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Physics
Department Seminar Schedule of talks January 14 Don
Smith Highlights from AAS I will give a brief summary of some of the exciting results reported at
last week's American Astronomical Society meeting in January 21 Ryan Vary Searching for long C-C bonds by Modeling the Graphite to
Diamond sp2-sp3 Transition Mechanistically with ab
initio Calculations and Plots Based on the Cambridge Structural Database. The interest
in long C-C 'bonds' has increased through the study of carbon nanopore vacancies. As potential molecular storage
units, the chemistry of these long contacts has become increasingly
important. Through quantum mechanical single point calculations, a
Potential Energy Surface is generated as a function of the C axis on the
Graphite Unit Cell. This PES as well as the potential surfaces of r,
theta and Q are presented. The methodologies
and complications (e.g., hysteresis) that have resulted from this work will
be introduced. The mechanism of this transition, one that has before
now never been understood, will be introduced as well as the direction of
future calculations. January 28 Melanie Corbett - The Hydrogen Spectrum. Using a monochronometer
and a hydrogen lamp, we were able to measure a small band of wavelengths that
represent the visible part of the hydrogen spectrum and compare our results
to those predicted by the hydrogen model of Bohr. February 4 Slide Rules, the Analog
Mathematical Computer Ray Roseman, Collector, High
Point, Abstract. The slide rule is a mechanical analog mathematical
computer which was used from the 1630’s through 1972. Mathematical
advancement, particularly the development of logarithms and logarithmic
scales made the slide rule possible. Mathematical advancement in conjunction
with the development of programming and combined with electronic
miniaturization resulted in the development of the hand held scientific
calculator. The availability of the hand held scientific calculator made the
slide rule obsolete overnight. The history, theory of operation, and use of
the slide rule will be presented. February 11 Don
Smith Highlights from AAS II I will give a brief summary of some of the exciting results reported at last
week's American Astronomical Society meeting in February 18 Elise Weaver
GUS practice
talk February 25 Discussion of GUS March 4 Guilhem Ultracold neutrons (UCN) are free neutrons with
energies of order 100 March 11 No Seminar - Spring Break March 18 Ryan Vary and David Jackman Tensor Talk We will talk about the
mathematical construct known as the tensor and its
applications in physics. Conceptually,
we will introduce the tensor through its relationship with established
constructs (such as scalars and vectors) and present the tensor as a
generalization of these constructs through a tensor property known as
"rank". Furthermore, we will
consider the moment of inertia tensor and demonstrate that the relationship,
L = Iw, "L" & "w" being the
angular momentum and angular velocity, respectively, and "I" being
the moment of inertia (specifically a scalar value), is in general not
true. Using the established ideas of
the tensor, we will seek the general form of this relationship, L=I w. Lastly, we will
briefly explain the implications of this general form with a hands-on
demonstration. March 25 Melanie Corbett Mathematical
Physics April 1 Evan
Faulkner-Hayes How Does Removing the Resonator
from a Banjo Affect the Sound? A
resonator is a thin, round piece of wood attached to the rear of a banjo. Removing the resonator from the back
of a banjo affects the amplitudes of fundamental frequencies found in single
notes. Without a resonator, the undertone frequencies of single notes have a
higher amplitude and total power than that of the fundamental frequency. Melanie
Corbett Determining Planck's
Constant with LEDs April 8 NCUR Practice Talks April 15 (NCUR) Nathan
Knisely Leaping
Leptons! Finding the Fundamental Charge By balancing the
forces on an oil droplet in an
electric field, I was able to find the fundamental charge of the electron to be -(1.60 +/- .05) x10^-19
C. Lopie Rhine The energy of a photon is
its vibration in multiples of the constant h (Planck's Constant). I will be
calculating h by making measurements of the Photoelectric Effect. By shining
a light on a metal with photons vibrating at a high enough frequency to
liberate the electrons on the metal, the energy of the photons will be
transferred to the kinetic energy of the liberated electrons. By charging
a cathode/anode photocell with these electrons and applying a potential
difference between the pair, the stopping potential and thus
the kinetic energy of the electrons may be found. By measuring this
stopping potential for several known frequencies of light and performing
a linear regression (the slope of which will be h/e where e is the
charge of an electron), my Experimental Physics experiment will find the
value of Planck's Constant. April 22 LAST
seminar – 2:00 p.m. Start Kevin Muhanji Massing of electrons using Compton
Scattering. By using Cs-137 as my radioactive source, aluminum as
my deflector and PHA my detector, I was able to determine the shift in the Cs-137 peak and with the conservation of energy and
momentum, I was able to find the fundamental mass
of the electron. Nathan
Knisely Drag on Objects in Fluids Brad
Gould Expansion of the Universe In my Mathematical Physics
course, I created a MATLAB method to use the three Friedman equations and my Runge-Kutta method in order to model the velocity and
acceleration of the Universe's radius from the Big Bang onwards. Taking the
density, curvature, and radiation/matter dominance of the universe as
parameters I was able to build a graph plotting the radius of the Universe
vs. time. I found that in the radiation dominated era, R was proportional to
t^{1/2}. In the matter dominated era, R was
proportional to t^{2/3}. When both eras were plotted
on top of each other, this graph was almost a complete match to one found in
an undergraduate astrophysics text. Brad
Gould Determining the Speed of Light Using the Foucault Method For my Experimental Physics II
course, my task was to use an experimental setup proposed by Leon Foucault in
1862 which would determine the speed of light using a laser beam reflecting
off a rotating mirror two times across a distance D. I found that the
alignment of mirrors and lenses was both the hardest to perfectly accomplish
and yet the most necessary to the ultimate success of my experiment. David
Jackman The Physics of Table Tennis Abstract: One of the aspects of table tennis that makes it
interesting to play is how the table tennis ball is able to move. By
hitting the ball hard, it slows down and by imparting spin on the ball, it
can curve in midair. We will talk about these phenomena and how they
have been characterized as forces known as the drag force and the lift
force. Using these forces as our model for the movement of the table
tennis ball, we will test this model and look at some of its consequences. David
Jackman How Newton Met Raphson: A Tutorial For
Finding Zeros of Functions Abstract: One of the best-known ways to find the zero(s) of a
function is a computational method known as the "Newton-Raphson method." We will derive the method,
discuss its applications (including its pros and cons), and use it to find
the zero(s) of various functions including the infamous Bessel function. |
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