Abstract: Amorphous metallic material in ribbon form is employed to provide hermeticity of cable elements, particularly optical fibres. The metallic glass CuZr has a low permeability for hydrogen, particularly when erbium is included. Thus sealing optical fibres (1) in amorphous metal tubes (3) will prevent increase in attenuation of such fibres when used in submarine cables by preventing contact with hydrogen generated in such cables during use thereof.

Abstract: A power station boiler condensate water monitor employs a light-scatter cell for the detection of oil and/or particulates in the water. In order to determine background scatter levels, provision is made to alternatively pass clean water through the cell (FLUSH). The offset voltages obtained from the detector outputs when clean water is employed are compensated for differences in temperature between the boiler condensate water and the clean water before substraction from the detector outputs when boiler condensate water is employed. The monitor is capable of detecting oil levels of less than 2 parts per million.

Abstract: Certain materials (e.g. polymers, glasses) exhibit the photo-elastic effect, whereby when they are subject to stress become birefringent, which influences a light beam passing through the glass. This beam, e.g. from a laser is collimated and circularly polarized as it approaches the glass and is again polarized as it leaves the glass. This stress is applied, according to this invention, by magnetostrictive strips on the glass which are influenced, by the magnetic field to be measured or the AC bias field. A miniaturized arrangement using this principle is described.

Abstract: A solid-state heading sensor is comprised by a three-axis Hall effect magnetometer and a three-axis accelerometer. The magnetometer is comprised by a cube-like structure (10) of non-magnetic material on each of three orthogonally related faces of which is located a respective Hall effect device (11, 12, 13), for example of GaAs. The three-axis accelerometer may be comprised by a three-axis module (15) disposed in a recess in the cube-like structure, or by three separate accelerometer structures (23, 24, 25), for example planar etched silicon accelerometers, each disposed on a respective one of the orthogonally related faces adjacent the Hall effect device (20, 21, 22) thereon.

Abstract: A transparent glass article, e.g., for use as an inspection window in contact with water, including at least a surface layer of a glass which is adapted to dissolve at a preselected uniform rate. Slow dissolution of the glass provides a continuously renewable clear surface.