Invited Speaker
Abstracts
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Alex Soldatov
Harvard
University
FULLERENES IN POLYMERIC STATE: FROM C60 TO
C70
Several experimental protocols (UV irradiation,
doping with alkali metals, subjection to high pressure
at elevated temperatures) are used to produce polymeric phases of fullerene C60
based on covalently bonded buckyballs. C60
in polymeric state exhibits profound changes of the physical properties in
comparison to the pristine material. The present lecture will deal with some of
the recent advances in research on fullerene polymers. We review structure and
physical properties of one- and two-dimensional polymers of C60 and
present the results of high-resolution dilatometry,
NMR, FTIR/Raman spectroscopy and thermal conductivity studies of the polymeric
phases of C70 which we have recently synthesized. The results are
discussed in terms of existing structural models for polymerization of C60
and C70.
Joerg Appenzeller
IBM Watson Research Center
Beyond Silicon Technology: Electrical Transport in Carbon Nanotubes
In past years opinions about the ultimate scaling
limits of MOSFETs have often been revised and experimentalists
have proven that aggressive scaling results in high performance devices in the
sub-50nm channel regime. Nobody can answer the question right now how many more
generations of transistors will exist and whether there will be a technology replacing
CMOS somewhen. However, if there is a candidate with
an excellent chance to potentially yield a new type of electronic devices, it
is the carbon nanotube - a new material class which
was discovered 1991 by Iijima. Over the past years
carbon nanotubes – hollow cylindrical objects of
carbon atoms in a honeycomb lattice - have proven to exhibit extraordinary
properties in many aspects. They were found to be suitable as tips in atomic
force microscopes, as electron emitters for flat panel displays, they can work
as storage for hydrogen and they have proven to work as sensors as well.
Perhaps the most striking and fascinating property
however is, that they can be metallic as well as semiconducting,
just depending on the arrangement of carbon atoms on the cylinder surface. This
means they are intriguing building block for a
potential future nanoelectronics.
In this talk I will introduce how the electrical
properties of carbon nanotubes can be understood as a
result of the quantization of modes along the circumference of the cylindrical
structure. It will become clear how this results in semiconducting
and metallic behavior respectively. Using a metallic tube as an example it will
be discussed how the quasi one-dimensional nature of nanotubes
Рobjects with a diameter of only 14Πand a length in the micrometer range Рresults in
very long ballistic mean free path lengths for electron transport. In the last
part of the talk semiconducting tubes are used as
elements to build nanotube-FETs. The performance of
these transistors will be compared with silicon MOSFETs.
As will be shown, there is a significant potential for
carbon nanotubes as transistors in logic applications
without establishing a new circuit paradigm.
Susanne Yelin
Harvard University
“Freezing” Light: Trapping and Storage of Light States in Atoms
Light waves are the fast and robust carriers of
classical and quantum information. But their main strength is their main weakness:
Photons do not interact with each other in free space and are difficult to
localize or even store.Modern quantum optical
techniques allow one to control the propagation of one light beam by another,
to localize, stop and otherwise manipulate light pulses in a medium. This is
accomplished by making an optically opaque medium transparent with the help of
quantum mechanical coherence and interference effects. In this talk I will
explain the underlying principles of these phenomena, review the latest theoretical
and experimental results, and give an outlook as to where this research might
lead in future.
George E. Ewing
Department of Chemistry, Indiana University
Ice
Ice manifests
itself in myriad ways: The beauty of
snow flakes, a medium for sculpture, a habitat, a fuel source, a critical role
in climate change, etc. Current research
focuses on three poorly understood aspects of ice: How it freezes (nucleation),
its chemistry (clathrate formation), and why it is
slippery (surface properties). The
illustrated lecture is for a general audience with special appeal for those who
are curious. The presentation will consist of six vignettes: Kepler Takes a Walk,Geometry,
Sun Dogs, Flammable!, Cat’s Cradle, and Worms.
Randy Headrick
University
of Vermont
Cornell
University
Real-time X-ray Scattering Studies of thin-film growth and surface patterning
Ion and plasma-assisted film growth and etching are
commonly used during epitaxial growth and processing
in a variety of materials systems.
Examples include
metals, semiconductors, and dielectric materials. However a fundamental understanding of many
of these processes is still emerging. Control at an atomic scale is a high
priority for future functional nanostructured
devices. In this talk, I will review our
recent work at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source in this area. Two topics will be presented: First is the nucleation and growth of epitaxial GaN on sapphire
(0001). Use of reactive or energetic
species for the nitrogen precursor has a profound impact on the growth mode and
crystalline perfection of the GaN film. The second topic is the formation of ripples
on SiO2 glass during Ar+ sputter-etching. A curvature dependent etch rate by the ions
is countered by a wavelength-dependent smoothing mechanism leading to a
preferred wavelength of roughness. These
systems have been studied by a combination of time-resolved x-ray scattering
and scanning probe microscopy. The
results highlight how control of atomic-scale surface processes can be achieved
by energetic beams of ions.
David Weitz
Harvard
University
New Insights into Hard Problems with Soft Materials- Imaging Phase Transitions
This talk will present results of studies of both crystallization
and the glass transition performed by real-space imaging of individual
particles in colloidal suspensions, providing rich new insight into the
behavior of these most fundamental phase transitions.
Sally Jean and Frederick Wolf
Keene State College
Project INSPIRE, Bringing Inquiry-Based Learning into the Classroom
What is inquiry-based science teaching? What are the National Science Education Standards? How can we, as teachers, enhance the learning of our students, K-16? Keene State College has received a National Science Foundation Grant to address these questions, specifically directed at pre-service and middle school teachers.
Come and get your hands wet and see what it’s all about!!!
Brian Holton
President
- NJ Section of AAPT
Physics
Teacher, Pascack Valley Regional HS
Physics Educational
Reform in the High School – A Look from All Sides of the Fence
After over a decade of physics teaching at the
university level at Rutgers University, six years of founding and operating a
children’s science museum, four years of high school teaching, and being
president of NJAAPT off and on for a number of years, I find myself uniquely
qualified on commenting about the state of educational reform in the United
States as it pertains to physics. So often secondary initiatives and lip service comes from faculty
at our universities without the involvement of high school teachers.
They mean well, and can do great things with their clout and knowledge, but are
often misguided since they simply have no idea of the constraints imposed upon
the secondary system. Few have entered
the high school arena and recognize the difficulties involved in change. And one often questions why don’t high school
teachers rise to the call, or why don’t the teachers and administrators take
command and change the current situation themselves? State and national standards, AP Physics
courses and tests, professional associations, college admissions and the
plethora of other factors that come into play affect change - and not always
for the better. The call to arms has
been long sounded – and what has the physics community has accomplished to meet
the call? I will explore the many
factors that stand in the way of change and what needs to be done to overcome
these obstacles.
Richard J. Staples
Harvard
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Novel Applications of X-ray Crystallographic Techniques
This presents some applications of
single crystal x-ray diffraction that have been used to solve chemical questions. Inorganic Chemists have used X-ray
diffraction to study chemical problems since the sixties. Here I present some
instances where x-ray diffraction only can give you the answers you need to
solve the chemical questions. The use of X-ray diffraction has been increasing
for the organic chemists in the past years.
This has been brought on by new technology which has increased turn
around time for analysis. The obvious use
of single crystal x-ray diffraction in organic chemistry will be examined, chiral determination and relative stereo chemistry. Examples of more advance problems include
ring closure and ring confirmation. Also shown will be the formation of chiral reagents and binding site observations. This then leads us to the theoretical aspects
where modeling of
binding sites, 1HNMR identification and MM2
calculations can be examined in relation to the x-ray crystal structure.
Peter Lindenfeld
Rutgers
University
Structure and content in undergraduate physics
In spite of many excellent attempts at reform,
undergraduate physics has changed surprisingly little over many decades. The
lecture-recitation-laboratory format, and the physics
major curriculum have shown themselves to be particularly resistant to change.
I will describe some experiments at Rutgers with structural changes whose aim
is to make our teaching more responsive and more effective. These include
mechanisms to make lectures more interactive, to decouple recitations from
standard homework problems, to improve the learning that takes place in the
laboratory, and to integrate the various components of the course more closely.
To the usual `professional' curriculum we have added a general major, an
applied physics major, a joint program with engineering, and, this year, an astro major, to increase our student population by a
substantial factor. There is also a Math and Science learning Center which
supports all our activities. There is a school of thought that says that it
doesn't matter what you teach because there is so much. I will touch on
different criteria that might be used to help to decide on themes, on what to
include, and what to leave out.
Fredrick Stein
Director
of Education and Outreach
APS
National Office
PHYSICS SOCIETIES
LAUNCH NEW PROGRAM TO IMPROVE TEACHER PREPARATION
The American Physical Society (APS), in partnership with the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American Institute of Physics (AIP) has recently received two grants which will enable these professional societies to create a nationwide initiative to dramatically improve the science preparation of future teachers. Called the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC), this initiative requires that college and university physics departments work in collaboration with education departments and schools. The initial set of six primary institutions that share a strong commitment to revise their teacher preparation programs have been selected: Ball State University, Oregon State University, University of Arizona, University of Arkansas, Western Michigan University, and Xavier University of Louisiana. More sites will be added in the future. In addition to assisting colleges and universities with improving the preparation of future elementary and secondary teachers of physical science and physics at all levels, APS/AAPT/AIP will broadly disseminate the best practices developed through these efforts and assist other interested colleges and universities with their own program. A five-year, $5.76 million grant was awarded by the National Science Foundation, and the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) in the U.S. Department of Education has awarded PhysTEC a three-year, $498,000, grant. The FIPSE grant will enhance the evaluation, induction and dissemination components of the PhysTEC program that have proven to be successful in making long-term positive changes in teacher preparation. Others include:
A
Teacher-in-Residence program that provides for a local K-12 science teacher to
become a full-time participant in assisting faculty with both team-teaching and
course revisions
A
long-term, active collaboration between the physics department, the education
department, and the local school community
The
redesign of content and pedagogy of targeted physics courses based on results
from physics education research as well as utilization of appropriate
interactive technologies
The
redesign of content and pedagogy for elementary and secondary science methods
courses with an emphasis on inquiry-based, hands-on, approaches to teaching and
learning
The
establishment of a mentoring program for TIRs and
other Master Teachers designed to meet the needs of an induction experience for
novice science teachers. This includes the participation of physics faculty in
increasing and improving a wide array of school experiences.
Contributed
Paper Abstracts
Session AA - Contributed Poster Session I.
POSTER session, Friday afternoon,
November 02
Lantern Room, Student Center
Session Chair: J. R. Harkay, Keene State
[AA.001] A Variable Temperature Student Refractometer for the Study of Fluids in the Liquid and
Frozen State
W.Travis Lau, Samantha Minc,
R.G. Tobin (
While refractive
index measurements of transparent fluids and solids are routine, there have
been relatively few such measurements on fluids in their frozen state. We have
designed and built a simple device to measure the refractive index of frozen
liquids. It consists of a trapezoidal prism cell housed in a small vacuum
chamber. The cell can be filled with a liquid and cooled to temperatures below
-100°C. By measuring the deflection of a He:Ne laser beam as it passes through the cell, we can
determine the index of refraction of the fluid to an accuracy of ±0.005 and
monitor changes as the fluid is frozen. This versatile system can accurately
measure the refractive index of many common transparent fluids, and provides
excellent student training in optics, vacuum techniques and error analysis.
Measurements in the frozen state are much more challenging because of the difficulty
of obtaining clear crystals. We are able to obtain uniformly clear crystals of
water ice by cooling the sample slowly while bubbling
nitrogen gas through the liquid, and observed the change in refractive index on
crystallization.
[AA.002] On the Measurements of Small
Amplitude Side-Branch Spacing at the Dendrite Tip
Stephanie DeChiaro, Kara Gormley, Matthew Koss (College of
the Holy Cross), Martin Glicksman (Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute), Jeffrey LaCombe (
The focus of this
ongoing research is to analyze the tip region of dendrites in order to find out
if there is evidence of side-branching in the "smooth" tip regime.
More recently it has been reported that the dendrites do not grow at a
steady-state velocity, and that there are growth velocity oscillations at the
tip. Extracting a smooth curve from the dendrite, we measured correlations in
the deviation between the actual dendritic interface
and the smooth reference as a function of arclength.
These results constitute a wavenumber spectrum of
perturbations at the dendrite tip. One way to quantify the side-branch
structure is to measure the distance between adjacent side-branches, which we
call the side-branch spacing, \lambda. Results show that the inverse of these wavenumbers, which is a spacing, when scaled by the tip
radius, yields \lambda _tip-wavenumber/R = 3.1. This
is about the same as the measured side-branch spacing of \lambda
_side-branching/R = 2.9. This constitutes the first experimental evidence that
there is side-branch activity at the tip.
[AA.003] Dependence on Excitation Density of Multiphonon Decay in Er-doped
ZBLAN Glass
Kenneth Bycenski (
The dependence of multiphonon decay of rare earth ions in solids on the
intensity of the pump beam, first reported by Auzel
et al., is examined for the 4S3/2 and 2H11/2 levels of Er-doped
ZBLAN glass. Using a frequency-doubled, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser as a pump source, the kinetics of the
4S3/2 level was studied at different pump intensities and temperatures.
Lifetime curves show a rise time, which represents the feeding of the 4S3/2
level by the 2H11/2, and a decay time that vary with the intensity of the pump
beam, i.e. on the concentration of excited centers. The measured decay times of
the 4S3/2 are consistent with those previously reported [2]. In this poster we
report on the temperature dependence of this process, and we look at the
dependence of the feeding of the 4S3/2 level as pump intensity changes. A rate
equation model shows that the intensity dependence of the rise time on pump
intensity is due, in part, to a slowing down of the nonradiative
decay from the 2H11/2 level as the pump intensity is increased. We discuss
these results in terms of the phonon bottleneck mechanism proposed in reference
1. 1. F. Auzel and F. Pelle, Phys. Rev. B 55, 17 (1106-09) 1997. 2. F Auzel, private communications.
[AA.004] Balance between deposition,
sputtering, etching and ion implant in plasma-based material processing
Michael Bradley, Shu Qin, Peter Kellerman (Axcelis Technologies, Inc.,
Plasma-based
processes are widely used in the semiconductor industry and other industries
and research areas to modify electrical, mechanical, and optical properties of
surfaces. In typical plasma-based processes, at least four distinct physical
phenomena contribute, namely: deposition, sputtering, etching, and ion implant.
Depending on the processing regime, these phenomena contribute to different extents.
In addition to their basic value for the study of plasma-surface interactions,
studies of these phenomena can be of great practical utility, since the
capabilities of plasma-based processes depend upon the plasma parameters. This
paper reviews these different processes, and discusses simple quantitative
models for each. These models are then applied to the analysis and
understanding of recent experimental results.
[AA.005] Symmetry-Breaking and Dispersion of
C_60 in Blends with PMMA
Meghan McKenna, Virginia Long (Physics Dept, Colby
College, Waterville ME), Rachel Austin (Chemistry Dept, Bates College,
Lewiston, ME), Barry Jones (Chemistry Dept, Binghamton University, Binghamton,
NY)
In mixtures with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), C_60 (Buckminsterfullerene)
displays evidence of symmetry breaking as well as solvent dispersion effects.
FTIR spectroscopy experiments were made on paraffin pellets of the mixture. A 1
cm^-1 shift to higher frequency was observed in the 526 and 576 cm^-1 vibrational modes of C_60 when the concentration of C_60 in
PMMA was reduced from ~5% to ~1%. At low temperature, fine splitting of the 526
cm^-1 mode became evident.
[AA.006] An Inexpensive Biophysics Laboratory
Apparatus for Acquiring Pulmonary Function Data with Clinical Applications
Gregory Harkay (student:
Interest on the
part of the Physics Department at KSC in developing a computer interfaced lab
with appeal to biology majors and a need to perform a clinical pulmonological study to fulfill a biology requirement led
to the author's undergraduate research project in which a recording spirometer (typical cost: $15K) was constructed from
readily available materials and a typical undergraduate lab computer interface.
Simple components, including a basic photogate
circuit, CPU fan, and PVC couplings were used to construct an instrument for
measuring flow rates as a function of time.
[AA.007] Incident Angle Dependence of Photoinduced Surface Relief Gratings on Azobenzene
Containing Polymers
Adam Cooney (
The formation of
surface relief gratings (SRG's) on azobenzene containing polymers using low intensity writing
beams has been shown to be dependent on the polarization of the incident beams.
This photonic mechanism is believed to be due to the trans-cis-trans
isomerization in the polymers and, as proposed by
Kumar, Tripathy, and coworkers, the gradient force of
the superimposed beams. The nature of this investigation involves a two-beam
experiment using parallel polarizations at different incident angles,
corresponding to grating periods above and below 1 micron. The purpose is to
determine whether the incident angle of the writing beams plays a significant
role in the surface modulation or the diffraction efficiency of the gratings.
[AA.008] The Effect of Spatially Filtered
Optical Feedback on a Photorefractive Oscillator
Endri Trajani,
Hong Lin
We have studied
the behavior of a unidirectional photorefractive ring resonator. When the
cavity is slowly detuned, coexistence of two cavity modes is observed. As
spatially filtered feedback is added to the resonator, the symmetry of the
transverse beam pattern can be broken, depending on the relative phase between
the oscillating beam and feedback signal. The observations are in agreement
with existing theoretical and numerical analysis. Further experimental studies
are to be continued.
[AA.009] Radio Source Correlations with
Large-Scale Structure
Batuski, D. J., Krughoff,
K. S., U. Maine, Melott, A. L., U. Kansas
David J. Batuski,
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Maine, Orono
ME 04469-5709
The much improved and enlarged sample of clusters from the MX Northern Abell Cluster Redshift Survey was
the basis for a study of the correlation of the radio properties of clusters
with large-scale structure. We have tested the hypothesis that the presence and
properties of radio sources of various types within clusters could be partially
the result of larger scale processes, such as the merger of clusters and the infall of matter from more extended structures. Images from
the NVSS, as well as catalogs of radio objects from the literature, were used
to determine numbers of point and extended sources within each of the R > 0
clusters in the sample, which is more than 95% complete in measured redshifts. We present the results of local spatial cluster
analyses, which show statistically significant influence of the environments of
clusters on radio characteristics of their member galaxies, a remarkable
correlation of large-scale structure with phenomena on scales at least 5 orders
of magnitude smaller.
DJB and KSK gratefully acknowledge support for this research
from NASA through the Maine Space Grant Consortium.
Abstracts of Contributed
Papers (oral presentation) NES-APS
Session BA - Physics Education.
ORAL session, Saturday morning, November
03
Rhodes Hall 212
Session Chair: Martina
Arndt, Bridgewater State
[BA.001] 8:00 Conceptually Transparent
Experiments for Introducing NMR
Jonathan F. Reichert (TeachSpin
Inc., Emeritus, SUNY
Nuclear magnetic
resonance not only remains one of the essential experimental tools of
physicists and chemists, but has also become an important diagnostic technique
of modern medicine. NMR now is emerging as the basis of the next revolution:
Quantum Computing. It seems clear that magnetic resonance studies should be a
universal component of the physics undergraduate curriculum. One problem that
has plagued the introduction of this topic is the lack of "conceptually
transparent" experiments that can be carried out by second or third year
students. This talk describes Earth's field nuclear induction experiments that
meet these criteria. They allow students to verify Curie's Law, measure the
spin-lattice relaxation time in a direct and simple way, directly observe
nuclear precession at audio frequencies, observe and understand the difference
between T2 and T2* and to measure all of these quantities in samples that
contain hydrogen and/or fluorine. It even lets the students "hear"
the proton precess in the Earth's magnetic field. We
believe these experiments belong in the standard lexicon of intermediate labs
for all physics majors.
[BA.002]8:15 What Happens to a Magnet in a
Strong" Magnetic Field? An Experiment to Confront
Classic Misconceptions.
Barbara L. Wolff-Reichert (TeachSpin,
Inc.)
Do you think your
students could accurately predict the behavior of a magnetic dipole placed in a
uniform magnetic field? Even graduate students often get it wrong! This talk
will describe a simple experiment, designed for the introductory lab, which
allows students to observe the behavior of a dipole in both a uniform and
spatially varying field and helps to dispel major misonceptions
about the source of magnetic forces. Using graphs based on a series of simple
measurements, students can find the magnitude of the magnetic moment of a small
magnet. In the process, they develop an operational definition of the magnetic
moment as a way to describe the "strength" of a magnet. The
experiment also allows students to study the field gradient along the axis of a
single loop of current. Students in calculus based classes, which routinely use
the Biot-Savart Law to calculate the field along the
axis of a current loop, can use the resulting graph to verify their equations.
[BA.003]8:30 Spreadsheet Laser Dynamics
David Guerra, Jeffrey Schnick
(Department of Physics, Saint Anselm College)
Since the first
stimulated optical radiation in ruby was reported by T. H. Maiman
in 1960, scientists have attempted to better understand laser dynamics by
employing computer models of the interaction between photons and ions in the
system. In an effort to make these model more accessible to all students, we
have developed a conceptual framework in which the laser rate equations can be
understood and the step-by-step process for building a model from these
equations on a tool now ubiquitous in modern society, the spreadsheet program.
We have outlined a set of exercises, which can be done with the model to
investigate: the trade off between gain and loss in the laser, the difference
between pulsed and constant wave (cw) lasers, and the
effect of different pump pulses on the laser output. We have used our
conceptual framework as the starting point for an analytical look at the laser
rate equations that provides an interesting example of the use of derivatives.
This complete set of activities will provide students the opportunity to learn
about; coupled differential equations, modeling techniques, and the process of
Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
[BA.004]8:45 Non-cross-disciplinary
Cross-disciplinary Education
Ben Blum (
I teach physics,
mathematics, and astronomy at an art college. The idea of cross-disciplinary
education is a natural one in this setting, and I have participated in such in
the past. I have found it more useful, however, to show students the creativity
involved in my subjects. This is done in two ways. First, I frequently point
out the creativity involved in coming up with an idea we study. Second, I show
how scientists and mathematicians are dealing with many of the same existential
questions as are artists, just in a different fashion. These two approaches
allow students to see the deep connections between science and mathematics, and
their art.
Session BB - Theory and Experiment.
ORAL session, Saturday morning, November
03
Rhodes Hall 213
Session Chair: Jeff
Williams, Bridgewater State
[BB.001]8:00 Quark Conservation and the
Structure of Leptons
David W. Kraft (
It is widely held
that quarks are conserved by flavor only in strong interactions. However this limitation appears to exist only because leptons are
considered fundamental, i.e. particles with no structure. If we take
conservation of quarks by flavor as a general principle, applicable to weak
interactions as well as to strong interactions, we find leptons to be composite
particles. We discuss implications for the structure of matter and for
conservation laws.
[BB.002]8:15 Effective Masses in Diamond
Benjamin Lax (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The effective
masses of holes and electrons in diamond have been estimated from millimeter
cyclotron resonance(1) and theoretical calculations(2)
respectively. The former is questionable because the interpretation of the data
is subject to a revision. Improved experiments at higher fields and
temperatures can clarify the situation. The latter requires experiments to
verify the theoretical predictions. With recent preparations of phosphorus
doped diamond by vapor deposition(3) both cyclotron
resonance and Zeeman experiments are now possible.
These should yield more definitive values of the electron masses.
1 – C. J. Rauch,
Proc. Of Int. Conf. On Physics of Semicon., (1962) 276
2 – M. Willatzen et. al.
Phys Rev B 50 (1994) 18054
3 – E. Gheeraer et. al.
Diamond and Related Materials 9 (2000) 948
[BB.003]8:30 Nanomechanical
Euler Buckling
Stephen Carr, Walter Lawrence, Martin Wybourne (Dept. of Physics and
Nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) offer the
possibility to observe and control certain quantum effects in mechanical
structures. Current technology allows top-down fabrication of NEMS with lateral
dimensions in the range 10-100 nm, initiating the new and unexplored area of
Quantum Electromechanics (QEM). Here we present new
theoretical predictions for the quantum fluctuations and excitation energies of
free-standing silicon beams and carbon nanotubes, for
which the potential function is tuned by compression. In experimental work we
have fabricated SiO2 NEMS using a combination of e-beam lithography and plasma
etching. We are able to control the strain on a beam through the etching
process, thus allowing us to study the mechanical response of structures beyond
the Euler buckling instability. Preliminary room-temperature experimental work
focused on determination of the mechanical resonance properties will be
discussed along with a description of potential low-temperature experimental
arrangements allowing access to the QEM regime.
[BB.004]8:45 Orientation of Quadruplex DNA (G-wires) and purported G-wire crystals on
Mica.
James Vesenka, Bethany Rioux (
G-wires are four
stranded DNA polymers formed by the self-assembly of simple, G-rich oligomers .
G-wires incubated in a growth medium and adsorbed onto mica appear to orient
themselves relative to the mica surface structure. Atomic force microscopy and
low current scanning tunneling microscopy indicate
that G-wires become oriented parallel to the next nearest neighbor sites on
mica surfaces. Control experiments with duplex DNA of similar length to the
G-wires show no orientation preference. A proposed model, based on the lattice
match between adjacent phosphate backbones (0.95 nm) of the G-wires with the
next nearest neighbor sites of mica (0.90 nm), is used to explain the
preferential orientations G-wires grown for a long time in their growth
cocktail have shown exotic behavior, including the appearance of
one-dimensional crystals. The robust and flexible character of quadruplex DNA is being examined for its potential to
address the molecular wire question.
Post-deadline submissions
JOSEPH P.
LEFRANCOIS, GERMANO S. IAN-NACCHIONE,
Department of Physics, WPI, CHARLES C. AGOSTA,
Department of Physics,
Design and construction of a precision AC
calorimeter for repeated use down to liquid helium temperatures necessitates
both careful use of precision construction techniques and attention to
durability under thermal shocks. The purpose of this talk is to do describe the
design, construction, and preliminary testing of such
a device. An AC calorimeter, which involves the
continuous application
of sinusoidal heat and
detection of the induced temperature oscillation,
is useful for studying phase transitions of very small
amounts of sample
material. The initial test of the calorimeter was on 3.3 mg
of a high-Tc
superconductor about its superconducting transition of 90 K. The
goal is a detailed study of a magnetic ordering
transition in a metallo-organic
polymer near 2.2 K.
Session BC - Phenomena.
ORAL session, Saturday morning, November
03
Rhodes Hall 118
Session Chair: Keith Goodale, Keene State
[BC.001]8:00 Patentable Method
For Relearning To See Properly Without Corrective Lenses Or Corneal Surgery.
ROGER D. MCLEOD (
An Airy disk
radius involves wavelength and focal length, divided by aperture diameter. For
human vision, changing light conditions require the pupil to vary its diameter,
so wavelength (and focal length) must follow suit. Laser surgery on the human
cornea has been a popular "quick fix" which had promised to provide
good vision. Bad distance vision is improved at the expense of greatly
decreased near vision, or vice versa. The formulation above implies that human
vision must maintain a dynamic relationship between its variables. Increasing
illumination with decreasing pupil diameter requires decreasing wavelength and
focal length. A feedback mechanism is involved to keep the system at its
optimum setting. Glasses and contacts cannot satisfy the requirement for
dynamic adjustment. A ``better and quicker" Bates vision improvement
method is consistent with the physics involved, which "predicts" his,
(Land's, and my), results! Decreased nighttime vision, with sometimes-painful
symptoms ensuing upon exposure to brighter modern headlights, is caused by a
"frozen-in-place" visual system that is abetted by glasses, contacts,
or laser surgery on the cornea.
[BC.002]8:15 America Stonehenge , (A.S.), As a Prototype For Expected Phenomena At ``The" Stonehenge , and Also For Psychophysical Events
and Native American ``Manitou."
EDWARD M. MCLEOD (
All
``Stonehenge-type" constructions will have some equivalent of the
blue-light beams detectable at A.S. This conjecture includes even the pyramids
of
[BC.003]8:30 America Stonehenge , (A.S.), May Also Provide a Window
Into a Past Of Ancient, Native American Applied Physicists.
KIMBERELY E ALEXANDER (
New phenomena
detected at A.S. in
[BC.004]8:45 Nova Scotia
MICHAEL ANN OCHS (Environmental Protection Agency,
There is a strong
tradition that ``feu follet"
exists at the cemetery associated with the Acadian French at Cheticamp. It is described as a blue light, and may
actually be the equivalent of an ascending, positively charged stream of ions
in the atmosphere, just like the blue-light column that is often a precursor of
a storm's lightning-strike. Similar phenomena are at
[BC.005]9:00 Julia Roberts, Precognition,
America’s Stonehenge, (A.S.), Detecting Information From the Past, Mistaking It
For “Spirit,” and Defusing Martyrdom Practices Among Religious Zealots.
SAGAMO PAWA MATAGAMON (
Julia Roberts
claimed to have had a precognitive dream about an orangutan giving her a
full-body embrace, in the special about orangutans by the PBS's NY channel 13.
When such events do occur for anyone, my research suggests the equivalent of
spatial diffraction pattern information about an event can propagate in a
backward sense through time. A sufficiently energized transponder is needed,
and an appropriately sensitive receiver. Equivalent information from the past
is detectable at A.S. Individuals ``experiencing" reincarnation may
actually have been impacted by naturally occurring EMF, upon which
information-conveying signals from the past have been superimposed. Individuals
``possessed" by spirits could actually be detecting unsettling signals.
Native American world-view holds blameless deranged individuals, stating that Tseka'bec or the Great Spirit, perhaps EMF, is at fault.
Zealots' expectations of a glorious reincarnation could be defused if rage is
an artifact of EMF experiences. Society should attempt such a persuasion.
Abstracts for Contributed Papers, NES-AAPT
Rhodes
Hall 210, Sat. Nov. 3,
Peter Glanz,
Rhode Island College Providence , RI 02908
This talk will illustrate
the integration of text, sound and video
into a computer generated
presentation in general physics. Having a
CDROM available with this
and other presentations makes them
available to anyone with a computer and CD drive because
Director is
platform independent.
Roman Kezerashvili,
New York City Technical College City University New York
A
Web based homework and tutoring program has been developed. The presentation
will show instructional and interactive software that allows students to fully
explore and appreciate the world of physics. This product provides an on-line
collection of almost 200 physics practice problems accompanied by detailed
hints and solutions. They are available on the World Wide Web. The software is
designed to help with problem solving. Within minutes students can check the
solution of a given problem, get hints and a solution. The goal is to improve
the success rate for students enrolled in algebra or calculus-based physics
classes. This software gives students exactly what they need to score well on
typical physics exams; lots of practice problems. The system also allows to create a problem by filling out the form and hitting the
Send button at the bottom of the form and as a result the problem will be post
on the World Wide Web.
Robert Tinker, the
Concord Consortium,
Rich learning environments
can be created by computer-based models and tools, if the software is manipulable and incorporates important content that can be
learned through interaction and exploration. Such environments are often so
rich that they are hard to learn to use and difficult to integrate into
instruction. Pedagogica is an environment that can
control model and tool software that permits educational designers to build
flexible scaffolding into the software using a script that can be easily
modified and delivered over the Internet. The monitoring functions provide sophisticated
embedded assessment that can be delivered over the Internet. The combination of
Pedagogica with a tool or model creates a hypermodel. Hypermodels are being
developed based on probeware, genetics and molecular
dynamics models, and the NetLogo programming
language. To stimulate collaborative development of hypermodels,
the Concord Consortium will make Pedagogica and its hypermodels freely available as open source.
Footnote:
This paper is based on research supported by National Science Foundation
grants REC-9980620 and 9725524 to the Concord Consortium, Inc. Any opinions and
errors in this paper are those of the authors and not the National Science
Foundation or the Concord Consortium.
James Vesenka,
Dept. Physics & Chemistry,
Jerry Bodily,
Jeff Steinert,
Edward Little High School,
I conducted two teacher
enhancement workshops and a “high velocity” algebra-based general physics
course this past summer employing the “modeling method”. Two master modelers from area schools helped
to co-lead a three-week, afternoon-only, regional workshop at
9:15 Involving New Science Teachers in Investigative Teaching and Learning
Elizabeth Cavicchi; Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology, MIT,
Fiona Hughes-McDonnell; Jacob Hiatt Center for Urban
Education, Clark University,
We engaged new teachers of
science as investigative learners in a university science education course that we codeveloped and cotaught. Course activities included: work with
materials; personal investigations of nature and the classroom; reflective
writing and discussions of readings and teaching. The new teachers deepened their
understandings of learning through drawing, observing, and investigating. In
preparing to take on full classroom responsibilities, these new teachers felt
tensions between exam-driven constraints on school curriculum, and the questioning
processes of their investigative learning.
In reflection, we feel their work raises a question: can teacher education courses become places
where teaching and learning evolves investigatively?
Robert J. McGuane, Adjunct, Quincy College, Quincy, MA; Instructor,
Town of Wellesley Continuing Ed.; Owner, RJM Tutoring & Rsch,
Wel., MA Worc.St., Wel, MA 02481-4927; 781-235-2055; rjm4help@yahoo.com
The electronic calculator is
literally an electronic brain which may be doing too much of the thinking for
physics & chemistry students. Math short cuts, such as from the celebrated
Trachtenberg System of Basic Math, can demonstrate to the student that
arithmetic needed for estimates and self-checking can be fun and easy. Instructors may even be surprised to see
students do exact calculations without the calculator. In addition, methods
already taught in the math curriculum may be brought to physics and/or
chemistry to give the student even more power to check calculations even problem
solutions.
Jonathan Mitschele, Associate Professor of Chemistry,
For the serious student of chemistry, physics, or biology, understanding
the forces that hold molecules together as liquids or solids is of great
interest and importance. The usual general chemistry textbook discussion
of the various intermolecular forces (dispersion forces, dipole forces, and
hydrogen bonds) sheds little light on the relative contribution of each to
determining the intermolecular potential energy for a particular
substance. I will introduce an empirical relationship between molecular polarizibilities and heats of vaporization of molecular
substances that can provide quantitative estimates of the several contributions
to intermolecular potential energies.
Saturday Afternoon Contributed AAPT
Papers
2 PM , Nov.3, Science Center
Sternheim, Morton M.; Physics
Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003;
mort@k12s.phast.umass.edu
Despite extensive reform
efforts in science education, student achievement in science is less than
desired. There are many reasons, but one is the fact that middle school and
elementary school science is often taught by teachers who are poorly prepared for
this task. College and high school physics faculty can offer workshops (and
courses) for inservice teachers that will strengthen
their content knowledge and pedagogic skills. Such workshops should model
student-active inquiry-based teaching methods while presenting science content.
They should incorporate appropriate educational technology, explicitly address
pedagogic and classroom issues and curriculum frameworks, and include college
and K12 staff in the planning and delivery. Mixing pre-service and inservice teachers provides some interesting benefits. Some
other key points: follow-up sessions are critical; evaluation is important but
challenging; include time for reflection and closure; and finally, be realistic
about what participants can do in a commuter workshop. Many funding sources are
available to support science-teaching workshops.
2:30 Learning about Confusions with Coils through Historical and
Experimental Experiences
Elizabeth Cavicchi; Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology, MIT,
Making and using an instrument of our own construction
involves us in confusions of learning from natural phenomena that are not easy
to describe without having the experience.
In 1820, Johann S. C. Schweigger (1779-1857) explored the magnetic effects of
current-bearing wires with a double-loop instrument of his own design. Its two wire loops are confined to a plane;
this puzzled me until I experimentally made wire loops and realized the confusingness of the loop's spatial properties. Subsequent nineteenth century investigators
encountered new, confusing three-dimensional effects when winding electrical
coils. Appreciating these historical
confusions can support us in the experimenting we do now, as teachers and
students.
John Burger, Assistant Professor, New England
Institute of Technology, 2500 Post Road, Warwick, Rhode Island 02886; (401) 739-5000 ext. 3388;
jburger@neit.edu
This paper offers support to
the average higher education faculty member who is interested in the
possibilities afforded by the new teaching methodologies associated with
distance learning but hesitant to begin using them. By overcoming the tendency
to wait and see what develops with distance learning before implementing it,
the average faculty member can realize many immediate benefits. Having taught
several purely online courses and many hybrid courses over the past three years
I hope to encourage educators who might be considering utilizing this type of
course delivery system. From experience I have come to advocate that what is
necessary to make purely online courses successful is to include as many
resources as possible. There is a direct relationship between how many students
can be successful in the online environment and the number and variety of
resources that are supplied to them through the course delivery system.
Farzi Najmabadi;
farz_najm@yahoo.com
In this preliminary paper few examples are shown as
how squirrel can be a model in teaching various topics in physics,
where otherwise they prove to be difficult or rather dull for young
students. Topics explored are projectile
motion, force and power, gravity and electricity. Further studies would entail biophysical details,
and studies involving other animals.