Bulletin of the American Physical Society
2009 APS April Meeting
Volume 54, Number 4
Saturday–Tuesday, May 2–5, 2009; Denver, Colorado
Session D14: Undergraduate Research (including SPS) I |
Hide Abstracts |
Sponsoring Units: SPS Chair: Thomas Olsen, AIP Education: SPS Room: Plaza Court 4 |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 3:30PM - 3:42PM |
D14.00001: Six degree-of-freedom thrust sensor for hybrid rocket Ryan Strickland Thrust is the reactive force experienced by a rocket due to the ejection of high velocity matter. A new six degree of freedom thrust sensor has been built for the UALR Hybrid Rocket Facility. The six degrees of freedom are the thrust force components in the three spacial directions (F$_{x}$, F$_{y}$, F$_{z})$ plus the three moments (roll, pitch, yaw). Even though the majority of the rocket's thrust is in the axial direction, the components in the other directions are non-zero, and must be measured to account for the total work done by the rocket motor. The load cells on each of the six uni-axial legs of the sensor were calibrated, and preliminary firing data was collected during the summer of 2008. This research project has been funded by a NASA EPSCoR grant, and a Hendrix Odyssey project award. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 3:42PM - 3:54PM |
D14.00002: Using ring laser gyroscopes to measure seismic induced rotation Kirk Kimery Seismologists have known for years that the passage of seismic waves could introduce rotational motion in the surface of the Earth. For example, the rotation of tombstones has been observed in Japan following large earthquakes. However, until recently it has been difficult to measure these effects. The current generation of large ring laser gyroscopes has demonstrated the ability to measure rotation around a vertical axis with sensitivities in the nanoradian regime. Results from a horizontally mounted triangular ring laser 17.5 m on a side will be presented. In addition, the development of a ring laser designed to measure rotation about a north-south axis will be discussed. Finally, some preliminary results suggesting that ring lasers are sensitive to hurricane introduced vorticity will be presented. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 3:54PM - 4:06PM |
D14.00003: Nanoparticle Self-Assembly in the Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Blue Phase Dennis Gardner, Bethany Wilcox, Ivan Smalyukh We study the spatial self-assembly and self-alignment of CdSe quantum dots and rods in liquid crystal (LC) suspensions. Employing the strong non-bleaching fluorescent signals from these nanoparticles, we use fluorescent confocal microscopy to image the 3-D spatial location of the nanoparticles. We demonstrate that LC defects and structures allow for controlled localization, alignment, and assembly of these nanoparticles. Generalizing our studies for various nanoparticles of different compositions may provide new self-assembly-based methods of nanofabrication of metamaterials needed for applications such as cloaking at optical wavelengths, optical circuits, and super lenses. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 4:06PM - 4:18PM |
D14.00004: Optical Constants for Y$_{2}$O$_{3}$ in the Extreme Ultraviolet Joseph Muhlestein In applications such as measuring ionized He in the Earth's magnetosphere, it is important to detect the relatively weak 30.4~nm line of He$^{2}$ over the stronger 58.4~nm line of neutral He. Work done previously at BYU using theoretical optical constants has calculated that an aluminum/Y$_{2}$O$_{3}$ multilayer mirror should be effective at maximizing reflectance at 30.4~nm while minimizing the 58.4~nm line. We have measured the index of refraction of Y$_{2}$O$_{3}$ to improve the accuracy of these calculations and further our knowledge of Y$_{2}$O$_{3}$ between the wavelengths of 5~nm and 30~nm. We created a sample mirror using electron beam evaporation and took measurements using the Advanced Light Source at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. As this is the first direct measurement of the index of Y$_{2}$O$_{3}$ in this regime, it represents an improvement over previous data calculated using atomic scattering factors. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 4:18PM - 4:30PM |
D14.00005: Monopole Detection with the ANITA Experiment Miles Detrixhe The ANITA Experiment seeks detection of highly energetic particles traversing the Antarctic ice based on radio waves produced by Cherenkov radiation. The ANITA Experiment was aloft for 35 days in December 2006 and January 2007 while operating with an average duty cycle of approximately 50{\%}, resulting in the most sensitive experiment to date to the diffuse flux of highly energetic ionizing particles. We discuss the experimental signature that would be produced by an ultra-relativistic magnetic monopole interacting with the Antarctic ice as measured by ANITA and the method for calculating the maximum flux of these particles. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 4:30PM - 4:42PM |
D14.00006: SISPI - The Data Acquisition System for the Dark Energy Survey Jacob Eiting, Klaus Honscheid I will present the data acquisition and control system of the Dark Energy camera (DECam) which will be the primary instrument used in the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The data acquisition and control system, also known as Survey Image System Process Integration or SISPI, is responsible for coordinating the actions of the many components of the DECam instrument by providing reliable middleware. SISPI is implemented as a distributed multi-processor system with a software architecture built on the Client-Server and Publish-Subscribe design patterns. SISPI is written primarily in Python in order to decrease development time and to promote platform portability. A publish/subscribe data sharing system was developed which allows for the trivial sharing of data across multiple machines. A message passing system was also developed to allow for machines to execute commands across the network. These systems were all developed on top of the Python Remote Objects library (PyRO). The observation control system, image readout and formatting, instrument control and the observer console form theapplication layer built on top of this infrastructure. I will present some of the unique features of our design and report initial test results using a multi-CCD DECam prototype at Fermilab. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 4:42PM - 4:54PM |
D14.00007: ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 4:54PM - 5:06PM |
D14.00008: ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 5:06PM - 5:18PM |
D14.00009: Neutrino-Stimulated Pair-Creation in Supernovae Mallory Young This research investigates the anisotropy of outgoing neutrino flux due to the production of electron-positron pairs as neutrinos interact with large magnetic fields typical of supernovae and other astrophysical phenomena. The deviation of the final neutrino from its original path is of interest since these stellar phenomena are especially sensitive to neutrino transport. Monte Carlo calculations of neutrino decay rates for varying energies and magnetic field strengths reveal a tendency for outgoing neutrinos to turn against the magnetic field upon decay. Data show that supernova-like conditions generate production rates on the order of 10$^{-16}$ cm$^{-1}$ with mean shifts in neutrino angle on the order of a few percent. Naturally, increased magnetic field strength amplifies these effects. These results demonstrate a mechanism by which a magnetic field can exert influence on a supernova's important, neutral energy-carrier: the neutrino. [Preview Abstract] |
Saturday, May 2, 2009 5:18PM - 5:30PM |
D14.00010: Measuring neutron flow with an upgrade of the CMS Zero Degree Calorimeter Jessica Snyder, Michael Murray One of the most exciting recent results in nuclear physics is the discovering that lead-lead collisions produced at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, RHIC, produce an almost perfect fluid of quarks and gluons. This state was identified by the ``flow'' of particles. The Large Hadron Collider, LHC, will study gold-gold collisions at an energy 28 times higher. It is possible that this higher energy will produce a gas rather than a liquid in which gas we should be able to detect flow. We hope to detect flow by measuring the pattern of neutrons emitted along the beam axis using two detectors inserted between the electromagnetic and hadronic sections of the CMS ZDCs, https://zdc.web.cern.ch/ZDC/ . I will present results of GEANT simulations of such a detector and make estimates of it capabilities to measure neutron flow. [Preview Abstract] |
Follow Us |
Engage
Become an APS Member |
My APS
Renew Membership |
Information for |
About APSThe American Physical Society (APS) is a non-profit membership organization working to advance the knowledge of physics. |
© 2024 American Physical Society
| All rights reserved | Terms of Use
| Contact Us
Headquarters
1 Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3844
(301) 209-3200
Editorial Office
100 Motor Pkwy, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 591-4000
Office of Public Affairs
529 14th St NW, Suite 1050, Washington, D.C. 20045-2001
(202) 662-8700