Copyright (c) 2013 University of Massachusetts - Amherst All rights reserved. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18 Recent Events in Day 1: Friday, November 18 en-us Wed, 15 May 2013 22:06:01 PDT 3600 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/32 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/32 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:40:00 PST Gas hydrates are crystalline compounds commonly found beneath Arctic permafrost and in Marine sediments along continental margins. They are thought to play an important role in global climate change, marine hazards, and as an alternative energy source. Reservoir grain size can directly affect the quantity and type of hydrate that is formed. Formation within the sediment is dependent on a number of factors including the interaction between the guest gas molecule and the surrounding water molecules along with the thermodynamic boundary conditions of the system. Once nucleation has occurred the distribution of hydrate is directly related to the pore size of the sediment itself. Hydrate preferentially forms in coarser grained sediment and tends to be pore filling, whereas, hydrate formation within finer-grained sediments results in more complex hydrate distributions such as nodules, lenses, and layers. In this study we examine the grain size of hydrate bearing sediment from marine and Arctic locations and discuss the thermodynamic and nucleation characteristics of gas hydrate in coarse- versus fine-grained sediment.

]]> Russel Wilcox-Cline et al. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/31 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/31 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:40:00 PST We report on research and development carried out in the UMass EXO group to study scintillation of liquid Xenon towards optimizing the design and performance for a future EXO experiment. We are developing a test setup for APDs to understand the effects of temperature on the gain of the sensors and calibrate them for future use. A separate setup has been designed to qualitatively discern how well different materials reflect 178nm light, the wavelength of Xenon scintillation, in an attempt to effectively modify the structure of EXO. This involves constructing a liquefaction cell and purification manifold to produce maximally clean liquid Xenon for a testing environment. The end results of these investigations will be used to make the full scale EXO project more efficient to increase the probability of discovering neutrino-less double beta decay. To understand what we will see from detectors at EXO 200, the UMass EXO group has constructed a vacuum system to isolate APDs from any disturbances, whether they be foreign molecules or electrical interference. We aim to analyze signals given from known sources in order to further familiarize ourselves with expected and unexpected results.

]]> Cameron Mackeen et al. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/30 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/30 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:40:00 PST I will discuss the current status of my tests characterizing a detector to be used for R&D for the Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO) to count an irradiated Cs-136 source from xenon cells. The source is produced at the TUNL lab by proton-irradiating gaseous xenon. The apparatus consists of a sodium iodide crystal coupled to a photomultiplier tube (PMT); the signal is fed to a high-speed digitizer card that is read and controlled by LabVIEW. I have performed extensive tests on the digitizer card with respect to the sampling rate, voltage offsets, resolution, and linearity, with the objective of understanding its properties. The Cs-136 source will be used at UMass as a tool to study the behavior of the barium ion in liquid xenon, with the ultimate goal of increasing the sensitivity of future beta-decay experiments.

]]> Kelly Malone et al. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/29 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/29 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:40:00 PST Helium gas at room temperature is known to diffuse through the epoxies commonly used in various low temperature apparatus, which can complicate leak detection. The helium flux typically decreases with decreasing temperature. We have measured the flux of helium that passes though thin sections of as-cast clear Stycast 1266, Stycast 2850FT (black) and TRA-BOND 2151 (blue) epoxies as a function of temperature in the range 130K < T < 300K. We analyze the data to create normalized (to constant sample thickness and pressure differential) data for comparison. We report the preliminary temperature-dependent fluxes we have measured, which show significant differences among the epoxies studied.

]]> Dylan Lovinger et al. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/28 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/28 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:40:00 PST This poster presentation that will cover the basics of the Darkside (Depleted Argon cryogenic Scintillation and Ionization Detection) project, including what dark matter is and how we know it exists. It will also address the different methods other collaborations use to try to detect dark matter and special emphasis will be placed on the methods Darkside uses: scintillation and ionization. The presentation will also look at the design of the detector as it currently stands and a summary of how it will work. It will address the fairly universal problem of weeding out background signals in the detector by first addressing what those signals are, and discussing ways to minimize them or disregard them.

]]> Gary Forster http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/27 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/27 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:45:00 PST As of today there are 7 billion people on this planet; according to the wireless industry 5 billion of them have cell phones. It's possible to call anyone on Earth with a 2-ounce pocket mobile. The knowledge behind this politically-powerful technology did not come from sacred texts or government offices. The only way of knowing is by scientific observation and testing. In theory, the public learns from the media. As I will show, the media is not a reliable source.

]]> Robert L. Park http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/26 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/26 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:16:00 PST Kim et al published an article, ``A delayed choice quantum eraser,'' in 1999 that appeared to show many remarkable things, including that the choice of observable erases the interference fringes that were previously recorded in a double slit experiment. However, the solidity of those conclusions hinges on whether or not quantum mechanics provides the only available explanation of that experiment. By thinking outside the box we have a different way of viewing that experiment. We find there is no delayed choice in the Kim experiment of 1999. There is no quantum eraser. What appears to be a delayed choice and a quantum eraser involve a different understanding of Kim's experiment than the one we favor. We also show how the double slit experiment can be understood with local cause and effect, and without complementarity.

]]> Jeffrey Boyd http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/25 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/25 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:04:00 PST The Boston University Physics Department was recently awarded a three-year grant from the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC). PhysTEC's main aims are to improve the education of future physics teachers, and to increase the number of qualified physics teachers in the school system. Although there have been over 20 PhysTEC-funded sites across the country, BU is the first PhysTEC site in New England. Our goals with this poster are to raise awareness about PhysTEC, and to talk about what we are doing and what we plan to do at BU with our PhysTEC funding. A key part of the PhysTEC program is the teacher-in-residence (TIR), an experienced physics teacher who comes to campus for a year to promote physics teaching as a profession and to lend their experience to education-related efforts. Our first TIR is Juliet Jenkins. The poster will discuss Ms. Jenkins' role in the Department of Physics and in the School of Education as we move forward with new efforts to promote teaching, including a Learning Assistant program, a pilot studio section of one of our introductory physics courses, and a new education course that allows undergraduate students to observe teachers in the classroom.

]]> Juliet Jenkins et al. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/24 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/24 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:52:00 PST This poster presents topics in outline form of two courses offered by the physics department at Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield MA. These are both four credit, three hour laboratory, transferable courses that fulfill science distribution requirement.

]]> Margaret E. McCarthy http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/23 http://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov18/23 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:40:00 PST Data spanning fifteen semesters and including more than 1200 students showed far less than the anticipated difference in performance between students with quite diverse levels of physics preparation. Students ranged from those with no prior physics course work to those with two or more years of HS physics and prior courses in college physics. Less prior physics training frequently coincided with better performance in the first calculus-based course. Preparation in mathematics, on the other hand, appeared critically important; students at the extremes of the math preparation spectrum were concentrated at the corresponding extremes of the physics grade distribution.

]]> Norma Chase