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Physics

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Journal

2015

Articles 1 - 16 of 16

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Dual Species Magneto-Optical Trap, Daniel Woodbury, Scott Bergeson May 2015

Dual Species Magneto-Optical Trap, Daniel Woodbury, Scott Bergeson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the last several decades, laser cooling has become the primary tool for atomic research and, in our lab, has facilitated the study of ultracold plasma. Using a novel laser cooling setup, we created a vacuum chamber and related hardware for a dual species magneto-optical trap (MOT). The design of the MOT will allow us to improve trapping efficiency and atom density in our plasma, better understand laser cooling and trapping of calcium and ytterbium, and probe their interactions in ultracold hetero-nuclear plasma.

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Metal Cnt-M, New Materials And New Approaches To Microfabrication, Richard Vanfleet Apr 2015

Metal Cnt-M, New Materials And New Approaches To Microfabrication, Richard Vanfleet

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This Mentored Environment Grant (MEG) proposed to explore Carbon Nanotube Templated Microfabrication (CNT-M) approaches that used metal as the infiltration material. We proposed to focus on two specific metal systems; traditionally electrodeposited metals such as nickel and high atomic number metals like tungsten which in many cases cannot be electroplated. Our two objectives were:

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Magnetic Memory In Exchange Bias Films, Clarke Safsten, Karine Chenel Apr 2015

Magnetic Memory In Exchange Bias Films, Clarke Safsten, Karine Chenel

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My project for which I received an ORCA grant has advanced considerably. I work with Dr. Chesnel studying magnetic thin films. These films consist of layered ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic materials. In previous experiments, Dr. Chesnel has determined that these types of films exhibit a property called magnetic memory. My project is to determine if the magnetic memory persists, and to what degree, in various circumstances. My project is divided into three primary pieces: experiment, computation, and conclusion.

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Transiting Exo-Planets Indirect Detection Of Planets Orbiting Other Stars, Brian Shaw, Denise Stephens Apr 2015

Transiting Exo-Planets Indirect Detection Of Planets Orbiting Other Stars, Brian Shaw, Denise Stephens

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction Over the past year I have been looking at pictures filled with dots and running them through computers. On the surface that doesn’t seem quite exciting but once one understands what is happening between the pixels, the humdrum atmosphere disappears. Each of those dots represent an actual star in our galaxy. And by analyzing the pixels, I can determine properties of these stars. The Orson Pratt Observatory atop the Eyring Science Center on BYU campus has been collection data of potential transits provided by the KELT-North Project. I have been taking that data and reducing it to the point …

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“Ultra Cold” Room Temperature Plasma, Stephen Rupper, Dr. Scott Bergeson Apr 2015

“Ultra Cold” Room Temperature Plasma, Stephen Rupper, Dr. Scott Bergeson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Many scientists throughout the world are currently doing research on ultra cold neutral plasmas (UCNP). These plasmas are difficult to make and require quite a sophisticated setup. A method that we employ in our lab requires multiple laser pulses to be timed perfectly and aligned precisely in order to ionize the atoms. It also requires the use of a magneto optical trap, which traps the atoms before they are ionized. This setup is very time consuming to build and maintain but we have a mathematical model for it. Since the current methods of creating ultra cold plasmas are hard to …

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Determining Thin Film Roughness With Euv Reflection, Cody Petrie, Steven Turley Apr 2015

Determining Thin Film Roughness With Euv Reflection, Cody Petrie, Steven Turley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction: Reflection of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light is made difficult by a number of factors. First, most materials have a large, imaginary part of the index of refraction for EUV light, causing absorption. As a result, our experiment is done under vacuum. Second, since the wavelength of EUV light (1-100 nm) is smaller than visible light, it is scattered more strongly than visible light. To overcome this obstacle we need to make our reflecting surfaces smoother. To be able to do this we need a good probe for surface roughness on the scale of EUV wavelengths. Currently the best method …

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Wavelength Detection From Filtered Photodiodes, Nils Otterstrom, Dallin Durfee Apr 2015

Wavelength Detection From Filtered Photodiodes, Nils Otterstrom, Dallin Durfee

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction Physics laboratories all over the world depend on accurate wavelength meters to tune their lasers to desired optical frequencies. Our ion interferometry lab, for example, relies heavily on the precision of these instruments to laser cool beams of strontium ions and then split and recombine their wave functions. Unfortunately, some these devices can be extremely expensive and very cumbersome to use. A frequency comb wavelength detector, although remarkably accurate, can cost around $100,000 dollars. In our lab we employ a Michelson-Morley interferometer based wavelength meter, which costs around $8,000 dollars. Despite its relatively high accuracy, the device is extremely …

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Porous Cantilevers As Chemical Sensors, Steven Noyce, Robert Davis Apr 2015

Porous Cantilevers As Chemical Sensors, Steven Noyce, Robert Davis

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Resonant cantilevers, or small vibrating beams, are used to detect small concentrations of chemicals. As molecules or atoms of the substance to be sensed adhere to the vibrating beam, the resonant frequency changes as a result of the change in mass. These sensors are built on the microscale to allow for mass parallelization. An array of cantilevers could each be coated with a different adhesion layer, making each beam sensitive to a unique substance. These sensors have previously been made of solid materials, but because the sensitivity is proportional to the surface area of the resonator, a porous cantilever could …

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Chaotic Scattering In General Relativity, Taylor Hugh Morgan, David Neilsen Apr 2015

Chaotic Scattering In General Relativity, Taylor Hugh Morgan, David Neilsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I. Introduction Our research is on the gravitational three-body problem where there are three star-like objects with the only acting force on the objects being gravity. Since the discovery of gravity, many physicists and mathematicians have looked for an analytic solution to the three-body problem including Poincare, Euler, Lagrange, and Jacobi. We now know that there is in fact no analytic solution to this problem. Due to the advent of high performance computing we have discovered much about the chaotic nature1 of this problem and its sensitivity to initial perturbations. For our research we have extended the scope of the …

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Determining Surface Roughness Using Extreme Ultraviolet Light, Joshua Marx, Steve Turley Apr 2015

Determining Surface Roughness Using Extreme Ultraviolet Light, Joshua Marx, Steve Turley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light is light with wavelengths between one and 60 nanometers. The shorter wavelengths of light in this range are on the same order of magnitude as atomic dimensions. Currently, XUV optics have many uses and even more potential applications in a variety of fields, such as photolithography, plasma diagnostics, and astrophysics.

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Science In A Nutshell: Studying The Use Of Humor In Science Writing, Meredith Gold, Gus Hart Mar 2015

Science In A Nutshell: Studying The Use Of Humor In Science Writing, Meredith Gold, Gus Hart

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction The purpose of this study was to expand upon a previous and successful unofficial study that I did in high school, testing the effectiveness of humor in instructional science writing. Despite the fact that various extenuating circumstances (including multiple cases of prolonged illness) hindered measurable data collection, the first main question asked by the study was answered: It is even possible to write a physics textbook in the style of humor essays? To this, my project responds with a resounding yes. I wrote and began editing the full first draft of my first humorous physics textbook, coming in at …

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Relating Quantum Dynamics And Entanglement, John Gardiner, Jean-Francois Van Huele Mar 2015

Relating Quantum Dynamics And Entanglement, John Gardiner, Jean-Francois Van Huele

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction Entanglement is a quantum phenomenon that is important to many applications including quantum computing and cryptography. The way that a quantum system changes in time is encoded in a mathematical object called the Hamiltonian of the system. The goal of this project was to better understand the relation between the quantum dynamics of a system, as described by the Hamiltonian, and the entanglements that arise in the system, with the bigger goal of better understanding how entanglement changes in time. To this end I studied computer simulations of simple quantum systems to observe how certain features of the Hamiltonian …

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Pharm: An Environment For Physical Acoustics Research And Mentoring, Kent L. Gee, Tracianne B. Neilsen Mar 2015

Pharm: An Environment For Physical Acoustics Research And Mentoring, Kent L. Gee, Tracianne B. Neilsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

PHARM (PHysical Acoustics Research and Mentoring) has been operating partially with support from a MEG grant. The primary purpose of this mentoring environment is to provide undergraduates in Physics and Applied Physics opportunities to gain experience in fundamental areas of physical acoustics. It has also included students in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and Mathematics. Within the acoustics community, “physical acoustics” refers to a number of subfields (e.g., outdoor sound propagation, aeroacoustics, and nonlinear acoustics). A large number of students have been able to participate in projects related to these areas. Many of these projects have been and are being documented …

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Magnetic Order And Fluctuation Dynamics Of Self-Assembled Magnetite Fe3o4 Nanoparticles, Karine Chesnel Mar 2015

Magnetic Order And Fluctuation Dynamics Of Self-Assembled Magnetite Fe3o4 Nanoparticles, Karine Chesnel

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The research plan described in the proposal (section 2.1) was well implemented during the period 2013-2014. Most of the steps listed in the plan were completed thanks to the fund: (1) nanoparticle preparation (2) structural characterization (3) magnetic characterization (4) particle deposition and self-assembling (5) net magnetization of the film measured via XMCD; we are still working on the last steps (6) magnetic order between particles measured via XRMS and (7) dynamical measurements, measured via CXRMS. The fund was especially useful to go and carry out a couple of synchrotron experiments at SSRL, SLAC at Stanford, to complete steps (5-7). …

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Sound Reduction In Protheses For Developing Countries, Ashlie Burton, Lawrence Rees Mar 2015

Sound Reduction In Protheses For Developing Countries, Ashlie Burton, Lawrence Rees

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction 2ft Prosthetics has been making below-the-knee prostheses for developing countries since 2010. While these feet have been helpful, improvements should be made to the design. One of the common complaints about the PVC foot was the amount of noise created during gait. The purpose of this project was to research different sound reduction designs for the PVC prosthesis. Initially two designs were drafted, out of the two, one was built and tested.

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Improvement Of Atomic Layer Deposition Techniques Of Tungsten Using Hydrogen As A Reducing Agent, Jason Kyle Anderson, Dr. David Allred Mar 2015

Improvement Of Atomic Layer Deposition Techniques Of Tungsten Using Hydrogen As A Reducing Agent, Jason Kyle Anderson, Dr. David Allred

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Introduction: Traditional micro fabrication processes are confined to a small subset of possible materials due to limitations on etching. They are also confined to low aspect ratio fabrication due to limits in both etching process and stability of thicker film deposition processes. Carbon Nanotube Templated Microfabrication (CNT-M) technology has introduced a dramatically different approach to micro fabrication that fabricates without significant etching processes and achieves thick features with the equivalent of thin depositions. This is achieved by forming the desired structure in carbon nanotubes and then filling, or infiltrating, that structure with the material of choice. Optimal materials infiltration for …

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