Abstract: A muffler of a muffler made of a titanium alloy wherein advantages of lightness and corrosion-resistance that the titanium alloy originally has are used, and heat-resistance and oxidization-resistance are heightened without damaging costs or workability so that the span of life and flexibility for design are improved. A muffler made of a titanium alloy, wherein the titanium alloy comprises 0.5-2.3% by mass of Al and optionally one or more other alloying elements. The metal texture may comprise more than 90% by volume of the &agr; phase and 20% or less of the &bgr; phase. This muffler is superior in heat-resistance, oxidization-resistance, weldability and so on.

Abstract: A semiconductor failure analysis system which includes a failure information collection unit for collecting, by bit, failure information concerned with a failure of a semiconductor, an inspection unit for examining relations between various types of inspection data obtained by inspection of the semiconductor and for examining relations between said inspection data and the failure information, a storage unit for storing information concerned with design of said semiconductor, an analysis unit for analyzing the failure information on the basis of output information output from the failure information collection unit, output information output from the inspection unit and design information stored in the storage unit, a display unit for displaying at least one of the result of analysis output from the analysis unit and the failure information, a failure cause estimation unit for estimating a cause of said failure information, and an unit for feeding the estimated cause of said failure information back to a proce

Abstract: A semiconductor failure analysis system which includes a failure information collection unit for collecting, by bit, failure information concerned with a failure of a semiconductor, an inspection unit for examining relations between various types of inspection data obtained by inspection of the semiconductor and for examining relations between said inspection data and the failure information, a storage unit for storing information concerned with design of said semiconductor, an analysis unit for analyzing the failure information on the basis of output information output from the failure information collection unit, output information output from the inspection unit and design information stored in the storage unit, a display unit for displaying at least one of the result of analysis output from the analysis unit and the failure information, a failure cause estimation unit for estimating a cause of said failure information, and an unit for feeding the estimated cause of said failure information back to a proce

Abstract: A compound nanotube (17) is made of carbon nitride (CN). Another compound nanotube (19) is made of boron carbide (BC.sub.3) with alkali metal doped. Each of the nanotubes has a distorted configuration of atoms in a predetermined direction with a lower symmetry than that of an undistorted configuration. A solenoid element comprises the compound nanotube. A magnetic generating apparatus comprises a compound nanotube, means for applying a tensile to the compound nanotube in a longitudinal direction of said compound nanotube, and means for flowing current at both ends of the compound nanotube. Each of the nanotubes is applied with mechanical stress to controllably vary a current flow direction. Specifically, tensile stress is applied in a longitudinal direction (21) of the nanotube so that an electric current spirally flows around a surface of the nanotube along a spiral path having a diameter of several nanometers, as shown in arrows (23).

Abstract: A superconducting magnet apparatus which includes a cryostat vessel for containing therein a coolant for realizing superconductivity, a magnetic flux generating unit disposed within the cryostat vessel and including a superconducting multilayer composite member constituting a sustaining medium for a persistent current which generates a magnetic flux along a center axis of a predetermined magnetic field space, and members holding the magnetic field generating unit within the cryostat vessel.

Abstract: This invention relates to an automation system for nuclear power plants. This system comprises operation plan making means, supervisory control means, and control means for controlling controlled objects. The operation plan making means makes a new operation plan to restore a normal operating condition which existed before the plant condition deviated from the normal operation range. The supervisory control means outputs control commands according to an operation plan under abnormal condition when the plant operating condition deviates from the normal operation range. Furthermore, the supervisory control means outputs control commands according a new operation plan prepared by the operation plan making means after an operation according to an operation plan under abnormal condition has been finished. The control means for controlling controlled objects controls the controlled objects according to control commands output from the supervisory control means.

Abstract: Decreasing the speed of a pump supplying cooling water to the core in the boiling water type nuclear reactor based on a trip signal that is generated when a pump supplying feed water is tripped. This performs a first operation to decrease the nuclear reactor power to a first fixed value. A second operation lowers the nuclear reactor power to a second fixed value that is lower than the first fixed value and that prevents run-out of other first pumps in operation. The first fixed value is lower than the reactor power at the moment when the first pump is tripped. The steam flow is decreased substantially simultaneously with the decrease of the feed water flow. Thereby, the decrease of the steam flow is carried out in an early stage when the feed water pump is tripped and the possibility of nuclear reactor scram is reduced.

Abstract: A method for imaging the coronary artery of a living body using nuclear magnetic resonance, wherein a patient is located in a static magneic field and the heart cycle of the patient is detected with the heart dilation period of the patient being determined in accordance with the detected heart cycle. Then, the coronary artery of the patient is portrayed on the nuclear magnetic resonance signal generated by applying high-frequency energy to the patient during the determined heart dilation period.

Abstract: A radio frequency magnetic field is applied to a sample or object to be examined which is placed in a static magnetic field and oscillates periodically, and nuclear magnetic resonance signals are generated from the sample. The NMR signal is transformed to a signal having a form wherein a still image component and an artifact component resulting from the periodic oscillation, that are contained in the NMR signal, are mutually separated, and then processing is applied to the signal thus transformed so as to remove the artifact component therefrom. Inverse transform to the transform described above is applied to the signal thus processed.

Abstract: A spin in a predetermined voxel of the brain surface is excited to cause the spin to perform steady state free precession which causes signals, of which a time-reversed FID signal relating to spin-spin relaxation time T2 is enhanced to form an image representative of a thickness of cerebrospinal fluid existent in the brain surface, that is, of a brain surface structure. The spin can be caused to perform the steady state free precession by applying a pulse at the rate of a short repetition time and therefore an image of the brain surface can be obtained within a short period of time.

Abstract: A nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus for deriving a signal from a moving part of an object to be imaged, includes a gradient magnetic field generator for applying a gradient magnetic field to the object; and a radio frequency magnetic field generator for applying a radio frequency magnetic field to the object to present a nuclear magnetic resonance phenomenon.

Abstract: A ski boot provided with an air pack and a device for controlling the fastening force applied by the air pack on a skier's foot. It has an air pump connected to the air pack through a valve, a pressure sensor for sensing the air pressure in the air pack, a drive for the air pump, and a control circuit operative in response to the signal from the pressure sensor for controlling the valve and the drive for the air pump. A skier can adjust the fastening force easily to a desired value.