Some Dramatis Personae for Unit 3

Hertha Ayrton - (1854-1923), Eng., math/elect.eng., Changed her name from Phoebe to Hertha (there has to be a story there!); married physicist; worked with electricity and electric arcs; according to Quinn, she was also a political activist, active in women's suffrage movement in England; friend and colleague of M. Curie.

Paul Appell - (1855-1930), Fr., math., His daughter (see below) was married to Emile Borel; Sorbonne faculty; usually a supporter of M. Curie but did not support her during the scandal period and disapproved of his daughter taking her in.

Niels Bohr - (1885-1962), Dan., phys., In 1913 proposed a model of the atom that involved shells of electron activity. is work laid the groundwork for Quantum Physics. He rec'd the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922.

Edouard Branley - (1844?-1940?) Branley linked radio waves to electrical current which helped to make radio broadcasting possible.

Emile (1871-1956) and Marguerite (1883?-1969?) Borel - Emile was a French mathematician who worked in a number of areas, including functions, game theory and probability. Marguerite had a successful career as a writer and published fiction under the pseudonym "Camille Marbo". The couple were friends of M. Curie and took her in when scandal broke.

Albert Einstein - (1879-1955), Ger/Amer, phys., Best known for three papers published in 1905. In one he proposed his theory of special relativity that deals with particles moving at high speeds. In a second, he explained photoelectric effect and in a third he explained Brownian motion. He later developed his theory of general relativity ( having to do with gravitational force and the effect of mass on space). His later career was spent trying to create a unified theory that would successfully describe all known natural forces as aspects of one single force. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.

Hans Geiger - (182-1945), Ger., phys., Inventor of a device that responds to the presence of alpha particles (1913) - the Geiger counter.

Ernest Marsden - (1889?-1970?), NZ, phys., Worked with Geiger under Rutherford; alpha particle scattering experiment (1908).

Heike Kamerlingh Onnes - (1853-1926), Neth., phys., Worked in a number of areas; worked with M. Curie on radioactive substances at low temperatures; rec'd Nobel Prize for Physics in 1913. (See article on absolute zero and superconductivity.)

Jean Perrin - (1870-1942), Fr., phys., proposed a planetary-system model of atomic structure; studies Brownian motion; awarded the 1926 Nobel Prize in Physics for "his work on the discontinuous structure of matter, and especially for his discovery of sedimentation equilibrium" (nobelprize.org).

William Ramsey - (1852-1916), Eng., chem., Rec'd Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1904 for his work on noble gases and their place on the periodic table; identified argon; as well as helium, neon, krypton and xenon; his work with Soddy to show how helium was produced from radium helped reinforce Rutherford's disintegration theory.

Who's Who in Unit 2

Henri Becquerel - (1852-1908), Fr, did research on fluoresence; inadvertently discovered radioactivity during course of research; the Curies built on his work and the three shared the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics.

Marcel Brillouin - (1854-1948), Fr, physicist

Auguste Comte - (1798-1857), Fr, social philosopher; saw human society as an evolutionary sequence; saw the sciences (incl. sociology) as heirarchical.

William Crooks - (1832-1919), Eng, research with cathode ray tubes; worked with a German physicist named Goldstein; in 1903 found a way to detect alpha particles which was later used by Rutherford.

Pierre Curie - (1859-1906), Fr, discovered piezoelectricity (the electicity produced when pressure is applied to a crystal); did work on magnetism; worked with his wife, Marie, on uranium, polonium and radium extracted from pitchblende.

John Dalton - (1766-1844), started out as a meteorologist; proposed the atomic theory in 1803 which sai that: 1) all matter is made up of small, indivisible particles; 2) atoms of a single element have unique characteristics/weight; 3) atoms are of three types: simple (atoms), compound (simple molecules), complex (complex molecules).

Johann Geissler - (1814-1879), Ger, physicist and glass-blower; responsible for vacuum tubes.

L. George Gouy - (1854?- 1926?), very little information available on web; physicist friend of P. Curie; seems to have his name associated with magnetism and optics.

Paul Langevin - (1872-1946), Fr, studied under J J Thomson and got his Phd under P. Curie; studied paramagnetism (the mild attraction to a magnetic field); subseqent work included ultrasonic vibrations (which ultimately led to the development of Sonar durin WWII).

Philip Lenard - (1862-1947), Hung/Ger, assistant of Heinrich Hertz; studied cathode rays; rec'd Nobel Prize for Physics in 1905; also did work on the photoelectric effect (when electrons are emitted from a metal when struck by electromagnetic radiation).

Gabriel Lippman - (1845-1921), physicist, did work in electricity, thermodynamics, optics and photochemistry; devised a method for color photography; rec'd Nobel Prze in Physics in 1908 for his method of color photography.

Dimitri Mendeleev _ (1834-1907), Rus, chemist; arranged the known elements into a Periodic TAble based on their atomic number and atomic mass (1869); his table left space for new elements.

A.A. Michelson - (1852-1931), Ger/Amer, physicist; did a lot of work with telescopes; he is quoted as saying that"...further truths of physics are to be looked for in the sixth place of decimals...".

Henri Poincare - (1854-1912), Fr, mathematician who worked in many different branches of mathematics

Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen - (1845-1923), Ger, physicist, discovered X-rays; awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.

Ernest Rutherford - (1871-1937), N.Z./Eng, coined the terms "alpha", "beta" and "gamma" rays to identify the partcle beams (alpha and beta) and the electromagnetic radiation (gamma); made the first observatins of nuclear reactions and dubbed the positivily-charged particles "protons"; his 1908 Nobel Prize was awarded to him in Chemistry, however...not Physics! (He is also credited with the term "half-life")

Frederick Soddy - (1877-1956), Eng, coined the word "isotope" to refer to substances which are chemically identical but have different radioactive properties; rec'd 1921 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. (He is also credited with the term "half-life")

J.J. Thomson - (1856-1940), Eng, physicist, credited with the discovery of the electron; his model of atomic structure was of positively charged stuff with electrons scattered here and there like raisin bread or plum pudding. (Note: I have also run across on-line sources that credit G.J. Stoney with the discovery of the electron.)

William Thomson- Lord Kelvin - (1824-1907), Scot, mathematician; did a lot of work in physics, esp. laws of thermodynamics.

Emile Zola - (1840-1902), Fr, author and journalist, his open letter led to the reopening of the Dreyfus Case; he is credited with the founding of the Naturalist Movement in Literature.

(main source for info: scienceworld.wolfram.com. Other sources may be accessed through the links provided.)

Exercises for Unit 2 on Atoms, Nuclei, Etc.

The following questions have been assigned for Unit 2:

1. How many protons, electrons and neutrons do the following atoms have:

Helium 4 (He 4): 2 protons, 2 electrons, 2 neutrons

Oxygen 18 (O 18): 8 protons, 8 electrons, 10 neutrons

Polonium 209 (Po 209): 84 protons, 84 electrons, 125 neutrons

Radon 222 (Rn 222): 86 protons, 86 electrons, 136 neutrons

What is the atomic number and mass number of Oxygen 18 and Radon 222?

The atomic number of O 18 is 8 and the mass number is 18. The atomic number of Rn 222 is 86 and the mass number is 222.

2. Thorium 232 (Th 232) undergoes alpha decay. What does an atom of Thorium 232 transform to when it decays?

Th 232 has 90 protons and 142 neutrons. It loses 2 protons and 2 neutrons to alpha decay so it winds up as Radium 228.

3. Oxygen 19 undergoes beta decay. What does an atom of Oxygen 19 transform to when it decays?

Since it's beta decay, add a proton to the atomic number and you have Fluorine 19 (F 19).

4. The extremely rare radioactive isotope Greensborium has a half-life of two years. If today you have one pound of Greensborium, how much of that Greensborium will you have in six years?

According to the lecture on scientific notation for this unit, after 3 half-lives you have 1/8 the original quantity. So, 2 oz.

Unit 2 Assignment: Glossary

This is the glossary for Unit 2:

1. alpha decay - process whereby an alpha particle ( 2 protons & 2 neutrons, i.e. the nucleus of a Helium 4 atom) is emitted from a radioactive nucleus, as it changes into the nucleus of a new element.

2. atomic mass number - the total of protons and neutrons in the nucleus

3. atomic number - number of protons in the nucleus

4. atomic weight - from scienceworld.wolfram.com: "the average mass of the naturally occurring isotopes of an element" Actually, the average is weighted by the percentage in which a particular isotope occurs. For example, there's lots more C 12 than there is C 13 and there's even less C 14, so that needs to be taken into account in arriving at the mean.

5. beta decay - in beta decay, electrons are emitted (called beta particles). In the nucleus, a neutron changes into a proton and this causes an electron to be emitted from the nucleus. There's no change in the mass number but add 1 to the atomic number ('cause you've gained a proton)

6. electron - has a negative charge, located around nucleus

7. electromagnetic spectrum: the full range of radiation, arranged by frequency/wavelength

8. energy conservation - energy cannot be created or destroyed but it can be converted from one form to another (ex. light > heat )

9. ether - from scienceworld.wolfram.com: it was hypothesized that there was a medium (dubbed "ether") through which light and other electromagnetic waves traveled

10. gamma decay - Gamma rays are electromagnetic radiation of much higher frequency than visible light, UV and X-rays. Best I can figure, when a nucleus loses energy it emits gamma rays. Gamma radiation can accompany alpha or beta decay. Neither the atomic number nor the mass number are affected.

11. half-life - according to the lecture material for this unit, the half-life for a given radioactive isotope is the time that it takes for half of the radioactive nuclei in a sample to undergo radioactive decay. After 2 half-lives there will be 1/4 the original sample. After 3 half-lives, there will be 1/8. And so on.

12. induced radioactivity - from Quinn: "the temporary radioactivity observed in the vicinity of radioactive elements" (p. 204)

13. nucleus - the mass which is at the center of an atom, this is where the protons and neutrons are

14. neutron - particles in the nucleus that hold no charge, they add to the weight and stability of the nucleus.

15. phosphoresence - from Quinn: "the glow which light excites in certain substances....which continues for a time even after the light source has been removed" (p. 140)

16. pitchblende - the uranium ore the Curies worked with

17. polonium - a radioactive element, discovered by the Curies. It undergoes alpha decay to lead.

18. proton - has a positive charge, located in nucleus

19. radium - in the uranium to lead decay sequence, radium is the result of the alpha decay of thorium. In turn, radium's alpha decay produces radon.

20. radon - a radioactive gas, naturally occurring, that is part of the radioactive decay sequence from uranium to lead. Radon is produced from the alpha decay of radium. It poses a serious health risk.

21. thorium - thorium can be produced by alpha decay from uranium and, as noted above, produces radium by alpha decay

22. transmutation - when one element becomes another because of changes occurring in its nucleus

23. X-ray - electromagnetic radiation of high frequency and very short wavelength. On the electromagnetic spectrum, X-rays are higher frequency than UV rays and lower than gamma rays.

For The Person Who Has Everything....

....a zero-volume bottle!

It's called a Klein Bottle.

Be sure to check out the link for the knitted versions!

(And, yes, it is the same Cliff Stoll.)

Unit 1 Assignment: Glossary

Below are some terms which we have been asked to define for Unit 1:

1. January Uprising: began in Jan., 1863. It was an armed uprising against Russian occupation that was not only unsuccessful but resulted in reprisals, deportations and imprisonment. As a result of this failed attempt to throw off Russia by force, Poles looked for other ways of resisting the Russians and retaining their Polish identity.

2. Russification: click here for very interesting site on Russification: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/alexander_iii.htm

3. szlachta: the class of Polish landed gentry (note: no surname in my family tree shows up in this category!)

4. kulig: a sleigh-riding party with feasting a revelry. See: http://www.polishnews.com/fulltext/christmas/kulig.shtml

5. mazurka: click here for a page with various versions of the Dabrowski Mazurka - the national anthem of Poland since 1926: http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/repertoi/dabrowski.html .In general, a mazurka (mazurek) is a Polish folkdance with a pronounced three-count. Chopin composed quite a few of them.

6. Flying University: an underground educational movement in Poland during Russian occupation.

7. Sorbonne: the University of Paris

8. Intelligentsia: an educated, intellectual class; "intellectuals who form an artistic, social or political vanguard or elite" (from Merriam-Webster

9. Romantic Idealism: in Poland, this meant national sovereignity gained through armed insurrection against occupation

10: Political Realism: in Poland, the school of thought that maintained that the best course of survival/resistance was hard work and study

11. Gymnasium: in some European educational systems, this is the secondary school that prepares University-bound students.

12: Polish Positivism: the movement that arose in Warsaw after the failure of the January uprising that looked to science and study as ways to solve the problems in Poland. It was derived from the work of Auguste Comte.)

"We all use Math every day..."

If you actually know me, you already know that I'm a fan of NUM3ERS. (Although, I'm pretty ticked at Larry being in low-Earth orbit for the remainder of the season. If he burns up on re-entry I'll be devastated!)

Here's a nifty site with classroom-type activities that relate to stuff that comes up in conversations in Charlie's garage and Don's office.

This semester, I am enrolled in a class that will be looking at the work of Curie, Feynman and Hawking.

Since there are writing assignments for the units, I will be using this blog for those as well as other Math-y/Science-y bits, factoids and what-not.

Especially the what-not,

(photo from the official NUM3ERS website given above)

New Year's Greetings!

Left: Photo taken at Colonial Williamsburg, December 2006)





Owing to the fact that the class in which I am currently enrolled does not require student blogs, this site will only be used for the occasional class-related entry. The subject for Winter Session is Poetry and, as I am not going to post any original poetry here (for reasons both many and obvious), I will post some related bits of writing.

For example, we've been reading a bit on quatrains this week and today I posted the following on Bb concerning some assigned reading in Miller Williams' Patterns of Poetry and in Joseph Kelly's Seagull Reader: Poems:


"The section in Williams on quatrains was interesting. It's probably the type of poetry we're most accustomed to in the English language and there's a surprising amount of variety.

As for the poems themselves: I was somewhat shocked to realize that I still remember most of the verses of "Sir Patrick Spens" from fifth grade. I actually remember a lot of poems from fifth grade. We had a teacher who was convinced that memorizing a poem made it "yours".

To some extent, that may be true. Just as with song lyrics, the patterns of verse seem to make it fairly easy to memorize. Even something that's as nonsensical as "Jabberwocky" is hard to forget once learned.

Having learned some of these poems by heart as a girl and knowing them like old friends, it's refreshing to have this opportunity to look at them more closely for their formal attributes. The rhyme scheme in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" for example. I frankly never noticed the rhyme scheme.

A similar thing can be said for Emily Dickinson. I had to commit 50 lines of Dickinson to memory for that teacher and memorized them by skipping rope. Still, I don't believe that I ever have really looked at examples of her poems that reflect her original punctuation. The versions in my schoolbooks were much tidier and I always thought her work a bit flat. Given the less tidy versions, I now see that her punctuation is a little like my own. I also get a much greater sense of animation and vitality from her work."


I guess that the reason that I learned the Emily Dickinson while jumping rope was that I had not yet been introduced to the theory that most of her poems can be sung to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas".