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Physics & Astronomy |
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Seminar: Spring 2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seminars
are held on Tuesdays, 3:45-4:45pm in SB 101, unless otherwise noted. Meet
at 3:30 in SB 157 for refreshments. Previous semesters: Fall 2001, Spring 2001, Fall 2000, Spring 2000, Fall 1999.
Physics folk generally enjoy doing puzzles, which is probably why they are physics folk. You will have the opportunity to try you wits on at least two hands-on puzzles. One will be a static "construction" and the other will be a "dynamic" puzzle involving an intriguing observation that will challenge your physical intuition. In addition, you are encouraged to bring your own puzzles to challenge your friends and colleagues. (Hands-on puzzles only please-no "theory" or math puzzles.) Prizes go to the first to solve a "construction" puzzle and the first/most complete explanation for the "dynamic"puzzle. This one is likely to generate a lot of discussion and possibly heated debate. February 19: Science and PseudoscienceLoren Haarsma will briefly present highlights from his interim course on Alternative Medicine. Then we'll watch an episode of Scientific American Frontiers (hosted by Alan Alda) entitled "Beyond Science?" This episode tackles the topics of palm reading, dowsing, Roswell aliens, handwriting analysis, therapeutic touch, and the search for zero-point energy. Discussion will follow. Pseudoscience is a growing threat to public understanding of science because it presents itself in the guise of legitimate science on topics that stimulate public interest but that ultimately fail the rigorous tests of legitimate science. While often generating high enthusiasm among the true believers and correspondingly high income for the practitioners, the results can range from mere wasting of time to personal catastrophe. February 26: Developments and Lessons in Magnetic Levitation Prof. David Van Baak Levitation, or causing an object to stay stably suspended in mid air, has been the subject of myth and magic since ancient times. Would-be levitators have always been attracted by the ability of magnets to exert forces across empty space, but they've been discouraged by Earnshaw's Theorem, which seems to forbid stable levitation by any combination of permanent magnets. Nevertheless, several distinct configurations giving stable levitation are now known, and at least four of them will be demonstrated in this seminar. The talk will also look for lessons in the interplay between creativity and "impossibility theorems" in physics. March 7: Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: An Astronomical Life Extraordinaire Prof. Larry Molnar Sponsored by Gender Studies Program as part of Women's History Month Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin (1900-1980) has been acclaimed the greatest woman astronomer of all time. She was the first woman to receive a doctorate from Harvard University (1925), the first to become full professor there (1956), and the first to become department chair. She published hundreds of scientific articles from 1923-1979. Her doctoral thesis demonstrated that hydrogen is the dominant constituent of the sun, and by extension, of all normal matter in the universe. The bulk of her scientific career centered on stars of variable brightness. Her numerous contributions to this field led the field from one of curiosity to a mature set of subfields central to our understanding of the life cycles of stars. Her work was recognized in her lifetime with numerous honorary degrees, medals, and awards. In 1977, the asteroid 2039 was named Payne-Gaposchkin in her honor. Drawing from her autobiography, written personal recollections of others, and some of her scientific articles, an overview of her life, her love of astronomy, and her impact on astronomy will be given. March 19: The Astrophysics Lab in Your Backyard Dr. Geoff Lenters Since the day (or night) your were born, the primary cycle of your life has been controlled by the sun. Then it was disturbed by "all-nighters" in college, but in the background the sun continued to rise (noted by a slight increase in ambient light during the winter in West Michigan) in the morning and set in the evening. Maybe curiosity gets the better of you and you wonder, what is the sun, what makes it hot, is it really as unchanging as it seems? These are the sorts of questions which will be addressed in this thrilling presentation. March 26: Can You Teach the Scientific Process? A Study with Elementary Education Students Prof. Jim Jadrich Traditional science instruction is devoted to the teaching of scientific content: the facts, concepts, and theories of the discipline. Very little time is spent on the development of scientific inquiry or analysis skills (process skills), and subsequently students are not trained to engage in science or even to understand the nature of science very well. At the same time, state and national standards guiding instruction in K-12 science place heavy emphasis on engaging in scientific inquiry in the classroom and on teaching the nature of science. The focus of this talk is research into the teaching of scientific process skills to pre-service elementary school teachers, and how the experience of doing science affects their understanding of the nature of science and their ability to teach science in the classroom. April 4: Laser driven fusion and the National Ignition Facility, or Why is the US government spending 2 Billion dollars on a huge laser? Dr. Steven Haan, '73, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory High temperature plasmas necessary to produce energy by nuclear fusion and are found in stars and supernovas and other astrophysical phenomena. This talk is a general description of the use of MegaJoule lasers to do plasma physics. The basic architecture of these lasers is described (and architecture is the right word since one fills a building!). Currently a 1.8 MJ laser, called the National Ignition Facility, is under construction at Livermore, and the speaker will describe how that laser will be used to attempt to produce thermonuclear ignition and burn. Applications to the development of fusion energy will be described briefly. As another example of the use of these lasers, experiments will be described that are oriented towards issues of interest to astrophysics. April 9:Organizing Physics Equipment, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Core David Young, a senior physics major, has worked on developing a data base to assist in organizing information relating the equipment stored in the core storage area and the laboratories in which it is used. Digital images of equipment and experimental setups are a significant part of the database. His work may provide a model for others faced with similar issues. It will show applications for use by students and faculty alike. April 16: Metals, Microwaves and Magnetic Fields Prof. Gerald Dunifer, Wayne State University Professor Dunifer's research involves an experimental investigation of the electrical and magnetic properties of metals. With temperatures near absolute zero, magnetic fields 40,000 times stronger than Earth's field and using microwaves as probes, his studies provide a wealth of information on conduction-electron characteristics and magnetic interactions. Besides adding to fundamental understanding, there are potential applications in developing new electronic devices. April 23: 61 Cyg: A Real Shooting Star, or, The Parallax and Proper Motion of 61 Cyg Andrew Vanden Heuvel, sophomore In 1838, F.W. Bessel measured the parallax of the nearby binary star system, 61 Cyg. This was the first time that parallax was used to measure the distance of a star. Given the recent acquisition of digital imaging equipment at our observatory, we decided to attempt to recreate this great experiment in astronomy. Through several observations in the fall, we were able to measure the proper motion of the star system. And this spring, we made an additional observation that allowed us to extract its parallax and therefore its distance. This was the first real test of our equipment's capacity to do good astrometry. Come and see how the equipment passed with flying colors. April 30: Self-Organization: Maintaining Stability During a Breakdown. Numerical modeling of spatiotemporal pattern formation in a 1-D dielectric-barrier discharge. Mason Klein, senior In our system, high voltage applied across the outside of a narrow glass tube causes the gas inside to break down, which generates a series of sparks. Under the right conditions, these sparks arrange themselves into a variety of stable and consistent patterns, which repeat thousands of times a second. In this talk I review experimental results, and discuss computer modeling of this system. |
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