A Multi-State Study of the Dominant Discourses in Teacher Candidates\u27 Memories of Writing

Work published in Teacher Education Quarterl

Single-chain behavior of poly(3-hexylthiophene)

Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) has been in the focus of recent studies due to its promising future use in organic photovoltaics, electronics and photonics. Recent publications investigate the melt behavior of P3HT, its interaction with other molecules, mainly various fullerene derivates, and isolated chains interacting with substrates. In this work we lay the focus on the single-chain properties of P3HT in vacuum. We compare structural properties obtained from simulations using two coarse-grained models and an atomistic model of the polymer for various chain lengths and temperatures

Symmetry tuning with megajoule laser pulses at the National Ignition Facility

Experiments conducted at the National Ignition Facility using shaped laser pulses with more than 1 MJ of energy have demonstrated the ability to control the implosion symmetry under ignition conditions. To achieve thermonuclear ignition, the low mode asymmetries must be small to minimize the size of the hotspot. The symmetry tuning experiments use symmetry capsules, “symcaps”, which replace the DT fuel with an equivalent mass of CH to emulate the hydrodynamic behavior of an ignition capsule. The x-ray self-emission signature from gas inside the capsule during the peak compression correlates with the surrounding hotspot shape. By tuning the shape of the self-emission, the capsule implosion symmetry can be made to be “round.” In the experimental results presented here, we utilized crossbeam energy transfer [S. H. Glenzer, et al., Science 327, 1228 (2010)] to change the ratio of the inner to outer cone power inside the hohlraum targets on the NIF. Variations in the ratio of the inner cone to outer cone power affect the radiation pattern incident on the capsule modifying the implosion symmetry

Shock timing on the National Ignition Facility: The first precision tuning series

Ignition implosions on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [Lindl et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 339 (2004)] are driven with a very carefully tailored sequence of four shock waves that must be timed to very high precision in order to keep the fuel on a low adiabat. The first series of precision tuning experiments on NIF have been performed. These experiments use optical diagnostics to directly measure the strength and timing of all four shocks inside the hohlraum-driven, cryogenic deuterium-filled capsule interior. The results of these experiments are presented demonstrating a significant decrease in the fuel adiabat over previously un-tuned implosions. The impact of the improved adiabat on fuel compression is confirmed in related deuterium-tritium (DT) layered capsule implosions by measurement of fuel areal density (ρR), which show the highest fuel compression (ρR ∼ 1.0 g/cm2) measured to date