Radiations

February 24-March 2, 2002

Weekly Calendar

Feb 28, Thursday, Noon-1:00 pm, CTR (Sevy), Physics Table, Join the department staff for lunch and good company. We can meet on 3rd Olin at 11:50 for the short walk to the CTR (Sevy Hall) or you can meet us there. Students off-board are invited to bring their lunch.

March 1, Friday, 7-9 pm, Goodsell, Goodsell Open House, Public Open House, Friday, March 1, from 7-9 p.m. Everyone is invited to come look through the observatory's two historic telescopes. Remember to dress appropriately as the telescope domes are neither heated nor cooled. The open house will be canceled in the event of cloudy skies. For more information contact Jesse at 646 5719 or via email: jball@carleton.edu. *Note: Open houses are held the first Friday of every month.

Copies of the introductory papers are available for your review in Second Olin Lounge

Monday, Feb. 25, 3:10-4:20pm, Olin 02, Kathreen Woyak’s Comps Presentation Talk,"Physics of Snowflake Formation", I will look at the various processes involved in the formation of snowflakes including the structure of ice, diffusion, and surface physics. I will also discuss the history of snowflake research and several theoretical models for snowflake growth. And then the exciting part: I will stimulate the growth of snowflakes inside my own homemade diffusion chamber. I other words, we’re going to make it snow!

Wednesday, Feb 227, 3:10-4:20 pm, Olin 02, Henry Brocks’s Comps Presentation Talk, "Flying Low: The Physics of Magnetically Levitated Vehicles", Symmetry is one of the most important and deepest concepts in physics, and is responsible for much of the "beauty" often referred to in describing physical theory. Symmetry is a very important consideration in the design and operation of magnetically levitated vehicles (maglevs). Despite its importance, I will not focus on symmetry so much as the various types of maglev systems, current and future applications thereof, and the physics behind how these vehicles work. Thanks to those seniors who have presented their talks, you have an appreciation for the importance of symmetry as well as the importance of Faraday’s law, Lenz’s law, Maxwell’s equations, among other useful tools in the realm of electricity and magnetism. All the same, the latter category shall be revisited in more detail as it pertains to the levitation and propulsion of maglev trains.

Friday, Feb 22, 3:30-4:40 pm, Olin 02, Katie Devine’s Comps Presentation Talk: "Star Formation", Understanding why and how stars form is one of the fundamental building blocks of astrophyiscs, necessary for understanding the long and complex history of the universe. My talk will tell the story of a forming star, describing the theoretical physics used to predict as well as explain observed behavior in star forming regions of space. I will also discuss the observational astrophysics that have expanded understanding of star formation. As if that wasn't enough, here will also be plenty of fascinating pictures as an added bonus.

To check on dates and times of all comps talks see: http://physics.carleton.edu/Updates/fcompschedule.html

Astro 110 Tutor needed immediately for Astro 110 student. Please contact Joel if you are interested. jweisber@carleton.edu

SPS Outstanding Student Award for Undergraduate Research The winners will receive the opportunity to be an invited speaker (expenses paid by LSPS) at the International Conference of Physics Students (Budapest, Hungary) and at the Association of American Physics Teachers Meeting (Austin, Texas). The winners will also receive a $500 honorarium and an additional $500 will be awarded to the winner‘s SPS chapter. Students must submit a title and abstract of their proposed paper. This is an excellent opportunity for SPS members to have their research work recognized and published. For more information see Arjendu and the website at: http://www.spsnational.org/radio/icpstravel.htm.

List of REU Sites by The National Science Foundation "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" Program. For further information concerning the REU Programs contact: http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/reu/reulist.htm. It lists all of the REU Sites and of some other activities. Contact each Site directly for specific information and for application procedures and deadlines.

Honeywell Summer Internship Honeywell may be interested in hiring summer interns. Good laboratory and computer skills would be the requirement. They'd be looking for someone who has completed their junior or senior year (unless there was a really exceptional sophomore.) They tend to tailor the job to what your skills are (within reason) but you would most likely find yourselves helping with testing, building up a test set-up, or helping to automate a particular test. They might also be put to work doing modeling under the direction of one of the scientists here. Contact Mary K Hibbs-Brenner, a Carleton Alum who works at Honeywell in the cities. Her email address is Hibbs-Brenner_Mary@htc.honeywell.com. Mary K will be giving one of the P123 talks this coming spring term.

University of Idaho Summer NSF/REU Program in physics: The research focus is astrophysics, condensed matter physics, plasma physics, and nuclear physics. Deadline for application is March 1, 2002. For more information see: http://www.phys.uidaho.edu/reu.php.

Past and Current REU Information: http://physics.carleton.edu/Updates/finternships.html

Location = Main General, Carter, Ashley H., 1924-, CLASSICAL AND STATISTICAL THERMODYNAMICS, Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall, c2001.

Location = Main General, Knoepfel, Heinz, 1931-, MAGNETIC FIELDS : A COMPREHENSIVE THEORETICAL TREATISE FOR PRACTICAL USE, New York : Wiley, c2000.

Location = Main General, Dahl, Per F., 1932-, HEAVY WATER AND THE WARTIME RACE FOR NUCLEAR ENERG, Bristol [England] ; Philadelphia : Institute of Physics, c1999.

Location = Main General, Bogdanov, Konstantin, BIOLOGY IN PHYSICS : IS LIFE MATTER? / KONSTANTIN BOGDANOV, San Diego, CA : Academic Press, c2000.