Ksy Corporation

Other

George Emanuel

Theodore A Jacobs

A method of entraining gas in a flowable food product comprising the steps of accelerating the flowable food product in a flow direction through a flow channel that includes a ramp. Gas is injected into the flowable food product transverse to the flow direction through a porous surface or plate while the food product traverses the ramp to generate a froth. An apparatus for entraining gas in a food product, comprises a source of flowable food product and a food product pump to accelerate the food product through a flow channel. A ramp is disposed in the flow channel as well as a porous surface forming a wall of the flow channel opposite the ramp. A source of gas is in communication with the porous surface, wherein gas is entrained in the food product as it passes by the ramp and the porous surface.

Gas entrainment in flowable foods

An improved nozzle and iodine injector system for use in a COIL are disclosed. The improved nozzle is a two-dimensional, minimum length nozzle with a curved sonic line. The iodine injection system utilizes a series of slender struts for iodine injection into the oxygen stream through a series of small orifices that are located along the base of each strut. The struts are located within the nozzle such that the need for a diluent gas for the iodine is reduced. The use of the nozzle and iodine injection system, particularly when combined with the SOG disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/453,148, have the potential for yielding a highly efficient, high power, optically superior COIL device that is compact, scalable, can operate in space, and has good pressure recovery potential.

Laser nozzle and iodine injection for coil

An improved resonator and optical cavity is adapted for use with a chemical laser that has a nozzle upstream of the resonator that emits a gain medium in a flow direction, and a pressure-recovery system downstream of the resonator. The optical resonator comprises first and second optical elements that are spaced apart from one another along an optical axis. Each of the optical elements has a selected geometry and a selected optical transmissivity to permit transmissive outcoupling of a beam of laser radiation from the resonator, the outcoupled beam being transmitted about the optical axis. The transmissivity and geometry of each optical element is selected to define an unstable region between the optical elements and around the optical axis, and a stable region in a region surrounding the unstable region and spaced apart from the optical axis.

Stable/unstable optical cavity resonator for laser

An improved singlet oxygen generator (SOG) and method of using gas phase electronically excited states of oxygen for bio-medical and chemical treatment applications are disclosed. According to the invention, both gas phase O(&#x3a3;) and O(&#x394;) are used for medical treatment, sterilization, and deactivation of biological and chemical agents, including diseased tissue and biological and chemical weapons. The improved SOG is compact and scalable, portable, capable of operating in a zero-gravity or low gravity environment, may use gaseous diluent or buffer gas, and is capable of operating at pressures as high as one atmosphere. The SOG is capable of operating within a short distance of the target site for the electronically excited states of oxygen, which are delivered to the target site via a conduit. The SOG and delivery system provide higher yields of electronically excited oxygen with longer lifetimes suitable for bio-medical applications.

Method of treating biological and chemical agents with gas phase, electronically excited states of oxygen

A pressure-recovery device for a supersonic, continuous wave gas laser is capable of recovering the pressure of the supersonic fluid in an efficient manner and in a relatively light and compact assembly. The supersonic diffuser has a substantially rectangular inlet and top and bottom walls that extend from the inlet in the direction of the flow of gas. The top and bottom walls are separated by a height (l) at the inlet and are connected by two side walls. The side walls are separated by a width (h) at the inlet, wherein the ratio of height to width ranges at the inlet from about 0.001 to about 1. A compression region is formed by the top wall, bottom wall and side walls, wherein said top and bottom walls either are or are not symmetric about a central longitudinal axis of the compression region. The top and bottom walls may each in the shape of a Prandtl-Meyer streamline and the side walls are substantially planar, or the top and bottom walls are each in the shape of a lens analogy streamline and the side walls are substantially planar. A plurality of diffusers may be stacked in series with one another, each of the diffusers being substantially similar in construction.

Supersonic diffuser

An improved singlet delta oxygen generator (SOG) and method of its use are disclosed. The improved SOG is compact and scalable, capable of operating in a zero-gravity or low gravity environment, requires no gaseous diluent or buffer gas, and is capable of operating at pressures as high as one atmosphere. The improved SOG also efficiently utilizes the reactants and produces a O(&#x394;) stream that is largely free of chlorine and water vapor contamination and therefore does not require a BHP regeneration system or a water vapor trap. When used as part of a COIL system, the SOG may be part of a plenum that directly feeds the laser's nozzle. The close proximity of the SOG to the laser cavity allows operation of the SOG at higher pressures without significant depletion of available O(&#x394;) through collisional deactivation.

Efficient method and apparatus for generating singlet delta oxygen at an elevated pressure

A chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) comprises an oxygen generator and a nozzle for accelerating generated oxygen to a high or supersonic velocity. A laser cavity is coupled to the nozzle, wherein the accelerated fluid, with injected iodine, is employed as a laser gain medium. A Brayton cycle outlet pump employs the accelerated oxygen and iodine as a component of a process fluid in a Brayton cycle to raise the static pressure of the accelerated fluid to ambient conditions. The Brayton cycle pump comprises a compressor having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet being coupled to the laser cavity to receive and compress accelerated oxygen. A combustor is coupled to the outlet of the compressor to receive compressed oxygen and ignite and combust it A turbine is coupled to the outlet of the combustor to expand the ignited and combusted gas, wherein the turbine powers the compressor. Multiple reheat stages may be used and regeneration and intercooling may also be used. The use of reheat, regeneration, and intercooling depends on the application.

Laser with Brayton cycle outlet pump

This invention discloses a system for generating a continuous wave (CW) chemically pumped laser in the visible and ultraviolet wavelength regions of the spectrum. This invention employs controlled condensation to produce a non-equilibrium species of metal atoms such as the sodium trimer (Na.sub.3). Continuous, coherent radiation output is achieved by producing from a convergent divergent nozzle a high speed jet of metal vapor carrier by a non-reacting gas such as nitrogen (N.sub.2). By control of the expansion rate and temperature of the metal vapor and carrier gas mixture, a metal trimer species is produced. Also from a convergent divergent nozzle a second high speed jet is produced that carries halogen atoms (such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine) in an inert gas such as helium. The high speed jets of reactants flow in parallel. The two high speed jets of gases, alternating in halogen and metal vapor flow, output into a laser cavity. Upon mixing these gases, a chemical reaction results. As an example, bromine atoms react with Na.sub.3. This reaction produces, among other products, Na.sub.2 *, i.e., electronically excited sodium dimer in an inverted state. These excited, inverted state molecules are produced in an optical cavity whose axis is transverse to the flow. For Na.sub.2 *, coherent radiation is produced at approximately 5270 .ANG. in the visible spectrum. A laser is made to occur in the optical cavity; the product gases then quickly flow or are pumped out of the optical cavity.

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Arlington, TX, United States of America

George Emanuel