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Articles 1 - 11 of 11
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Optical Tweezers: Exerting Force With Light, Gabriella Seifert
Optical Tweezers: Exerting Force With Light, Gabriella Seifert
Scripps Senior Theses
Photons carry momentum. When a tightly-focused beam of photons hit a particle, they transfer some of their momentum to the particle, exerting a force. Optical tweezers take advantage of this phenomenon to trap (or “tweeze”) a spherical bead just after the focus of a diverging laser beam, creating a potential well that pulls in beads. In this thesis, I predict the force exerted on trapped beads and measure the actual force using an optical tweezers setup that I built. To predict the force, I follow the path of all possible rays from a diverging beam incident on a spherical bead …
Using Powder Diffraction To Give Insight Into Structures Of Ir2(Diisocyanomenthane)4x2 [Dimen] (X = Cl; Pf6; Bph4), Mairead Brownell
Using Powder Diffraction To Give Insight Into Structures Of Ir2(Diisocyanomenthane)4x2 [Dimen] (X = Cl; Pf6; Bph4), Mairead Brownell
Scripps Senior Theses
Ir2(dimen)42+ (dimen = 1,8-diisocyanomenthane) has been studied extensively as model compound to better understand catalysis of photochemical reactions. Although Ir2(dimen)42+ has been used primarily to observe the photophysical changes of metal-metal transitions, it gives great insight into the transitions that allow other d8-d8 metal complexes to undergo photochemical processes and generate hydrogen gas. The large visible range by which Ir2(dimen)42+ (1) can be electronically excited in solution is indicative of its two solution phase ground states, which interestingly have been hypothesized to resemble two unique packing structures observed in the powder state. In this study, the powder diffraction patterns of …
The Effects Of "Sticky Stuff" On The Spin Rate And Break Of A Baseball Pitch, Natalie Dale
The Effects Of "Sticky Stuff" On The Spin Rate And Break Of A Baseball Pitch, Natalie Dale
Scripps Senior Theses
In June 2021, Major League Baseball cracked down on the use of foreign substances by pitchers on the ball (Castrovince, 2021a). It is believed the sticky substances give the pitchers an unfair advantage over batters since they increase spin rate, consequently, through the Magnus Effect, creating more movement or “break” in the pitch, making it harder to hit. There are existing gaps in empirical research on this topic, thus the goal of this project was to determine the effect the banned substances have on the spin rate and related break of the pitches. By using pitch tracking technology, two types …
Computationally Recovering Preferred Factorizations Of Quantum Hilbert Space, Louisa Cornelis
Computationally Recovering Preferred Factorizations Of Quantum Hilbert Space, Louisa Cornelis
Scripps Senior Theses
This thesis addresses the question of the preferred factorization of the quantum mechanical Hilbert Space into sub parts. Specifically, I computationally implement streamlined aspects of the recent “in principle” proposal of Carroll and Singh in their paper Quantum Mereology: Factorizing Hilbert Space into Subsystems with Quasi-Classical Dynamics. The goal is to link the selection of a preferred tensor product factorization to the appearance of quasi-classical behavior in this preferred factorization. Carroll and Singh quantify quasi-classical behavior through the criteria of “robustness” and “predictability” using the purity and pointer entropies. This work tests whether it is necessary to use both entropies …
Decay And Dissipation: Finding Energy Level Jumps In A Harmonic Oscillator System Using Fortran And Fourier Analysis, Clara Chilton
Decay And Dissipation: Finding Energy Level Jumps In A Harmonic Oscillator System Using Fortran And Fourier Analysis, Clara Chilton
Scripps Senior Theses
In this paper, I will look at a mass-spring system that can be described by a Hamiltonian. In most systems described by a Hamiltonian, the energy levels will be quantized, and the system will be able to jump between them. However, many methods of finding these jumps aren’t well-suited to numerical analysis. I’ll use a Markovian approximation (The Liouville von Neuman Equation), which allows me to use only the last time step to find the current one. Using this, I will analyze the system to find the time evolution of the probability density matrix – whose diagonal shows the probability …
Complex Ciliary Flows Around Stentor Polymorphus In Solutions Of 2% Buttermilk And Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Eliana B. Smithstein
Complex Ciliary Flows Around Stentor Polymorphus In Solutions Of 2% Buttermilk And Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii, Eliana B. Smithstein
Scripps Senior Theses
Stentor are large, unicellular ciliates of the Heterotricha order. They live in both freshwater and marine habitats and are mostly found in ponds. I studied Stentor polymorphus, which is a species of Stentor only recently discovered to be lab culturable. They range from 0.5-1.5mm in length and are unusual because they live with endosymbiotic algae and are much more likely than other, more widely studied, species of Stentor to form aggregates while they are eating. There are three main components to this thesis: First, I established protocols for keeping a viable S. polymorphus culture, since no protocols had been …
Pursuing Natural Unity, Consciousness Included, Rowen Cox-Rubien
Pursuing Natural Unity, Consciousness Included, Rowen Cox-Rubien
Scripps Senior Theses
An ontological exploration of consciousness and how it is related to the body and other aspects of physical reality. Framed by David Chalmers' conception of "The Hard Problem", we begin from a physicalist perspective to discuss the problem of mental causation, which is the inquiry of how the mind communicates and interacts with the body. From here we examine the employment of identity reduction to functionalize and therefore physically explain mentality. We find that reductionist methods, the backbone of scientific investigation, do not work to explain conscious experience, because conscious experience is not quantifiable--it is qualitative. Thus we are left …
Practical Chaos: Using Dynamical Systems To Encrypt Audio And Visual Data, Julia Ruiter
Practical Chaos: Using Dynamical Systems To Encrypt Audio And Visual Data, Julia Ruiter
Scripps Senior Theses
Although dynamical systems have a multitude of classical uses in physics and applied mathematics, new research in theoretical computer science shows that dynamical systems can also be used as a highly secure method of encrypting data. Properties of Lorenz and similar systems of equations yield chaotic outputs that are good at masking the underlying data both physically and mathematically. This paper aims to show how Lorenz systems may be used to encrypt text and image data, as well as provide a framework for how physical mechanisms may be built using these properties to transmit encrypted wave signals.
Breaking Glass: Exploring The Relationship Between Kinetic Energy And Radial Fracturing In Plate Glass, Andrea Hulman
Breaking Glass: Exploring The Relationship Between Kinetic Energy And Radial Fracturing In Plate Glass, Andrea Hulman
Scripps Senior Theses
When glass breaks from the impact of an object, it exhibits a distinctive shattering pattern comprised of two different regions. This pattern was investigated using experimental impacts and predicted using Young’s Modulus. Results were not as expected, and it is likely that there exists error in some measurements. Further investigation of this topic is recommended.
Parsimony And Quantum Mechanics: An Analysis Of The Copenhagen And Bohmian Interpretations, Jhenna Voorhis
Parsimony And Quantum Mechanics: An Analysis Of The Copenhagen And Bohmian Interpretations, Jhenna Voorhis
Scripps Senior Theses
Parsimony, sometime referred to as simplicity, is an effective criterion of theory choice in the case of Quantum Mechanics. The Copenhagen and Bohmian interpretations are rival theories, with the Bohmian interpretation being more parsimonious. More parsimonious theories have a higher probability of being true than less parsimonious rivals. The Bohmian interpretation should thus be preferred on these grounds.
Where Is The Best Place To Sit On A Roller Coaster? Forces, Physics, And Fun At Disneyland, Kelsey Lubetich
Where Is The Best Place To Sit On A Roller Coaster? Forces, Physics, And Fun At Disneyland, Kelsey Lubetich
Scripps Senior Theses
The work presented in this thesis was undertaken to quantitatively determine the best place to sit on a roller coaster. Maximizing the time spent feeling weightless and the highest value of negative Z acceleration were used as criteria for the best seat. Acceleration values were measured on the California Screamin' roller coaster at Disney California Adventure Park using an iPhone and an application to record data from its accelerometers. After analyzing acceleration data, it was determined that the front row had the greatest negative acceleration in the z direction and was therefore the "best place" to sit.