Phys 480 -- Physics Community Time -- 2008-2009

Facilitators

Thom Espinola, Frank 234C, 316-2193, tespinol@guilford.edu

Steve Shapiro, Frank 234A, 316-2196, sshapiro@guilford.edu

Don Smith, Frank, 234B, 316-2162, dsmith4@guilford.edu

Meeting times

Wednesdays 2:30 - 3:20 PM; Frank 220

Fall 2008 Schedule

Spring 2009 Schedule

Announcements

  1. WE WILL MEET FROM 2:00 – 3:30 PM ON NOVEMBER 26, 2008 AND DECEMBER 3, 2008.
  2. The 23rd National Conference for Undergraduate Research will be held at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse from 16-18 April 2009.  Abstracts are due on 1 December 2008.
  3. December 4, 2008 10:30 a.m. Frank 220 Jonathan Poe – Thesis
  4. December 4, 2008 1:00 p.m. Frank 220 Neal Cornatzer – Thesis
  5. The next round of Physics Department Research proposals are due on Tues 20 January 2009.  Here is your chance to obtain financial support in the form of stipend, equipment, and/or travel for you to do a research project in physics.  Proposals should be submitted electronically to Don, Steve, and Thom and should include a description of your project, background information, what you intend to do and how you intend to do it, a budget, and a timeline.  These funds are from generous alumni - Winslow Womack and the Jeglinski family and our generous emeritus professor, Rexford Adelberger and his wonderful wife, Pat.
  6. Guilford Undergraduate Symposium Registration Opens November 15. The Guilford Undergraduate Symposium (GUS) is coming Feb 27, 2009! Registration opens Nov 15th. We encourage the presentation of all original student work at GUS including class projects, senior theses, summer research and creative works. Formats include oral presentations, posters, exhibits, performances, and panel discussions. See http://www.guilford.edu/about_guilford/services_and_administration/gus/index.html for more info. Questions? Contact the organizers listed on the GUS web page.
  7. The Second Annual Guilford Undergraduate Symposium (GUS) is scheduled for February 27, 2009.
  8. Thinking about a summer job that's more than a paycheck? The Summer Science Research Clearinghouse posts job listings and scholarship opportunities. Check it out at www.compadre.org/student.
  9. Are you interested in joining the Society of Physics Students (SPS)? Check it out! They list numerous summer research opportunities.
  10. What are you going to do next summer? Interested in doing research at a large university? Check out the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates Program, the Department of Energy's internship and scholarship opportunities, and the NASA Undergraduate Research Program.  You may also look at advertised opportunities as they come in.
  11. "Who's Hiring Physics Bachelors?" This web resource lists, by state, the names of many companies that have recently hired new physics bachelors.  The lists may be useful to job seekers in identifying the variety of companies that hire physics bachelors and to physics departments wishing to strengthen contacts with local employers. The majority of new physics bachelors entering the workforce take jobs in science and engineering fields.  The employers that hire these individuals span a broad spectrum, from Lockheed Martin and Google to the US House of Representatives.  You can view the list at: http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/emptrends.html
  12. GRE practice questions. 

A sample of radioactive nuclei of a certain element can decay only by g -emission and b -emission. If the half-life for g -emission is 24 minutes and that for b -emission is 36 minutes, the half-life for the sample is

a.       30 minutes

b.      24 minutes

c.       20.8 minutes

d.      14.4 minutes

e.       6 minutes

The 238U nucleus has a binding energy of about 7.6 MeV per nucleon. If the nucleus were to fission into two equal fragments, each would have a kinetic energy of just over 100 MeV. From this, it can be concluded that

a.       238U cannot fission spontaneously

b.       238U has a large neutron excess

c.       nuclei near A = 120 have masses greater than half that of 238U

d.       nuclei near A = 120 must be bound by about 6.7 MeV/nucleon

e.       nuclei near A = 120 must be bound by about 8.5 MeV/nucleon

 

The muon decays with a characteristic lifetime of about 10-6 second into an electron, a muon neutrino, and an electron antineutrino. The muon is forbidden from decaying into an electron and just a single neutrino by the law of conservation of

 

a.       charge

b.       mass

c.       energy and momentum

d.       baryon number

e.       lepton number

  1. We have a lot of ideas for activities that we can do as a group. Do you want to help organize an activity? Do you have additional ideas for what we could do as a group?  If so, contact Steve!
  2. If you would like key-card access to the building, physics floor, and/or lab, please e-mail Thom with your G number and a list of rooms, etc. to which you want access during off-hours.
  3. If you want a key to Data Reduction (or some other lab that does not have a key card access provision), please contact Thom for a form.