Shape has always been something society has emphasized, whether an atom or a state of the art building. We as a society have tried to combine artistic feelings, with scientific imagination to form the most elaborate structures in the world. Learning about the two, side by side, has helped engage my learning and provided an all around better understanding of the subject manner. I learned that atoms can have not just a spherical shape, but many others such as dumbbell shaped. I also learned that an opal is a cluster of nanospheres, which reflect light. I had no knowledge of opals, and it was intriguing to learn. I also found it fascinating that Einstein disproved Newton regarding gravity.
My brain was already buzzing, from all of the new facts I had just acquired, and going into the Plasma Lab was amazing. I was so drawn to the machines and I couldn’t help, but ask a large amount of questions. I was interested like nothing else I have seen yet, and I was fortunate enough to get a picture of the LAPD, firing the pink light. I asked the very kind physicist how it got its name, and he responded with a joke (I think). I was perplexed by the machines complexity, and was just so mesmerized by how much power and heat the machine uses. I learned that it can heat up to a quarter of a million degrees Celsius. I also learned that when the LAPD is on, it uses seven million watts on energy. That is more than Westwood uses! The overall experience of the day is still powering my mind to an unknown level of excitement. I hope our other lab visits are just as exciting because I enjoyed today so much. I am having a fantastic time with this course, and hope the days to come are just as amazing as this one.
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/plasmalab/currActIndex.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_history_of_Western_Australia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanorod
http://physics.about.com/od/relativisticmechanics/a/relativity_4.htm
http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=935