Some materials take place in class of smart materials with adaptive properties and stimulus response to the external changes. Shape memory alloys take place in this group by exhibiting a peculiar property called shape memory effect. This property is characterized by the recoverability of two certain shapes of material at different temperatures. Shape memory effect is initiated by two successive structural transformations, thermal and stress induced martensitic transformations governed by lattice twinning and detwinning reactions, and performed thermally by heating and cooling after these processes. This behavior can be called thermal memory. These alloys possess two unique abilities: the capacity to recover large strains and to generate internal forces during their activation. The basis of this phenomenon is the stimulus-induced phase transformations, martensitic transformations governed by the remarkable changes in internal crystalline structure and properties of the materials. Thermal induced martensitic transformation is first order phase transformation and occurs in the material on cooling, with which ordered parent phase structures turn into twinned martensite structures with lattice twinning. This transformation occurs with cooperative movements of atoms by means of lattice invariant shear in two opposite directions, <110 > -type directions on the {110} - type planes of austenite matrix which is basal plane of martensite. These twinned structures turn into detwinned structures by means of stress induced transformation by stressing the material in the martensitic condition. The microstructural mechanisms governing shape memory effect are the twinning and detwinning processes. These alloys exhibit another property; called superelasticity which is also a result of stress induced martensitic transformation and performed mechanically in the parent austenite phase region. The materials are deformed at a constant temperature in parent phase region, and shape recovery is performed simultaneously upon releasing the applied stress, and complete shape recovery is observed upon unloading. This behavior can be called mechanical memory. Copper based alloys exhibit this property in metastable β-phase region, which has bcc-based structures at high temperature parent phase field, and these structures martensitically turn into layered complex structures with lattice twinning process on cooling. Lattice invariant shear is not uniform in copper based shape memory alloys, and these types of shears gives rise to the formation of layered structures, like 3R, 9R or 18R depending on the stacking sequences on the close-packed planes of the ordered lattice. Crystal structure of martensite of these alloys is orthorhombic and basal plane is hexagonal. In the present contribution, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies were carried out on two copper based CuZnAl and CuAlMn alloys. X-ray diffractograms taken in a long time interval show that diffraction angles and intensities of diffraction peaks change with the aging time at room temperature. In particular, some of the successive peak pairs providing a special relation between Miller indices come close each other. This result refers to the rearrangement of atoms in diffusive manner, and hexagonal basal plane structure deviated from normal hexagon.

The bachelor curriculum at the Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) for Applied Physics has been revised recently. The revision was designed in order to meet the latest conditions and demands from research (industry) laboratories, but also considering regional, national and European perspectives and interests. Although the general physics character of the curriculum is preserved, the role of the European Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) Micro- and Nanotechnology and Photonics has become more prominent, both on the educational level and on the research level. In order to introduce micro-technology at the bachelor level, a new minor Micro-technology, Processing and Devices (MPD) was launched. This minor intends to equip students with modern research skills, with a special focus on clean-room skills. Next, a new bachelor specialization semester nanotechnology was launched. This semester focuses on modern applications of quantum mechanics, especially in the fields of nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, quantum information and quantum computing. These are quite demanding topics for a bachelor student, and the chosen strategy for presenting these topics on a bachelor level is discussed. The revised curriculum is expected to meet high standards, and intends to equip students with solid basic theoretical knowledge and skills in such a way that the students are well prepared for challenging jobs in modern research (industry) laboratories. 

Solid state silicon detectors gained extensive applications in particle physics experiment. High detection precision, radiation resistance and very good time resolution are their main advantages that overcome many limitations of alternative gas detecting systems. Ultra Fast Silicon Detectors (UFSD) are a recent development which feature a faster charge collection (~1 ns), well suited for particle counting at high rates (100 MHz per channel with efficiency > 99% in the current prototypes), and an improved time resolution of few 10’s of ps. UFSDs are under study for the development of a detector for high rate particle beams with two applications in radiation therapy: counting the particles delivered to a patient in a therapeutic proton beam and measuring the beam particle’s energy through time-of-flight methods. Two different designs of strip detectors have been developed at the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) of Torino (Italy) in collaboration with the Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK) of Trento, Italy, where the sensors were produced. The first was optimized for high rate counting while the second was optimized for time resolution, allowing to measure precisely the time of flight and hence the beam particle’s energy. Based on the preliminary results, UFSDs are found to be promising for beam qualification and monitoring in Particle Therapy. The aim of this contribution is to report results of lab and beam tests using UFSD strip sensors with a therapeutic proton beam.

Quantum Information Theory is very richer than Classical one. Nonetheless, it sounds that there is no precise description for it and people usually refer to some special cases which show the difference between these two theories, For instance, No cloning theorem.

Our aim here is to introduce a notation of Quantum Information Theory by means of category theoretic tools and then show it can be more “natural” than classical Information Theory in some sense. This notation also is useful to show that Loop Quantum Gravity and String Theory are two shapes of a theory of Quantum Gravity which are describable as two different points of view of concept of space-time and space in a special mathematical structure. This mathematical structure is Topos. In addition, we claim that with this point of view Information is more fundamental rather than concept of Space and space-time in physics. We got inspired from the works of John Baez on mathematical physics to introduce this theory.

Vibrational spectroscopy is an excellent method for identifying substances because it provides fingerprint spectra that are unique to each specific compound of the various vibrational spectroscopies available, Raman spectroscopy should be the method of first choice because the spectra it produces are rich in information and because it needs virtually no sample preparation. This makes it ideal for the analysis of tablets, powders and liquids, thus avoiding mechanical changes during sample preparation, which could alter the physicochemical properties of the formulation. The prevalence of counterfeit drugs is seen as a problem faced in both developed and developing countries where Nepal is not an exception. Antibiotics are amongst the most counterfeit drugs in developing countries. What is less understood is that there are inadequate and ineffective quality control procedures in monitoring of drugs manufactured and imported into the country. This research work is aimed at contributing towards the development of routine analytical procedures that will facilitate distinguishing between fake and genuine drugs. This was accomplished by elaborating the operation procedures for the analysis of specific antibiotic drug using Raman spectroscopy. Various brands of drugs samples (Amoxicillin, Naproxen, Kelvin, Sinex, Buscopan and Chembrufen) consisting of imported and the National product drugs purchased from a licensed pharmacy shop in Kathmandu were used for analysis. The authenticity of the drugs was analysed using EnSpectr Raport instrument. Various peaks are obtained in between the range of 100-3800cm-1 and the major peaks are in the range of 800-1700cm-1. These peaks are obtained due to presence of specific functional groups of the drugs. These functional groups are also known as Raman active group and they show the characteristic peaks on the Raman Spectra. The major peaks coincide with the standard Raman peaks and hence we can conclude that these drugs found in Nepal and other countries must have similar Raman peaks if the chemical composition is same.