Abstract: In a video gaming environment, a player is enabled to interact with the environment. Further, a score and/or performance of the player in a particular session is machine detected and fed fed back into the gaming environment and a representation of said score and/or performance is displayed in visual form through an item that identifies the player in question. In particular, the method automatically takes up a video image of the player in question as said representation for subsequent video display in said gaming environment.

Abstract: A hand-held control unit is used to control a display screen-oriented computer game. The unit comprises a housing with a front side, a set of control members lying generally flush with the front side for through actuating thereof controlling actions of in-game display items, and an output for communicating representative signals of the actuating to the computer for controlling game actions displayed on the display screen. The control unit has at the front side a representation of an associated game item which generally coincides with one or more of the control members that are thereby functionally integrated with the representation.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing an X-ray optical element. The element consists of a body of a material having a shape memory. At a high temperature, i.e. a temperature beyond the transition temperature of the material, the body is pressed so as to impart a first, desired shape. A surface of the body is thus shaped for example, as a logarithmic spiral or as another curved shape. After cooling to a low temperature, i.e. a temperature below the transition temperature of the material, a second, machinable shape is imparted to the body, preferably a flat surface. A number of precision operations can be performed on this second, machinable shape, for example polishing to a surface roughness of 0.5 nm RMS. Subsequent to this precision operation, the body is heated and resumes its first, desired shape which is retained after cooling. The body can be provided, if desired, with a comparatively thin surface layer which is also polished in the flat shape and which bends when the body resumes the desired shape.

Abstract: For use in multimedia or other environments, a virtual pinball/video arcade game displays one or more computer-generated runner elements, runner inject elements, and runner interactivity elements. It has a programmed computer for simulating movement of the runner elements. This is interfered with by mechanical interactions between said inject and interactivity elements, the simulated movement of the one or more runner elements, and user actions on a user interface. In particular, the computer is furthermore connected to the housing as part of the user interface. A feedback actuator is controlled by the computer for imparting low-frequency primary physical interactions to the housing as a reaction on selected ones of the simulated mechanical interactions.

Abstract: An X-ray collimator in an X-ray analysis apparatus, consisting of plates of X-ray absorbing material, for example tungsten, which are arranged transversely of the X-ray beam. The plates are identical and provided with a pattern of rows and columns of rectangular openings 40, 42 which have a vertical period p.sub.1 and a horizontal period p.sub.2. The openings take up an opening fraction t.sub.1 and t.sub.2 of the periods p.sub.1 and p.sub.2, respectively. The plates are arranged in the collimator in a series in which the ratio between two successive distances (d.sub.i, d.sub.i+1) between the plates of the series is equal to the given opening fractions t.sub.1 and t.sub.2 of the periods p.sub.1 and p.sub.2, respectively. It has been found that all directions in the X-ray beam are then intercepted except for the direction to be collimated. Moreover, this configuration also enables transverse collimation.

Abstract: An X-ray diffraction device comprises a water-cooled X-ray tube which exhibits a line focus as well as, after rotation through 90.degree., a point focus. Contrary to customary X-ray tubes, the cooling water is not supplied via the housing (12) in which the X-ray tube is mounted, but the cooling water connections (52, 54) are provided directly on the X-ray tube at the same side of the robe where the high-voltage connector (16) is provided. As a result, rotation of the robe upon changing over from a line focus to a point focus is not hampered by cooling water connections inside the housing of the tube. An additional advantage of this method of supplying the cooling water resides in the fact that the robe base (56) can also be cooled via these ducts. The base would otherwise become inadmissibly hot due to the loss heat from the filament (60).

Abstract: An electron-optical system directs an electron beam which emanates, for example from a line-shaped or annular emissive cathode element, onto an anode target face in a collimated fashion so that a large part of reflected electrons is incident on the target face again, thus contributing to the generating of X-rays. The construction of the electron-optical system and the high degree of re-incidence of scattered electrons allows for a minimum distance between the anode target face and the exit window. A filament of the cathode may be constructed so as to achieve an optimally uniform operating temperature over a comparatively large part of its length.