energy to the media to cause a liquid-to-vapor phase change within the interior chamber and ejects a flow of vapor media from the working end of the catheter. The delivery of energy and the flow of vapor are controlled by a computer controller to cause a selected pressure and selected volume of vapor to propagate to the extremities of the airways. Contemporaneously, the vapor undergoes a vapor-to-liquid phase transition which delivers a large amount of energy to airway tissue. The thermal energy delivered is equivalent to the heat of vaporization of the fluid media, which shrinks and collapses the treated airways. The treated tissue is the maintained in a collapsed state by means of aspiration for a short interval to enhance tissue remodeling. Thereafter, the patient's wound healing response causes fibrosis and further remodeling to cause permanent lung volume reduction.

An instrument and method for applying thermal energy to targeted tissue. An instrument and method for tissue thermotherapy. In one embodiment, a method includes providing a vapor source comprising a pump configured for providing a flow of liquid media from a liquid media source into a vaporization chamber having a heating mechanism, actuating the pump to provide the liquid into the vaporization chamber, applying energy from the heating mechanism to convert a substantially water liquid media into a minimum water vapor level for causing an intended effect in tissue. For examples such levels can comprise at least 60% water vapor, at least 70% water vapor, at least 80% water vapor or at least 90% water vapor for causing an intended effect in tissue.

A front-loading syringe which comprises a movable plunger for injecting liquid contrast media, is rotatably mountable on a front wall of an injector housing with an interference fit and in sealed relationship with respect thereto, with or without a pressure jacket, by a first-quick release mechanism. At the same time, the plunger is connected to an injector drive mechanism by a second readily releasable mechanism. During the mounting operation, a sensor reads injection information from an indicator device on the syringe and feeds it to an injector control. An audible-and-tactile indicating mechanism also is activated when the syringe is essentially in the desired mounted position. The syringe may include reinforcing ribs which also function as volumetric gradations, and liquid media presence-or-absence indicating dots which appear circular against a liquid media background and oval-shaped against an air background. An injection end of the syringe comprises an injector portion of reduced diameter inside a screw-threaded attachment portion of larger diameter, and may include loop-shaped reinforcing handle portions.

Interference pigment flakes and foils are provided which have luminescent and color-shifting properties. The pigment flakes can have a symmetrical coating structure on opposing sides of a core layer, can have an asymmetrical coating structure with all of the layers on one side of the core layer, or can be formed with encapsulating coatings around the core layer. The coating structure of the flakes and foils includes a core layer, a dielectric layer overlying the core layer, and an absorber layer overlying the dielectric layer. A luminescent material is incorporated into the flakes or foils as a separate layer or as at least part of one or more of the other layers. The pigment flakes and foils exhibit a discrete color shift so as to have a first color at a first angle of incident light or viewing and a second color different from the first color at a second angle of incident light or viewing. The pigment flakes can be interspersed into liquid media such as paints or inks to produce colorant materials for subsequent application to objects or papers. The foils can be laminated to various objects or can be formed on a carrier substrate.

Integrated systems including a photobioreactor system designed to contain a liquid medium comprising at least one species of phototrophic organism therein, and a facility associated with extracting and / or processing oil extracted from mixtures of oil and solid material, such as an oil sands facility, are described. Processes for using a photobioreactor system as part of a gas-treatment process and system able to at least partially remove certain undesirable pollutants from a byproduct gas stream produced by an oil sands facility are also described. Examples of such pollutants that may be removed include compounds contained within combustion gases, e.g., CO2 and / or NOx. These pollutants processed with the photobioreactor system, and, in some embodiments, biomass produced with the photobioreactor system may be utilized to produce a fuel source (e.g., biodiesel) and cutting stock for further operation of or use in the oil sands facility. Such uses of certain embodiments can provide an efficient means for recycling carbon, thereby reducing CO2 emissions, fuel, and / or cutting stock requirements for a given quantum of energy produced. In addition, in some cases the photobioreactor can be integrated with a holding pond and waste heat from the oil extraction process can be used to maintain the photobioreactor temperature and / or provide energy for other processes. Accordingly, embodiments described herein can improve the overall environmental and economic profile of the oil sands facility.

A color shifting multilayer interference film is provided which may be used to produce flakes for use in colorants having color shifting properties. The flakes can be interspersed into liquid media such as paints or inks which can subsequently be applied to objects or papers to achieve color variations upon shifts in angle of incident light or upon shifts in viewing angle. A five layer design of the interference film includes a first absorber layer, a first dielectric layer on the first absorber layer, a reflector layer on the first dielectric layer, a second dielectric layer on the reflector layer, and a second absorber layer on the second dielectric layer. The first and second dielectric layers are formed to have an optical thickness at a design wavelength that provides a color shift as the angle of incident light or viewing changes.

Disclosed is a method of exfoliating a layered material (e.g., graphite and graphite oxide) to produce nano-scaled platelets having a thickness smaller than 100 nm, typically smaller than 10 nm, and often between 0.34 nm and 1.02 nm. The method comprises: (a) subjecting the layered material in a powder form to a halogen vapor at a first temperature above the melting point or sublimation point of the halogen at a sufficient vapor pressure and for a duration of time sufficient to cause the halogen molecules to penetrate an interlayer space of the layered material, forming a stable halogen-intercalated compound; and (b) heating the halogen-intercalated compound at a second temperature above the boiling point of the halogen, allowing halogen atoms or molecules residing in the interlayer space to exfoliate the layered material to produce the platelets. Alternatively, rather than heating, step (a) is followed by a step of dispersing the halogen-intercalated compound in a liquid medium which is subjected to ultrasonication for exfoliating the halogen-intercalated compound to produce the platelets, which are dispersed in the liquid medium. The halogen can be readily captured and re-used, thereby significantly reducing the impact of halogen to the environment. The method can further include a step of dispersing the platelets in a polymer or monomer solution or suspension as a precursor step to nanocomposite fabrication.

An inline measuring device serves for measuring a medium, especially a gaseous and / or liquid medium, in a pipeline. It includes, a vibration-type measurement pickup and a measuring device electronics electrically coupled with the measurement pickup. The measurement pickup has at least one measuring tube vibrating during operation and communicating with the pipeline, an electromechanical, especially electrodynamic, exciter mechanism acting on the at least one measuring tube for producing and maintaining mechanical oscillations of the measuring tube, a sensor arrangement for producing at least one oscillation measurement signal representing oscillations of the measuring tube and having at least one oscillation sensor arranged on the measuring tube or in its vicinity, and a measurement pickup housing. In an inline measuring device of the invention, it is additionally provided that the measuring device electronics monitors a static internal pressure within the measurement pickup housing and / or a hermeticity of the at least one measuring tube.

An apparatus and method for identifying and / or quantifying a charged biological substance in a conductive liquid medium.

A front-loading syringe which comprises a movable plunger for injecting liquid contrast media, is rotatably mountable on a front wall of an injector housing with an interference fit and in sealed relationship with respect thereto, with or without a pressure jacket, by a first-quick release mechanism. At the same time, the plunger is connected to an injector drive mechanism by a second readily releasable mechanism. During the mounting operation, a sensor reads injection information from an indicator device on the syringe and feeds it to an injector control. An audible-and-tactile indicating mechanism also is activated when the syringe is essentially in the desired mounted position. The syringe may include reinforcing ribs which also function as volumetric gradations, and liquid media presence-or-absence indicating dots which appear circular against a liquid media background and oval-shaped against an air background. An injection end of the syringe comprises an injector portion of reduced diameter inside a screw-threaded attachment portion of larger diameter, and may include loop-shaped reinforcing handle portions.

The invention provides washing machine feet with an automatic levelling function and a washing machine. The bottom of the washing machine is provided with the multiple feet; each foot comprises a fixed part and a moving part, a hollow chamber is formed between each fixed part and the corresponding moving part, and each hollow chamber is filled with a hydraulic medium; every two related feet are mutually connected by a high-pressure oil pipe, so that the hollow chambers of the two feet are mutually communicated, or all the feet are respectively connected to a communicating device by high-pressure oil pipes, so that the hollow chambers of all the feet are mutually communicated; under the action of pressure, the hydraulic medium can flow among the mutually-communicated hollow chambers of the feet to enable the moving parts to stretch and retract, and automatic levelling is performed. The washing machine feet with the automatic levelling function has the advantages that according to a hydraulic principle, each foot is filled with the hydraulic medium, and is enabled to perform adaptive adjustment because of the fluidity of the hydraulic medium under different pressures, the hydraulic medium can flow among the feet, the adjustment range is bigger, and the effect is better.

Multilayer chromatic diffractive pigment flakes and foils are provided having diffractive structures thereon. The diffractive pigment flakes can have a symmetrical stacked coating structure on opposing sides of a reflective core layer, an asymmetrical stacked coating structure on one side of a reflective layer, or can be formed with one or more encapsulating coatings around the reflective core layer. The diffractive pigment flakes can be interspersed into liquid media such as paints or inks to produce diffractive compositions for subsequent application to a variety of objects. The foils can be laminated to various objects or can be formed on a carrier substrate. The diffractive pigment flakes and foils can be formed with a variety of diffractive structures thereon to produce selected optical effects.

Certain embodiments and aspects of the present invention relate to a photobioreactor including covered photobioreactor units through which a liquid medium stream and a gas stream flow. The liquid medium comprises at least one species of phototrophic organism therein. Certain methods of using the photobioreactor system as part of fuel generation system and / or a gas-treatment process or system at least partially remove certain undesirable pollutants from a gas stream. In certain embodiments, a portion of the liquid medium is diverted from a photobioreactor unit and reintroduced upstream of the diversion position. In certain embodiments, the disclosed photobioreactor system, methods of using such systems, and / or gas treatment apparatus and methods provided herein can be used as part of an integrated combustion method and system, wherein photosynthetic organisms used within the photobioreactor are harvested from the photobioreactor, processed, and used as a fuel source for a combustion system such as an electric power plant.

A method and device for electrical emulation of pulsed laser is disclosed. The device utilizes high voltage electrical discharges of sub-microsecond duration in a liquid medium to produce cavitation bubbles of sub-millimeter size for use in high speed precision cutting. Such bubbles are produced by a micro-electrode (1.6) having a central wire having a diameter of 1 microns to 100 microns embedded in an insulator. A coaxial electrode (1.9) surrounds the insulator, and may be spaced from the outer surface of the insulator to provide a path for removing tissue.

Disclosed is an exposure apparatus which includes a projection optical system for projecting a pattern of a reticle onto a substrate, wherein the substrate is exposed through a liquid medium kept at least in a portion between the substrate and an optical element of the projection optical system which optical element is nearest to the substrate, a supplying system for supplying a liquid medium, a collecting system for collecting a liquid medium, and an exhausting system for removing a bubble in the liquid medium through a bubble removing material having such property that it passes a gas but it does not pass a liquid.

The present invention provides a method of exfoliating a layered material (e.g., graphite and graphite oxide) to produce nano-scaled platelets having a thickness smaller than 100 nm, typically smaller than 10 nm. The method comprises (a) dispersing particles of graphite, graphite oxide, or a non-graphite laminar compound in a liquid medium containing therein a surfactant or dispersing agent to obtain a stable suspension or slurry; and (b) exposing the suspension or slurry to ultrasonic waves at an energy level for a sufficient length of time to produce separated nano-scaled platelets. The nano-scaled platelets are candidate reinforcement fillers for polymer nanocomposites. Nano-scaled graphene platelets are much lower-cost alternatives to carbon nano-tubes or carbon nano-fibers.

Certain applicator liquids and method of making the applicator liquids are described. The applicator liquids can be used to form nanotube films or fabrics of controlled properties. An applicator liquid for preparation of a nanotube film or fabric includes a controlled concentration of nanotubes dispersed in a liquid medium containing water. The controlled concentration is sufficient to form a nanotube fabric or film of preselected density and uniformity.

Certain embodiments and aspects of the present invention relate to a photobioreactor including photobioreactor units through which a liquid medium stream and a gas stream flow. The photobioreactor units are floated on a body of water such as a pond or a lake. The liquid medium comprises at least one species of phototrophic organism therein. Certain methods of using the photobioreactor system as part of fuel generation system and / or a gas-treatment process or system at least partially remove certain undesirable pollutants from a gas stream. In certain embodiments, the photobioreactor units are formed of flexible, deformable material and are configured to provide a substantially constant thickness of liquid medium. In certain embodiments, a barrier between the photobioreactor unit and the body of water upon which the unit is floated facilitates thermal communication between the liquid medium and the body of water.