Engineering Physics | Open Access Articles | Digital Commons Network™

Experimentally Investigating Water Aerosol Formation Via Alpha Radiation In A Humid Nitrogen Atmosphere, Megan Payne

Honors Theses

This project aims to verify the formation of water aerosols induced by an ionizing radiation source in a Nitrogen atmosphere with various levels of humidity. This work is part of an effort to characterize the overall signature of ionizing radiation in Earth’s typical atmosphere. By signature, it is meant all the chemical reactions and physical processes that take place between Earth’s atmosphere and the ionizing radiation. This signature can potentially be used to identify a radiation source out in the field. The identification of a radiation source could potentially be used in a variety of defense applications. To characterize this …

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Operating Temperature Of A Solar Thermal Stirling Engine, Spencer Beck

Senior Theses

This paper explores the relationship between the operating temperature and electricity production of a simple heat engine. A Stirling engine was designed and constructed which runs on solar thermal energy collected by a Fresnel lens. The surface area of the solar collector was varied. This manipulated the operating temperature of the Stirling engine in order to measure power output. The mechanical energy from the engine was converted to electricity using a DC motor running in reverse, acting like a generator, in conjunction with an Arduino for data collection. Although adjustments must be made in order to improve the efficiency of …

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Are Solar Panels A Viable Power Source For A Green Energy Vehicle?, Mason C. Adams

Senior Theses

A solar cell powered go-kart has been built and tested. The result shows using solar energy alone cannot meet the requirement of running a regular passenger car. This is due to the limited surface area of the passenger car. This thesis also discusses the operating principles of solar panels, the physics of P type and N type semiconductors, and the formation of the PN junction, as well as the solar current. Modifications of an existing go-kart are described in detail in this thesis. Suggestions for making green vehicles are discussed as well.

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Anisotropic Thermodynamic And Transport Properties Of Single-Crystalline Cakfe4As4, W. R. Meier, T. Kong, U. S. Kaluarachchi, V. Taufour, N. H. Jo, G. Drachuck, A. E. Böhmer, S. M. Saunders, A. Sapkota, A. Kreyssig, M. A. Tanatar, R. Prozorov, A. I. Goldman, Fedor F. Balakirev, Alex Gurevich, S. L. Bud'ko, P. C. Canfield

Physics Faculty Publications

Single-crystalline, single-phase CaKFe₄As₄ has been grown out of a high-temperature, quaternary melt. Temperature-dependent measurements of x-ray diffraction, anisotropic electrical resistivity, elastoresistivity, thermoelectric power, Hall effect, magnetization, and specific heat, combined with field-dependent measurements of electrical resistivity and field and pressure-dependent measurements of magnetization indicate that CaKFe₄As₄ is an ordered, stoichiometric, Fe-based superconductor with a superconducting critical temperature, T_c= 35.0 ± 0.2 K. Other than superconductivity, there is no indication of any other phase transition for 1.8K ≤ T ≤ 300 K. All of these thermodynamic and transport data reveal striking similarities to …

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Production Of Highly Polarized Positrons Using Polarized Electrons At Mev Energier, D. Abbott, P. Adderley, A. Adeyemi, P. Aguilera, M. Ali, H. Areti, M. Baylac, J. Benesch, G. Bosson, B. Cade, A. Camsonne, L. S. Cardman, J. Clark, P. Cole, S. Covert, C. Cuevas, O. Dadoun, D. Dale, H. Dong, J. Dumas, E. Fanchini, T. Forest, E. Forman, A. Freyberger, E. Froidefond, S. Golge, J. Grames, P. Guèye, J. Hansknecht, P. Harrell, J. Hoskins, C. Hyde, B. Josey, R. Kazimi, Y. Kim, D. Machie, K. Mahoney, R. Mammei, M. Marton, J. Mccarter, M. Mccaughan, M. Mchugh, D. Mcnulty, K. E. Mesick, T. Michaelides, R. Michaels, B. Moffit, D. Moser, C. Muñoz-Camacho, J. -F. Muraz, A. Opper, M. Poelker, J. -S. Réal, L. Richardson, S. Setiniyaz, M. Stutzman, R. Suleiman, C. Tennant, C. Tsai, D. Turner, M. Ungaro, A. Variola, E. Voutier, Y. Wang, Y. Zhang

Physics Faculty Publications

The Polarized Electrons for Polarized Positrons experiment at the injector of the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility has demonstrated for the first time the efficient transfer of polarization from electrons to positrons produced by the polarized bremsstrahlung radiation induced by a polarized electron beam in a high-𝑍 target. Positron polarization up to 82% have been measured for an initial electron beam momentum of 8.19 MeV/c, limited only by the electron beam polarization. This technique extends polarized positron capabilities from GeV to MeV electron beams, and opens access to polarized positron beam physics to a wide community.

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Increasing Interest Of Young Women In Engineering, Diane Hinterlong, Branson Lawrence, Purva Devol

Publications & Research

The internationally recognized Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) develops creative, ethical leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As a teaching and learning laboratory created by the State of Illinois, IMSA enrolls academically talented Illinois students in grades 10 through 12 in its advanced, residential college preparatory program. IMSA also serves thousands of educators and students in Illinois and beyond through innovative instructional programs that foster imagination and inquiry. IMSA also advances education through research, groundbreaking ventures and strategic partnerships.

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The Physics Of A Space Elevator, Trevor Hamer

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

A space elevator is a hypothetical device consisting of a long cable attached to the surface of the earth that extends upward into space. Its purpose is to provide a tether on which a vehicle could be lifted up into orbit, greatly reducing the cost of space travel. This project explains the physical forces acting on the elevator along with the kinds of materials required to keep such a cable intact. It also examines different design aspects, as well as potential problems facing the construction and usage of the elevator, and whether or not it is something we should expect …

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Narrow-Band Emission In Thomson Sources Operating In The High-Field Regime, Balša Terzić, Kirsten Deitrick, Alicia S. Hofler, Geoffrey A. Krafft

Physics Faculty Publications

We present a novel and quite general analysis of the interaction of a high-field chirped laser pulse and a relativistic electron, in which exquisite control of the spectral brilliance of the up-shifted Thomson-scattered photon is shown to be possible. Normally, when Thomson scattering occurs at high field strengths, there is ponderomotive line broadening in the scattered radiation. This effect makes the bandwidth too large for some applications and reduces the spectral brilliance. We show that such broadening can be corrected and eliminated by suitable frequency modulation of the incident laser pulse. Furthermore, we suggest a practical realization of this compensation …

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Interaction Region Design And Detector Integration At Jlab's Meic, F. Lin, P. Brindza, Y. S. Derbenev, V. S. Morozov, R. Ent, P. Nadel-Turonski, Y. Zhang, C. E. Hyde, M. Sullivan

Physics Faculty Publications

The Electron Ion Collider (EIC) will be a next-generation facility for the study of the strong interaction (QCD). JLab's MEIC is designed for high luminosities of up to 10³⁴ cm^-² s^-¹. This is achieved in part due to an aggressively small beta-star, which imposes stringent requirements on the collider rings' dynamical properties. Additionally, one of the unique features of MEIC is a full-acceptance detector with a dedicated, small-angle, high-resolution detection system, capable of covering a wide range of momenta (and charge-to-mass ratios) with respect to the original ion beam to enable access to new physics. The detector …

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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.

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Comparing Experts And Novices In Solving Electrical Circuit Problems With The Help Of Eye-Tracking, David Rosengrant, Colin Thomson, Taha Mzoughi

Faculty Articles

In order to help introductory physics students understand and learn to solve problems with circuits, we must first understand how they differ from experts. This preliminary study focuses on problem-solving dealing with electrical circuits. We investigate difficulties novices have with circuits and compare their work with those of experts. We incorporate the use of an eye-tracker to investigate any possible differences or similarities on how experts and novices solve electrical circuit problems. Our results show similarities in gaze patterns among all subjects on the components of the circuit. We further found that experts would look back at the circuit while …

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Engineering Physics Commons^™

Full-Text Articles in Engineering Physics

Experimentally Investigating Water Aerosol Formation Via Alpha Radiation In A Humid Nitrogen Atmosphere, Megan Payne

Honors Theses

Operating Temperature Of A Solar Thermal Stirling Engine, Spencer Beck

Senior Theses

Are Solar Panels A Viable Power Source For A Green Energy Vehicle?, Mason C. Adams

Senior Theses

Physics Faculty Publications

Physics Faculty Publications

Increasing Interest Of Young Women In Engineering, Diane Hinterlong, Branson Lawrence, Purva Devol

Publications & Research

The Physics Of A Space Elevator, Trevor Hamer

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Narrow-Band Emission In Thomson Sources Operating In The High-Field Regime, Balša Terzić, Kirsten Deitrick, Alicia S. Hofler, Geoffrey A. Krafft

Physics Faculty Publications

Interaction Region Design And Detector Integration At Jlab's Meic, F. Lin, P. Brindza, Y. S. Derbenev, V. S. Morozov, R. Ent, P. Nadel-Turonski, Y. Zhang, C. E. Hyde, M. Sullivan

Physics Faculty Publications

Breaking Glass: Exploring The Relationship Between Kinetic Energy And Radial Fracturing In Plate Glass, Andrea Hulman

Scripps Senior Theses

Comparing Experts And Novices In Solving Electrical Circuit Problems With The Help Of Eye-Tracking, David Rosengrant, Colin Thomson, Taha Mzoughi

Faculty Articles