March 2012 – diy Physics Blog

No Joke: Science Is A Laughing Matter – NPR’s Science Friday April 1st Edition

Posted on March 31, 2012 by David Prutchi Posted in Physics Humor

h bar joke. www.diyPhysics.com

Yesterday, Friday, March 30th, 2012, NPR’s Science Friday had its yearly April 1st “No Joke: Science Is A Laughing Matter” program. Want to hear a joke about sodium hypobromite? NaBrO! Can science be the butt of a good joke? Ira Flatow and guests test the hypothesis in an annual April Fools’ joke-a-thon. They share the best gags in the business. Sidesplitting or groan-worthy? You decide.

Program announcement in NPR’s Archive:

http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201203301

Download mp3 of the show: http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/sciencefriday/scifri201203301.mp3

Testing Electronic Goldmine’s “Giant Super Sensitive Geiger Muller Tube MC6”

Russian-made MC6 Geiger Muller Tube evaluated by David Prutchi PhD www.diyPhysics.com

I purchased two “Giant Super Sensitive MC6” GM tubes from Electronic Goldmine (Item Number : G18717, Unit Price: $89.95). These are Russian-made new-old-stock model MC6. They are 10.25″ long x 0.9″ diameter. I compared the sensitivity of these tubes to the other GM tubes that I use with my CDV700 Pro Geiger Counter. Continue reading→

Tom Van Baak’s Family-Friendly Relativistic Time-Dilation Experiment

Posted on March 15, 2012 by David Prutchi Posted in Atomic Clock, Precision Clocks and Timers, Relativistic Time Dilation

Tom Van Baak and his family-friendly relativistic time-dilation experiment

Image Credit: Tom Van Baak, Leapsecond.com

I was going through my e-mails for some information on atomic frequency standards, when I came across an e-mail that I had sent to Tom Van Baak in 2007 congratulating him for his family-friendly time dilation experiment. If you are not familiar with his work, I heartily recommend that you explore his precision-time-keeping webpage at LeapSecond.com. Continue reading→

d.i.y. Alpha-Particle Rutherford Scattering Experiment – Supplementary Pictures

Posted on March 3, 2012 by David Prutchi Posted in Chapter 3 - Atoms and Radioactvity, Polymeric Radiation Detector, Rutherford Alpha-Particle Scattering

diy Alpha-particle Rutherford scattering device by David and Shanni Prutchi www.diyPhysics.com

The book’s Figures 70 and 71 show our d.i.y. version of a popular apparatus to measure alpha particle scattering. The figure above shows additional views to help you build your own. The apparatus allows you to demonstrate alpha particle scattering discovered by Ernest Rutherford in 1908. Fundamental to the discovery of the atom’s structure, the experiment demonstrates that the charge of the atomic nucleus is concentrated at the center of the atom. Continue reading→