And they say Friday the 13th is unlucky

Main Ideas: Physics at DUESEL
Universeadventure .org
The Ghost Particle (the discovery of the nature of the neutrino)

I am still learning the nature of the atom and I find it challenging. Studying the materials and wwebsite , I feel, will help me to make that discovery.

I hope we follow through with the reunion at the Homestake mine in a year. It sounds exciting.
I feel much smarter today than I did when I came on Monday. Finding out about the structure of the nucleus was what I wanted to understand. This understanding will help me understand and teach chemistry at a higher level.

I would like to see more information on the Doctorate program as it becomes available.

So much to think about. I need time to let it soak in.

I plan to use the Muon half-life activity in my Honors Chemistry class. I'm not sure when that will be because we do not have a curriculim in place.

Thursday, June 12 One and Done

Mass Spec.
Gas Spec
Liquid Spec.
The Particle Adventure

I found that using the tutorial "The Particle Adventure" answered many of the questions that I had about the structure of the atom. I still want to continue my search into the nature of matter, however.

I found the demonstrations using the spectrometers very interesting. Being able to use the liquid spec. to determine organic compounds was great. What will they come up with next?

Our presenters did a great job.

I felt a lot smarter today. Things ( such as gluons, nutrinos) we talked about earlier this week now make sense to me.

This afternoon we will finish the soldering on the coamic ray detector.

Day 3, Wednesday, June 11, 2008

A Cosmic Connection: Properties of Nuclei and Properties of the Cosmos

Homestake Mine (PAN Underground)

Things we discussed were: The origin of elements, atomic structure and radiation, and the Homestake mine project.

I had never learned that the nucleus has a shell structure. I have a better understanding of the different types of decay.

It was interesting to hear about the different research that PANUnderground was proposing to do in the mine.

I still want to better understand the structure of the nucleus. I will be looking to see what happens with the mine in the near future.

Topics discusseed today were: the nucleus, radiation and chemistry, and a student direction about strong forces.

We discovered that gluons are responsible for the strong forces in the nucleus.

I found the chemistry application interesting; however, it was in more depth than I would cover in first year chemistry.

I continue to get a better idea about the structure of the nucleus as well as the whole atom.
I find myself continuously adjusting my idea of the atom.

I enjoyed teaching "Einstein, energy, and the speed limit of the universe." I learned that E=mc2 is only true for things at rest and you need to add the gamma constant for moving particles.

I wonder how all the subatomic particles work together to form an atom.

PAN Underground - Day One

Today's topic was types of radiation.

The three types of radiation
How are they different
Factors that affect radiation

Is cosmic radiation the same as EMR? Are cosmic rays part of EMR - or is EMR a type of cosmic ray?