Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a sodium-sulfur battery suitable for use in an electric power storage system and an electric vehicle, wherein said battery permits reconciling improvement in battery efficiency with enlargement in battery capacity.

Abstract: There are provided a sodium-sulfur battery system suitable for shifting the peak of an electric power line, and a method of operating the sodium-sulfur battery system and an electric power line system using the sodium-sulfur battery system. In a sodium-sulfur battery system comprising a battery module having a sodium-sulfur battery contained in a thermal insulation container, an amount of peak-shift of an electric power line, which can be performed by the battery module, is calculated using a daily load characteristic of the electric power line and a discharge characteristic of the battery module, and an allowable amount of heat generation in battery and an allowable amount of discharge, and discharge of the battery module is controlled using the calculated result.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for providing information on secondary batteries for power storage to an electric power consumer in order to determine whether or not a secondary battery should be installed. A communication terminal (Internet terminal) sends to a consumer information including inquiries on electric power used by the consumer, and/or inquiries on limitations of an area and a height of a site usable for installation of a secondary battery at the location of the electric power consumer.

Abstract: A highly reliable sodium-sulfur battery includes a cell container for the positive electrode which is hardly deteriorated by corrosion. The cell container for the positive electrode is assembled by integrating plural members made of a high corrosion resistant alloy containing Cr, or a Co base alloy containing Cr, Ni and Mo, wherein carbide containing at least one of Cr, W and Mo is precipitated, and a readily deformable portion is provided to the cell container for the positive electrode, whereby reliability of the sodium-sulfur battery can be significantly improved.

Abstract: An electric power system effective for load leveling includes an electric power meter which measures the power that is charged from a generating facility into an electric power storing secondary battery via ac/dc converters, and also measures the discharged power that is supplied from the electric power storing secondary battery to a load via the ac/dc converters. A processing unit is provided which calculates a difference of an electric power fee from the quantity of charged power and quantity of discharged power measured by the electric power meter and respective unit prices of electric power, and then calculates the price for using the electric power storing secondary battery based on the electric power fee. The processing unit may be installed either on a manufacturer/lender's side or on an electric power consumer's side.

Abstract: A highly reliable sodium-sulfur battery includes a cell container for the positive electrode which is hardly deteriorated by corrosion. The cell container for the positive electrode is made of a Co base alloy containing Cr, Ni, and Mo, wherein carbide containing at least one of Cr, W, and Mo is precipitated, or the cell container for positive electrode is assembled by integrating plural members made of a high corrosion resistance alloy containing Cr by welding, and a readily deformable portion is provided to the cell container for positive electrode, whereby the reliability of the sodium-sulfur battery can be significantly improved.

Abstract: A superconducting oxide wire and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The wire comprises a pipe made of a metal and a superconducting oxide material filling the interior of the pipe and comprising superconducting oxide grains which are bonded to each other and which have a perovskite crystal structure having a C face and a C axis. The superconducting oxide grains contain more than 50 vol % of plate-shaped grains of which the length in the direction of the C face is greater than the length in the direction of the C axis. The C faces of most the plate-shaped grains are arranged to be directed toward longitudinal axis of the pipe.

Abstract: A method of treating a metal alkoxide solution to form metal oxide prepolymer molecules therein is characterized by irradiating the solution with light energy having a wavelength selected to break the metal-alkoxy group bond in said metal alkoxide, thereby to form the metal oxide prepolymer molecules in the solution. The prepolymer is converted into polymeric metal oxide gel. The stoichiometry of the oxide is high. A gel of carbon content below 4 atomic % can be achieved by the step of decarbonizing the gel, preferably using light to produce ozone.

Abstract: A method of treating a metal alkoxide solution to form metal oxide prepolymer molecules therein is characterized by irradiating the solution with light energy having a wavelength selected to break the metal-alkoxy group bond in said metal alkoxide, thereby to form the metal oxide prepolymer molecules in the solution. The prepolymer is converted into polymeric metal oxide gel. The stoichiometry of the oxide is high. A gel of carbon content below 4 atomic % can be achieved by the step of decarbonizing the gel, preferably using light to produce ozone.

Abstract: A method of treating a metal alkoxide solution to form metal oxide prepolymer molecules therein is characterized by irradiating the solution with light energy having a wavelength selected to break the metal-alkoxy group bond in said metal alkoxide, thereby to form the metal oxide prepolymer molecules in the solution. The prepolymer is converted into polymeric metal oxide gel. The stoichiometry of the oxide is high. A gel of carbon content below 4 atomic % can be achieved by the step of decarbonizing the gel, preferably using light to produce ozone.

Abstract: The invention provides a conductor comprising a reaction-sintered body of a conductive nitride produced from a powder of at least one metal selected from Ti, Zr, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Ce, Co, Mn, Hf, W, Mo, Fe, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Yb, Lu, Th and Ni, and a process for producing such conductor by heating a molding containing a metal powder in a nitriding gaseous atmosphere containing no CO gas.

Abstract: An exothermic resistor for use in a hot wire air flow meter, having a wire (2) in the form of a coil made of a metal, a pair of lead wires (3) connected to connections (21) formed at the opposite ends of the coil, and a support member (4) which integrally supports the connections as well as the coil located between the connections. An example of the support member is in the form of a tubular cylinder closed at its both ends. The support member is formed from glass only or formed of a layer of a glass-ceramic-composite material. The hot wire air flow meter is designed to be easely mass-produced and to have improved transient response characteristics with respect to abrupt changes in the air flow rate.

Abstract: An LSI mounting substrate having a multilayered thin film wiring portion, with the thin film wiring portion being divided into wiring units each composed of a plurality of wiring layers, with the wirings between the units being electrically connected through connecting pads defined in the same surface as that of a surface conductive layer of the unit.

Abstract: The invention provides a conductor comprising a reaction-sintered body of a conductive nitride produced from a powder of at least one metal selected from Ti, Zr, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Ce, Co, Mn, Hf, W, Mo, Fe, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Yb, Lu, Th and Ni, and a process for producing such conductor by heating a molding containing a metal powder in a nitriding gaseous atmosphere containing no CO gas.

Abstract: A silicon chip is mounted on a portion a heat dissipation body, and a carrier film is inserted into a resin composition material. Each of input/output electrode portions of the silicon chip is connected electrically to each of lead wires of the carrier film. The electrical connection between the silicon chip and a circuit substrate is carried out by the carrier film. Another portion of the heat dissipation body is exposed on a surface of the resin composition material. A fixing means for fixing the resin composition material is formed integrally to the resin composition material or to the heat dissipation body. The resin composition material is fixed to a circuit substrate through the fixing means. The mechanical fixing between the resin composition material and the circuit substrate is carried out by the fixing means, which is separate from the carrier film. A heat dissipation fin may be provided on the heat dissipation body.

Abstract: A method of treating a metal alkoxide solution to form metal oxide prepolymer molecules therein is characterized by irradiating the solution with light energy having a wavelength selected to break the metal-alkoxy group bond in said metal alkoxide, thereby to form the metal oxide prepolymer molecules in the solution. The prepolymer is converted into polymeric metal oxide gel. The stoichiometry of the oxide is high. A gel of carbon content below 4 atomic % can be achieved by the step of decarbonizing the gel, preferably using light to produce ozone.

Abstract: The present invention is a composite ceramic structure having a porosity of 5 to 40% by volume comprising particles selected from the group consisting of grains and whiskers of at least one inorganic compound AB, where B is oxygen, nitrogen or carbon and A is any metal so the difference in electronegativity between A and B is less than 1.7; or particles selected from the group consisting of grains and whiskers of an inorganic compound, where there is a difference of 1.7 and higher between the components, and having layers of the inorganic compound AB formed on the surfaces of the particles. The particles are bonded together by silicon nitride particles having an average particle size of less than 0.2 micron.

Abstract: A structure of a nuclear fusion reactor having a vacuum vessel in which hydrogen isotope plasma is enclosed and a confining magnetic field generating coil for confining said plasma at a predetermined position in said vacuum vessel. It comprises a low tritium-permeable layer having lower tritium-permeability than that of a cooling metal base for forming a refrigerant passage for cooling the vacuum vessel on at least the surface adjacent to said plasma enclosed and a heat resistant and insulating fire member of the level higher than that of said cooling metal base for thermally shielding said low tritium-permeable layer from said plasma or corpuscular rays is formed on the low tritium-permeable layer. The similar processings are applied to the cooling metal base for forming the refrigerant passage for cooling a divertor disposed in the vacuum vessel and for neutralizing ionized corpuscles so as to exhaust them.

Abstract: A superconducting oxide wire and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The wire comprises a pipe made of a metal and a superconducting oxide material filling the interior of the pipe and comprising superconducting oxide grains which are bonded to each other and which have a perovskite crystal structure having a C face and a C axis. The superconducting oxide grains contain more than 50 vol % of plate-shaped grains of which the length in the direction of the C face is greater than the length in the direction of the C axis. The C faces of most the plate-shaped grains are arranged to be directed toward longitudinal axis of the pipe.

Abstract: The invention provides a conductor comprising a reaction-sintered body of a conductive nitride produced from a powder of at least one metal selected from Ti, Zr, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Ce, Co, Mn, Hf, W, Mo, Fe, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Yb, Lu, Th and Ni, and a process for producing such conductor by heating a molding containing a metal powder in a nitriding gaseous atmosphere containing no CO gas.