Physics Commons^™

Examining The Relationships Between Gender Role Congruity, Identity, And The Choice To Persist For Women In Undergraduate Physics Majors, Bronwen Bares Pelaez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Persistent gender disparity limits the available contributors to advancing some science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. While higher education can be an influential time-point for ensuring adequate participation, many physics programs across the U.S. have few women in classroom or lab settings. Prior research indicates that these women face considerable barriers. For university students, faculty, and administration to appropriately address these issues, it is important to understand the experiences of women as they navigate male-dominated STEM fields.

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study explored undergraduate female physics majors’ experiences with their male-dominated academic and research spaces in the U.S. …

Multifractal Structure In Nonrepresentational Art, Jonas R. Mureika, C. C. Dyer, G. C. Cupchik

Jonas Mureika

Multifractal analysis techniques are applied to patterns in several abstract expressionist artworks, painted by various artists. The analysis is carried out on two distinct types of structures: the physical patterns formed by a specific color (“blobs”) and patterns formed by the luminance gradient between adjacent colors (“edges”). It is found that the multifractal analysis method applied to “blobs” cannot distinguish between artists of the same movement, yielding a multifractal spectrum of dimensions between about 1.5 and 1.8. The method can distinguish between different types of images, however, as demonstrated by studying a radically different type of art. The data suggest …

Sheaf Theoretic Formulation For Consciousness And Qualia And Relationship To The Idealism Of Non-Dual Philosophies, Menas Kafatos, Goro Kato

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Questions about the nature of reality, whether Consciousness is the fundamental reality in the universe, and what is Consciousness itself, have no answer in systems that assume an external reality independent of Consciousness. Ultimately, the ontological foundation of such systems is the absolute division of subject and object. We advocate instead what we consider to be an approach that is in agreement with the foundation of quantum reality, which is based on Rāmānuja’s version of Vedanta philosophy and non-dual Kashmir Śaivism. Quantum mechanics opened the door to consciousness, but it cannot account for consciousness. However, the quantum measurement problem implies …

A Realization Of Modernity: Case Studies In Connectivity And Time, Mari Gorman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

My stated goal in applying to The Graduate Center was to explore my previous research in diverse fields of study. This research, the result of a formal investigation of acting, was and still is centrally focused on the subject of relationship itself, relationships being what actors create. In pursuit of a greater understanding of the essential nature of relationship in practical terms, a self-organizing complex system that constitutes universal relationship was unexpectedly discovered. As such, this system has been shown to offer solutions to many outstanding problems in diverse areas of study. The Liberal Studies program track, Approaches to Modernity …

A Period Examination Through Contemporary Energy Analysis Of Kevin Roche’S Fine Arts Center At University Of Massachusetts-Amherst, L Carl Fiocchi Jr

L. Carl Fiocchi

Studies of buildings belonging to a subset of Modernist architecture, Brutalism, have included discussions pertaining to social and architectural history, critical reception, tectonic form and geometry inspirations, material property selections, period technology limitations, and migration of public perceptions. Evaluations of Brutalist buildings’ energy related performances have been restricted to anecdotal observations with particular focus on the building type’s poor thermal performance, a result of the preferred construction method, i.e. monolithic reinforced concrete used as structure, interior finish and exterior finish. A valid criticism, but one that served to dismiss discussion that the possibility of other positive design strategies limiting energy …

Galileo's Contribution To Mechanics, Asim Gangopadhyaya

Physics: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Asim Gangopadhyaya writes about Galileo's contributions to mechanics and physics in this chapter in Where Have All the Heavens Gone? Galileo's Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina edited by John P. McCarthy and Edmondo F. Lupieri.

The Property Of Mass: An Interdisciplinary Metaphysical Investigation, Benjamin Hayworth

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The property of mass as used in the physical sciences is somewhat of a metaphysical conundrum. Not only has the definition of mass changed with various paradigm shifts in physics, but the powers belonging to the property have also varied. In my study, I begin by examining the historical context surrounding the term, including the changes to its definition. In doing so, it is revealed that various definitions of mass are used and circulated in general discussion, so a cogent criterion of identity is established by which each definition can be measured. After determining the distinctions between each mass term, …

The Philosophy And Physics Of Time Travel: The Possibility Of Time Travel, Ramitha Rupasinghe

Honors Capstone Projects

Time travel to the past is an alluring subject for many science fiction writers but is it really science fiction or is there a way to make it happen, possibly in the distant future? In the world of physics, time travel to the future has already been accomplished but time travel to the past seems to be a subject of controversy. Similarly, both philosophers and physicists cannot completely agree on one fundamental question about time: what is it? In this interdisciplinary project, I will explore the fundamental nature of time as a building block to help me understand time travel. …

On Marie Curie And Me, Sharon L. Stephenson

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

When people discover I am a nuclear physicist, they often say, "Oh, like Marie Curie!" And yes, I am like Marie in that I have woman parts, I study nuclei, I have two children and a physicist husband. But had I lived in her time, I would not have been that rare female admitted to the Sorbonne. I could not have quietly made the top scores on the math and physics examinations. I am impulsive and thin-skinned, my occasional cleverness passing for deeper talent. I would probably have been a cleaning girl, pregnant at 15, unable to speak any language …

Saving The Physics Ii: Who Needs To Be Saved? It Depends On Your Metaphysics, Menas Kafatos

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Physics does not need to be saved. If anything, physics was rescued in the early twentieth century with the advancement of both the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics. What needs to be saved is our world outlook or metaphysics because how a society acts and develops depends on what its belief systems are. Here we explore how a new metaphysics where consciousness is fundamental might just be what modern societies need.