The United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of the

George M Wood

Kenneth G Brown

David R Schryer

Billy T Upchurch

Irvin M Miller

Christine M D'Ambrosia

Erik J Kielin

Robert V Hess

Barry D Sidney

Donald M Oglesby

Jag J Singh

Bradley D Leighty

Patricia P Davis

Paul R Boucher

Jacqueline L Schyryer

Patricia A Paulin

Frederick A White

Grayson H Rayborn

Ronald F Hoyt

Personal multi use beverage cooler

Disclosed is a process for oxidizing volatile organic compounds to carbon dioxide and water with the minimal addition of energy. A mixture of the volatile organic compound and an oxidizing agent (e.g. ambient air containing the volatile organic compound) is exposed to a catalyst which includes a noble metal dispersed on a metal oxide which possesses more than one oxidation state. Especially good results are obtained when the noble metal is platinum, and the metal oxide which possesses more than one oxidation state is tin oxide. A promoter (i.e., a small amount of an oxide of a transition series metal) may be used in association with the tin oxide to provide very beneficial results.

Catalyst for oxidation of volatile organic compounds

A means for detecting carbon monoxide which utilizes an un-heated catalytic material to oxidize carbon monoxide at ambient temperatures. Because this reaction is exothermic, a thermistor in contact with the catalytic material is used as a sensing element to detect the heat evolved as carbon monoxide is oxidized to carbon dioxide at the catalyst surface, without any heaters or external heating elements for the ambient air or catalytic element material. Upon comparison to a reference thermistor, relative increases in the temperature of the sensing thermistor correspond positively with an increased concentration of carbon monoxide in the ambient medium and are thus used as an indicator of the presence of carbon monoxide.

Solid state carbon monoxide sensor

Adapter for a caulk gun handle

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.

Isotope exchange in oxide-containing catalyst

A method for the reactivation of a tin oxide-containing catalyst of a CO.sub.2 laser is provided. First, the catalyst is pretreated by a standard procedure. When the catalyst experiences diminished activity during usage, the heated zone surrounding the catalyst is raised to a temperature which is the operating temperature of the laser and 400.degree. C. for approximately one hour. The catalyst is exposed to the same laser gas mixture during this period. The temperature of the heated zone is then lowered to the operating temperature of the CO.sub.2 laser.

Reactivation of a tin oxide-containing catalyst

A low energy electron beam magnetometer that utilizes near-monoenergetic electrons thereby reducing errors due to electron energy spread and electron nonuniform angular distribution. In a first embodiment of the invention (FIGS. 3 and 4) atoms in an atomic beam 30 of an inert gas are excited to a Rydberg state (lasers 32, 33 and 34) and then electrons of near zero energy are detached from the Rydberg atoms (gas chamber 35 ). The near zero energy electrons are then accelerated by an electric field V.sub.acc to form the electron beam 21. In a second embodiment of the invention (FIG. 5) a filament 42 emits electrons into an electrostatic analyzer 40 which selects electrons at a predetermined energy level within a very narrow range. These selected electrons make up the electron beam that is subjected to the magnetic field being measured.

Low energy electron magnetometer using a monoenergetic electron beam

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Newport News, VA, United States of America

George M Wood