Abstract: A method of exchanging rare-isotope oxygen for common-isotope oxygen in the top several layers of an oxide-containing catalyst is disclosed. A sample of an oxide-containing catalyst is exposed to a flowing stream of reducing gas in an inert carrier gas at a temperature suitable for the removal of the reactive common-isotope oxygen atoms from the surface layer or layers of the catalyst without damaging the catalyst structure. The reduction temperature must be higher than any at which the catalyst will subsequently operate. Sufficient reducing gas is used to allow removal of all of the reactive common-isotope oxygen atoms in the top several layers of the catalyst. The catalyst is then reoxidized with the desired rare-isotope oxygen in sufficient quantity to replace all of the common-isotope oxygen that was removed.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided which greatly reduces the intensity of bright portions of an image while only moderately reducing the brightness of dimmer portions of the image, to thereby compress the range of light intensities to facilitate detection of the image. The apparatus includes a light detector device formed by a chip of photorefractive material. A two-dimensional array of light beams from an object to be detected, passes through a beam splitter to form two arrays of light beams. The two arrays of light beams are directed at different angles against a surface of the chip of photorefractive material, the two arrays of light beams forming coincident images on the surface. One of the two-dimensional arrays of beams emerging from an opposite surface of the chip has a lower range of intensities, to facilitate detection of the object despite very bright spots on its image. The other array of light beams energing from the chip has a greater range of intensities than the unprocessed image of the object.