Otterbein College
Fall 2006-07
Physics & Astronomy
The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful. If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and if nature were not worth knowing, life would not be worth living. Jules Henri Poincaré (1854-1912) French mathematician.
Otterbein Student wins Engineering Awards
Mark Hendel (’07), an Otterbein student studying civil engineering in the 3+2 cooperative program at Washington University in St. Louis, won a pair of awards in the Civil Engineering Department for 2006: the Departmental Senior Class Award for Academic Excellence and the Concrete Council/Barnes Industrial Scholarship. Mark is one of two Otterbein students currently studying at Wash U. In 2006 he completed the requirements for a BS in civil engineering and a BA in physics from Otterbein, and will stay at Wash U in 200607 to pursue a master’s degree. On top of that, Hendel was also part of a team of engineering students that won a prestigious design award in the National Timber Bridge Design Competition. The team competed against twelve others from universities across the country, and was awarded cash prizes totaling $1700. Congratulations!
Astrophoto of the Year
This photo comes from the Weitkamp Observatory archives and was taken by Dr. Trittmann in July 2005 through one of our 8 inch Celestron telescopes. Initially you might think the Moon is waxing towards its first quarter phase since the right (west) side is illuminated. However, an astronomical telescope produces an upside-down (inverted) image, and so the astrophoto shows a waning crescent Moon. Now, how do we know that we did not just turn the photo upside down? The give-away are the surface features of the Moon. We see the dark plains of the Moon’s Oceanum Procellarum, and the prominent crater below the center of the picture is Copernicus. You might spot the half-round of Sinus Iridum, the Bay of Rainbows, near the lower limb of the Moon. None of these features can be seen if the moon is younger than first quarter, and so we proved our hypothesis that the photo shows a waning crescent Moon.
Inside this issue: National Science Foundation Grant 2 LHC Turn-On OS/APS Meetings Observing at Metro Parks Physics Thesis Honored Astronomy Lecture Series Golf Outing Contact Info Scheduled Events 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4
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Physics & Astronomy
Otterbein Joins National Computational Science Consortium
The National Science Foundation has funded a major effort by a group of 35 faculty members at 14 colleges and universities to develop materials for undergraduate education in computational science. This is a fouryear project to create and distribute educational modules and to train faculty to use computational methods in undergraduate laboratories and classrooms across the country. This $480,000 grant is designed to impact undergraduate students at community colleges, liberal arts and comprehensive institutions as well as research universities. Dr. Robertson of the Otterbein Department of Physics and Astronomy will participate in the effort, developing projects in physics that involve parallel computing and other advanced techniques.
Penetrating so many secrets, we cease to believe in the unknowable. But there it sits nevertheless, calmly licking its chops. H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American journalist, writer.
Observing at the Metro Parks
LHC to turn on in 2007
The world’s new largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is scheduled to be "switched on" later in 2007. The LHC is located about 300 feet under the Jura mountains near Geneva, Switzerland. The accelerator's circular beam pipes are 27 km long. Around them sit about 5000 superconducting magnets to guide and accelerate protons to an energy of 14 TeV. While one TeV - the energy of a flying mosquito - does not seem much, it is concentrated in the volume of a nucleon that is a trillion trillion trillion times smaller than that of a mosquito. The protons are smashed together, and the collision products studied to test our theories of how the most fundamental particles in Nature interact.
This year, there are many dates for observing star and planets at Prairie Oaks Metro Park under the dark skies just outside of Franklin County. In February the ringed planet Saturn will be at its brightest, and in May Jupiter is near its best viewing position. Official start time at the park range from 6:30 p.m. in January to 9 p.m. for the May date. This is a public and free event and anyone interested is welcome. Directions to the park are as follows. Take I-70 west. Shortly after exiting Franklin County, take the Route 142 exit (W Jefferson/Plainville) and turn right (north). After about a mile you will see the gates of Prairie Oaks Metro Park.
OS/APS Meetings
The fall meeting of the Ohio section of the American Physical Society (OS/ APS) will be held at University of Akron’s Wayne College Campus in Orrville, OH on October 13 and 14, 2006. The title “Polymer Surfaces and Interfaces” suggests its focus on “rubber physics”, but many researchers will speak on a variety of topics of interest to a broad audience. The OS/APS spring meeting will be at Eastern Michigan University on May 4 and 5, 2007 with the invited session theme being “Physics, Energy, and Society”. Otterbein professor Dr. Trittmann, past chair of the Ohio section, encourages all students interested to participate in the conferences. For students the conference fees are waived, so use this chance to attend a real physics conference.
Fall 2006-07
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Physics Thesis Honored
Last year’s award for best honors thesis in the physical sciences went to Kellen Murphy (’06), a double major in physics and mathematics. His thesis, entitled “Renormalization of Scalar Field Theory Hamiltonians Using a Novel Similarity Scheme,” was based on research carried out with Dr. Robertson over two summers. Its goal was to show how calculations of physical results in quantum field theories can be performed using a “similarity renormalization” scheme. Kellen presented a talk on this work at a meeting of the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society in October 2005. He is currently pursuing a PhD in physics at Ohio University, working in the particle astrophysics group.
Astronomy Lecture Series
Starry Mondays at Otterbein are astronomy lectures for the public on every first Monday of the month. Weather permitting, an observing session follows the lecture. We’ll look at the stars and planets with the telescopes of Otterbein’s Weitkamp observatory from the rooftop of the Science Building. The lectures, held in LeMay auditorium, are free and open for everyone and start at 7 p.m. in fall and winter quarters, and at 8 p.m. in spring quarters. In November, guest lecturer Professor emeritus Phil Barnhart will talk about “Westerville - A Center for 19th Century Astronomy”. The Weitkamp observatory’s website at http://www.otterbein.edu/dept/PHYS/ weitkamp.asp displays pictures of our telescopes, and photos of planets and deep-sky objects. See also our astrophoto of the year in this issue.
I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding of a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) English physicist, mathematician.
Physics Coffee Hour
Each week the Physics Dept. gathers informally to discuss topics in Physics and to hear presentations from guest speakers. The coffee hour was established to promote physics knowledge at OC. Join us Wednesdays throughout the year at 3:30 p.m. in Room 256, Science Bldg.
Golf Outing
A Physics/Physical Chemistry golf team narrowly missed winning the second annual Otterbein Golf Outing in June, thanks to a triple bogey seven (in scramble format!) on an early hole. Despite that setback they recovered to finish second by one stroke. Physics students Matt Higginbotham (’06) and Kellen Murphy (’06) anchored the team, with Profs. Robertson and Sachleben (of the Chemistry Department) donating golf balls to assorted lakes and woods.
Scheduled Events 2006-07
Coffee Hour: Wednesdays, 3:30 p.m., Science Bldg. Room 256 Society of Physics Students: Dates TBA Astronomy Lecture Series: Every first Monday of the month in the quarter:
Department of Physics & Astronomy 155 West Main Street Room 222 Westerville, Ohio 43081
Lemay Auditorium, 7 p.m. in AQ and WQ, 8 p.m. in SQ
Prairie Oaks Metro Park Observing:
Phone: 614-823-1316 Fax: 614-823-1968 E-mail: SSallee@otterbein.edu
September 29, 2006 October 27, 2006 January 26, 2007
7:30 p.m. 6:45 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 8:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m.
Visit us on the Web: www.otterbein.edu/dept/phys
April 27, 2007 May 25, 2007
Westerville, OH 43081 Otterbein College Physics & Astronomy