4,459 research outputs found
ID slicing and the automated factory
The automation of the slicing system utilizing internal-diameter saws for the production of the silicon wafers used in solar arrays is discussed. It is argued that saw productivity can be increased by reducing silicon waste, decreasing usage of consumables, keeping the saw slicing, and increasing the cutting speed. Several machine enhancements utilizing automatic control are discussed. The need for record keeping to anticipate maintenance operations is noted, and a digital serial communication interface with the microprocessor-based saws is recommended. Distributed control of the manufacturing process is discussed in detail, and is recommended as a method for increasing productivity
Lab notebooks as scientific communication: investigating development from undergraduate courses to graduate research
In experimental physics, lab notebooks play an essential role in the research
process. For all of the ubiquity of lab notebooks, little formal attention has
been paid to addressing what is considered `best practice' for scientific
documentation and how researchers come to learn these practices in experimental
physics. Using interviews with practicing researchers, namely physics graduate
students, we explore the different experiences researchers had in learning how
to effectively use a notebook for scientific documentation. We find that very
few of those interviewed thought that their undergraduate lab classes
successfully taught them the benefit of maintaining a lab notebook. Most
described training in lab notebook use as either ineffective or outright
missing from their undergraduate lab course experience. Furthermore, a large
majority of those interviewed explained that they did not receive any formal
training in maintaining a lab notebook during their graduate school experience
and received little to no feedback from their advisors on these records. Many
of the interviewees describe learning the purpose of, and how to maintain,
these kinds of lab records only after having a period of trial and error,
having already started doing research in their graduate program. Despite the
central role of scientific documentation in the research enterprise, these
physics graduate students did not gain skills in documentation through formal
instruction, but rather through informal hands-on practice.Comment: 10 page
CR Structures and Asymptotically Flat Space-Times
We discuss the unique existence, arising by analogy to that in algebraically
special space-times, of a CR structure realized on null infinity for any
asymptotically flat Einstein or Einstein-Maxwell space-time.Comment: 6 page
Geometry of Generic Isolated Horizons
Geometrical structures intrinsic to non-expanding, weakly isolated and
isolated horizons are analyzed and compared with structures which arise in
other contexts within general relativity, e.g., at null infinity. In
particular, we address in detail the issue of singling out the preferred
normals to these horizons required in various applications. This work provides
powerful tools to extract invariant, physical information from numerical
simulations of the near horizon, strong field geometry. While it complements
the previous analysis of laws governing the mechanics of weakly isolated
horizons, prior knowledge of those results is not assumed.Comment: 37 pages, REVTeX; Subsections V.B and V.C moved to a new Appenedix to
improve the flow of main argument
Instructor perspectives on iteration during upper-division optics lab activities
Although developing proficiency with modeling is a nationally endorsed
learning outcome for upper-division undergraduate physics lab courses, no
corresponding research-based assessments exist. Our longterm goal is to develop
assessments of students' modeling ability that are relevant across multiple
upper-division lab contexts. To this end, we interviewed 19 instructors from 16
institutions about optics lab activities that incorporate photodiodes.
Interviews focused on how those activities were designed to engage students in
some aspects of modeling. We find that, according to many interviewees,
iteration is an important aspect of modeling. In addition, interviewees
described four distinct types of iteration: revising apparatuses, revising
models, revising data-taking procedures, and repeating data collection using
existing apparatuses and procedures. We provide examples of each type of
iteration, and discuss implications for the development of future modeling
assessments.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; under revie
Degenerate Sectors of the Ashtekar Gravity
This work completes the task of solving locally the Einstein-Ashtekar
equations for degenerate data. The two remaining degenerate sectors of the
classical 3+1 dimensional theory are considered. First, with all densitized
triad vectors linearly dependent and second, with only two independent ones. It
is shown how to solve the Einstein-Ashtekar equations completely by suitable
gauge fixing and choice of coordinates. Remarkably, the Hamiltonian weakly
Poisson commutes with the conditions defining the sectors. The summary of
degenerate solutions is given in the Appendix.Comment: 19 pages, late
A Manifestly Gauge-Invariant Approach to Quantum Theories of Gauge Fields
In gauge theories, physical histories are represented by space-time
connections modulo gauge transformations. The space of histories is thus
intrinsically non-linear. The standard framework of constructive quantum field
theory has to be extended to face these {\it kinematical} non-linearities
squarely. We first present a pedagogical account of this problem and then
suggest an avenue for its resolution.Comment: 27 pages, CGPG-94/8-2, latex, contribution to the Cambridge meeting
proceeding
Student ownership of projects in an upper-division optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences
We investigate students' sense of ownership of multiweek final projects in an
upper-division optics lab course. Using a multiple case study approach, we
describe three student projects in detail. Within-case analyses focused on
identifying key issues in each project, and constructing chronological
descriptions of those events. Cross-case analysis focused on identifying
emergent themes with respect to five dimensions of project ownership: student
agency, instructor mentorship, peer collaboration, interest and value, and
affective responses. Our within- and cross-case analyses yielded three major
findings. First, coupling division of labor with collective brainstorming can
help balance student agency, instructor mentorship, and peer collaboration.
Second, students' interest in the project and perceptions of its value can
increase over time; initial student interest in the project topic is not a
necessary condition for student ownership of the project. Third, student
ownership is characterized by a wide range of emotions that fluctuate as
students alternate between extended periods of struggle and moments of success
while working on their projects. These findings not only extend the literature
on student ownership into a new educational domain---namely, upper-division
physics labs---they also have concrete implications for the design of
experimental physics projects in courses for which student ownership is a
desired learning outcome. We describe the course and projects in sufficient
detail that others can adapt our results to their particular contexts.Comment: 22 pages, 3 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev. PE
MM-Minos - An Integrated Interactive Decision Support System
The Interactive Decision Analysis Project is concerned, among other things, with the development of software for solving multiple-criteria decision problems.
In this paper the authors describe some recent modifications to an interactive decision-support system previously developed at IIASA: the new package is more user-friendly and more efficient but less portable. All the new options are defined in full in a technical appendix
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