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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Charge On Luminous Bodies Resembling Natural Ball Lightning Produced Via Electrical Arcs Through Lump Silicon, Christina L. Porter, Galen P. Miley, David J. Griffiths, Erik J. Sánchez Dec 2014

Charge On Luminous Bodies Resembling Natural Ball Lightning Produced Via Electrical Arcs Through Lump Silicon, Christina L. Porter, Galen P. Miley, David J. Griffiths, Erik J. Sánchez

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

A phenomenon resembling natural ball lightning can be produced via electrical arcing through silicon. We use lump silicon instead of silicon wafers to achieve higher production rates and larger, longer-lived luminous balls than previously reported. The luminous balls consist of a silicon core surrounded by a porous network of loosely bound silicon dioxide nanoparticles. We find that the balls carry a small net charge on the order of 10−12 C and propose that the nanoparticles are electrostatically bound to the core due to this charge.


Extended Necessary Condition For Local Operations And Classical Communication: Tight Bound For All Measurements, Scott M. Cohen Dec 2014

Extended Necessary Condition For Local Operations And Classical Communication: Tight Bound For All Measurements, Scott M. Cohen

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We give a necessary condition that a separable measurement can be implemented by local quantum operations and classical communication (LOCC) in any finite number of rounds of communication, generalizing and strengthening a result obtained previously. That earlier result involved a bound that is tight when the number of measurement operators defining the measurement is relatively small. The present results generalize that bound to one that is tight for any finite number of measurement operators, and we also provide an extension which holds when that number is infinite. We apply these results to the famous example on a 3 × 3 …


Positional Control Of Plasmonic Fields And Electron Emission, Robert Campbell Word, Joseph P. Fitzgerald, Rolf Könenkamp Sep 2014

Positional Control Of Plasmonic Fields And Electron Emission, Robert Campbell Word, Joseph P. Fitzgerald, Rolf Könenkamp

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the positional control of plasmonic fields and electron emission in a continuous gap antenna structure of sub-micron size. We show experimentally that a nanoscale area of plasmon-enhanced electron emission can be motioned by changing the polarization of an exciting optical beam of 800 nm wavelength. Finite-difference calculations are presented to support the experiments and to show that the plasmon-enhanced electric field distribution of the antenna can be motioned precisely and predictively.


3d Systems' Technology Overview And New Applications In Manufacturing, Engineering, Science, And Education, Trevor Snyder, Mike Andrews, Mark M. Weislogel, Peter Moeck, Jennifer Stone-Sundberg, Derek Birkes, Madeline Paige Hoffert, Adam Lindeman, Jeff Morrill, Ondrej Fercak, Sasha Friedman, Jeff Gunderson, Anh Ha, Jack Mccollister, Yongkang Chen, John T. Geile, Andrew Paul Wollman, Babek Attari, Nathan Botnen, Vasant Vuppuluri, Jennifer Shim, Werner Kaminsky, Dustin Adams, John Graft Sep 2014

3d Systems' Technology Overview And New Applications In Manufacturing, Engineering, Science, And Education, Trevor Snyder, Mike Andrews, Mark M. Weislogel, Peter Moeck, Jennifer Stone-Sundberg, Derek Birkes, Madeline Paige Hoffert, Adam Lindeman, Jeff Morrill, Ondrej Fercak, Sasha Friedman, Jeff Gunderson, Anh Ha, Jack Mccollister, Yongkang Chen, John T. Geile, Andrew Paul Wollman, Babek Attari, Nathan Botnen, Vasant Vuppuluri, Jennifer Shim, Werner Kaminsky, Dustin Adams, John Graft

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Since the inception of 3D printing, an evolutionary process has taken place in which specific user and customer needs have crossed paths with the capabilities of a growing number of machines to create value-added businesses. Even today, over 30 years later, the growth of 3D printing and its utilization for the good of society is often limited by the various users' understanding of the technology for their specific needs. This article presents an overview of current 3D printing technologies and shows numerous examples from a multitude of fields from manufacturing to education.


Vibrational Modes In Acoustic Gallery Scanning Probe Microscopy, Hsien-Chih Hung, Andres H. La Rosa, Rodolfo Fernandez, Bret Comnes, Richard Nordstrom Sep 2014

Vibrational Modes In Acoustic Gallery Scanning Probe Microscopy, Hsien-Chih Hung, Andres H. La Rosa, Rodolfo Fernandez, Bret Comnes, Richard Nordstrom

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

A distinct characteristic in Acoustic Gallery Scanning Probe Microscopy (AG-SPM) constitutes the use of its supporting structural frame as an acoustic resonant cavity for monitoring the nanometer-sized amplitude of its stylus-probe. Although very straightforward in its implementation, its amplitude detection sensitivity could be improved by a more thorough understanding of its working principle mechanism, as well as by a more systematic procedure to attain a closer matching between one of the cavitys acoustic resonances and the probes natural frequency. Herein, a description of the working principle of the AG-SPM is attempted from a vibrationalmode analysis perspective, and a successful specific …


Optical Injection Unlocking For Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy, Gregory A. Bostrom, Andrew L. Rice, Dean B. Atkinson Jul 2014

Optical Injection Unlocking For Cavity Ringdown Spectroscopy, Gregory A. Bostrom, Andrew L. Rice, Dean B. Atkinson

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Continuous wave cavity ringdown spectroscopy requires a rapid termination of the injection of light into the cavity to initiate the decay (i.e., ringdown) event. We demonstrate a technique that accomplishes this through pulsed optical injection of a second laser into the main laser, resulting in 20-100 MHz frequency shifts in the otherwise cavity-locked main laser sufficient to create ringdown events at 3.5 kHz. Data on the frequency shift as a function of both main laser current and relative wavelength are presented, 88 well 88 a demonstration that single exponential decays are maintained in the process.


Necessary Condition For Local Quantum Operations And Classical Communication With Extensive Violation By Separable Operations, Scott M. Cohen Jul 2014

Necessary Condition For Local Quantum Operations And Classical Communication With Extensive Violation By Separable Operations, Scott M. Cohen

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We give a conceptually simple necessary condition such that a separable quantum operation can be implemented by local operations on subsystems and classical communication between parties (LOCC), a condition which follows from a novel approach to understanding LOCC. This necessary condition applies to all LOCC protocols involving any number of parties and any finite number of rounds of communication. Furthermore, it demonstrates an extremely strong difference between separable operations and LOCC, in that there exist examples of the former for which the condition is extensively violated. More precisely, the violation by separable operations of our necessary condition for LOCC grows …


Subwavelength Visualization Of Light In Thin Film Waveguides With Photoelectrons, Joseph P. Fitzgerald, Robert Campbell Word, Rolf Könenkamp May 2014

Subwavelength Visualization Of Light In Thin Film Waveguides With Photoelectrons, Joseph P. Fitzgerald, Robert Campbell Word, Rolf Könenkamp

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We report the visualization and quantitative analysis of electromagnetic surface fields at solid surfaces with the potential for λ/50 resolution. To illustrate this capability, we investigate patterns in two-photon photoemission images of light-diffracting structures in waveguiding, transparent thin films. The obtained micrographs show interference patterns between incident and guided light with a remarkable sensitivity to subwavelength features. We demonstrate that photoemission rates are directly related to the surface field strengths and develop a subwavelength method to calculate the surface fields from optical properties and surface topology based on the two-dimensional Kirchhoff diffraction integral. Calculated images based on this theoretical approach …


Approximate Equations Of State In Two-Temperature Plasma Mixtures, John D. Ramshaw, Andrew W. Cook Feb 2014

Approximate Equations Of State In Two-Temperature Plasma Mixtures, John D. Ramshaw, Andrew W. Cook

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Approximate thermodynamic state relations for multicomponent atomic and molecular gas mixtures are often constructed by artificially partitioning the mixture into its constituent materials and requiring the separated materials to be in temperature and pressure equilibrium. Iterative numerical algorithms have been employed to enforce this equilibration and compute the resulting approximate state relations in single-temperature mixtures. In partially ionized gas mixtures, there is both theoretical and empirical evidence that equilibrating the chemical potentials, number densities, or partial pressures of the free electrons is likely to produce more accurate results than equilibrating the total pressures. Moreover, in many situations of practical interest …


Surface Plasmons Of A Graphene Parallel Plate Waveguide Bounded By Kerr-Type Nonlinear Media, H. Hajian, A. Soltani-Vala, M. Kalafi, Pui T. Leung Feb 2014

Surface Plasmons Of A Graphene Parallel Plate Waveguide Bounded By Kerr-Type Nonlinear Media, H. Hajian, A. Soltani-Vala, M. Kalafi, Pui T. Leung

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The exact dispersion relations of the transverse magnetic surface plasmons (SPs) supported by a graphene parallel plate waveguide (PPWG), surrounded on one or both sides by Kerr-type nonlinear media, are obtained analytically. It is shown that if self-focusing nonlinear materials are chosen as the surrounding media, the SPs localization length (LL) is decreased, while their propagation length (PL) remains unchanged, as compared to those of a typical graphene PPWG. Moreover, PL and LL of the SPs are considerably affected by adjusting nonlinear parts of the dielectric permittivities of the nonlinear media. It is found that using an appropriate defocusing nonlinear …


Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis As A Laboratory Activity: At The Interface Of Physics And The Body, Elliot Mylott, Ellynne Marie Kutschera, Ralf Widenhorn Feb 2014

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis As A Laboratory Activity: At The Interface Of Physics And The Body, Elliot Mylott, Ellynne Marie Kutschera, Ralf Widenhorn

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present a novel laboratory activity on RC circuits aimed at introductory physics students in life-science majors. The activity teaches principles of RC circuits by connecting ac-circuit concepts to bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) using a custom-designed educational BIA device. The activity shows how a BIA device works and how current, voltage, and impedance measurements relate to bioelectrical characteristics of the human body. From this, useful observations can be made including body water, fat-free mass, and body fat percentage. The laboratory is engaging to pre-health and life-science students, as well as engineering students who are given the opportunity to observe electrical …


3d Printing Of Crystallographic Models And Open Access Databases, Werner Kaminsky, Trevor J. Snyder, Peter Moeck Jan 2014

3d Printing Of Crystallographic Models And Open Access Databases, Werner Kaminsky, Trevor J. Snyder, Peter Moeck

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Provides a brief overview of opportunities for crystallography allowed by the recent developments in 3D printing technology. in combination with open access databases.


3d Printing Of Crystallographic Models For Interdisciplinary College Education, Peter Moeck, Werner Kaminsky, Trevor J. Snyder Jan 2014

3d Printing Of Crystallographic Models For Interdisciplinary College Education, Peter Moeck, Werner Kaminsky, Trevor J. Snyder

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Provides a brief overview of the Crystallography Open Database, and how advances in 3D printing have created opportunities in teaching of college level crystallography courses.


3d Printing & Open Access Databases For Crystallographic College Education, Peter Moeck, Jennifer Stone-Sundberg, Trevor J. Snyder, Werner Kaminsky, Saulius Grazulis, International Advisory Board Of The Crystallography Open Database Jan 2014

3d Printing & Open Access Databases For Crystallographic College Education, Peter Moeck, Jennifer Stone-Sundberg, Trevor J. Snyder, Werner Kaminsky, Saulius Grazulis, International Advisory Board Of The Crystallography Open Database

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Presentation gives an overview of available open access databases of crystals and crystal structures, as well as discussions of how newly developed 3D printing technologies can be used to teach crystallography at the college level. Offers advice regarding conversion of crystallographic information files to 3D printing files, and shares news from the 3D printing of crystallographic models community.


On The Production Of The Positive Antihydrogen Ion H̄+ Via Radiative Attachment, Chris M. Keating, M. Charlton, Jack C. Straton Jan 2014

On The Production Of The Positive Antihydrogen Ion H̄+ Via Radiative Attachment, Chris M. Keating, M. Charlton, Jack C. Straton

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We provide an estimate of the cross section for the radiative attachment of a second positron into the state of the ion using Ohmura and Ohmura's (1960 Phys. Rev. 118 154) effective range theory and the principle of detailed balance. The ion can potentially be created using interactions of positrons with trapped antihydrogen, and our analysis includes a discussion in which estimates of production rates are given. Motivations to produce include its potential use as an intermediary to cool antihydrogen to ultra-cold (sub-mK) temperatures for a variety of studies, including spectroscopy and probing the gravitational interaction of the anti-atom.


Advances In Crystallographic Image Processing For Scanning Probe Microscopy, Peter Moeck, Taylor T. Bilyeu, A. Mainzer Koenig, Jack C. Straton Jan 2014

Advances In Crystallographic Image Processing For Scanning Probe Microscopy, Peter Moeck, Taylor T. Bilyeu, A. Mainzer Koenig, Jack C. Straton

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Brief overview of advances in image processing for scanning probe microscopes, as related to high resolution images of crystals and arrays of membrane proteins.


Kinesthetic Activities For The Classroom, Elliot E. Mylott, Justin C. Dunlap, Lester Lampert, Ralf Widenhorn Jan 2014

Kinesthetic Activities For The Classroom, Elliot E. Mylott, Justin C. Dunlap, Lester Lampert, Ralf Widenhorn

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Educators have found that kinesthetic involvement in an experiment or demonstration can engage students in a powerful way. With that as our goal, we developed three activities that allow students to connect with and quantitatively explore key physics principles from mechanics with three fun physical challenges. By presenting these activities as competitions, we can challenge students to use what they know about the relevant physics to improve their performance and beat their own score or those of other students. Each activity uses an original, real-time data collecting program that offers students and educators a simple, clear method to demonstrate various …