Timeline: 22 September 2010

Morning
As normal a morning as could be. Ate breakfast, surfed the net, then went to classical mechanics. Classical Mechanics is so much different from the first semester of college physics, Physics 225. It really is a whole nother level.

Afternoon
Homework due in Thermodynamics and in Quantum Mechanics. Both of the aforementioned classes were held outside. Quantum mechanics is still  a mystery to me, while thermodynamics is getting pretty interesting.

Evening
Steve bought 100 proof Southern Comfort. Tasted it. It was quite thick and had noticeable flavour, somewhat sweet. Reminded me that I need to put up some beer reviews I have notes on somewhere. Stayed up until 2 AM for no real reason. Everyone was in the room talking for a while.

Timeline: 15 September 2010

Morning
Awoke at 7 AM to finish the Quantum Mechanics homework assigned two days before. Of course, the professor said it would be an elementary assignment, but it did give us some challenge. The problem was to find <x>, <p>, <p^2>, <E> of the Psi function:

Took some work but most answers came out to around the cube of the Sine function in some form.

Afternoon
Went to Quantum Mechanics, Planetarium Techniques, and Thermodynamics (in that order) and all classes went as one would come to expect. Nothing was really out of the ordinary, and most of the math seems somewhat manageable as opposed to the past few days where the most fundamental of the quantum theories were derived and physically explained (to the extent that was possible).


Colloquium was quite good, if not almost completely over my head. The speaker, Dr. Rudeger (Derek) Wilke, talked about his work at the Materials Research Institute at Penn State University. The topic was how he is using peizoelectric materials to correct the lenses on an upcoming X-Ray observatory satellite. Here is the description from the Lycoming College website:

Post-Doctoral Scholar and Visiting Scientist in the Materials Research Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University, will discuss, “Piezoelectric Lead, Zirconium, Titanium (PZT) Films on Glass Substrates for Gen-X Imaging Systems.” This gala event will take place in the Academic Center Lecture Hall C-303. Students, faculty, staff, and the public are invited. 

Abstract: Gen-X is a next generation spaced based x-ray telescope that hopes to study distant, faint objects such as the formation of black holes, distant galaxies, and the early evolution of the universe. They key to achieving the desired goal of 0.1 arcsecond resolution is the implementation of an adaptive optics system that allows on flight corrections of structural or figure errors in the mirror and minor adjustments to alignment. The optics for the telescope consist of "bi-morph" mirrors on flexible glass substrates. These mirrors consist of an iridium/chromium (Ir/Cr) reflective surface on the front side and a piezoelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin film on the back side. With an active area of ~10,000 m², developing a scalable approach to depositing PZT of sufficient quality to achieve the necessary actuation presents several processing challenges. The glass chosen for the telescope slumps above 560 ^oC, far lower than the 700 ^oC typically used to crystallize PZT films. Additionally, the stresses induced in thin film deposition can significantly warp the substrates due to their flexible nature, potentially introducing more figure errors in the mirror than can be corrected by piezoelectric film. In this talk I will review the fundamentals of piezoelectricity and how piezoelectric films can be used in adaptive optics systems, as well as discussing the progress made to date.

It was interesting in I am quite intrigued by the electromagnetic properties involved in the process.  


Evening
Took a nap, missed dinner, and played some Mass Effect. I will be typing up a lab report tonight for Classical Mechanics and I think I have a Thermodynamics homework due tomorrow. Quite beat and cannot wait for the weekend to catch up on reading and recharge the batteries. 

Timeline: 14 September 2010

Morning
I volunteered to be the TA (teaching assistant) for the 7:45 AM astronomy lab two weeks ago. I do not know what I was thinking. 7:45 AM is now my wake up time on the only day of the week I could I had the possibility of sleeping in and then finishing a load of homework. At least lab was over by 9 AM. Afterward consisted of a nap and a quick lunch in Mary Welch Student Center.

Afternoon
My second job of the day consists of manning the circulation desk of the library from 12 - 4 PM. This is actually fine by me because very few people go down there, and the one's that do mostly know enough to get by without asking me for help. I have access to a computer which is connected to The World Wide Web and can thus update my blog and get some homework done.


Evening
I hit a wall at 4:30PM. Took an hour nap. My schedule is poorly optimized to take advantage of downtime because of the go-go-go. Go to lab and TA, got to work for 4 hours, and then come back and do some homework which is due in mere hours. Due tonight - Thermodynamics problem set. Due tomorrow - Quantum Mechanics problem set.