March 26, 2011
Published by Bryan at March 26, 2011
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Nuclear Radiation (2): How a Nuclear Reactor Works

The fission reactor uses a controlled nuclear fission process to produce thermal energy, which is then converted into electricity by boiling water. With the exception of the reactor core, a nuclear power plant is similar to any other power plant that relies on thermal energy. The difference is the means by which the thermal energy is produced. Nuclear fuel is most commonly composed of compounds containing Uranium 235 which makes up less than 1% or uranium ore in natural abundance. Most Uranium is U -238 and we have seen in part 1 that this is radioactive and decays primarily by alpha emission.
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March 9, 2011
Published by Bryan at March 9, 2011
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Millikan’s Oil Drop Experiment

n 1887 J.J. Thomson discovery of the electron was a significant step that led to a much deeper understanding of the microscopic properties of Nature. In this entry, I will discuss the famous Millikan Oil drop experiment which was done in 1909. But recall that in his characterization of the properties of the electron he could only determine the charge to mass ratio, given by -1.76 times ten to the 11th Coulombs per kilogram. Was this ratio a result of two big values or two small values? Robert Millikan was able to separate the ratio in order to show that the ratio was that of two small numbers and in this way he was able to extract the elementary charge and the electron mass. Comparing the electron mass to that of the lightest element, Hydrogen, it is found that the mass of an electron is 1800 times smaller. Indeed at that time this was the smallest particle known.
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February 14, 2011
Published by Bryan at February 14, 2011
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Discovery of the electron

Discussion of the discovery of the electron by J. J. Thomson in 1897 using a cathode ray tube. He was able to obtain the charge to mass ratio, but not the actual mass or charge. Later Millikan was able to separate the two. Indeed Thomson found a new state of matter which laid the foundations for quantum mechanics and a huge range of technologies
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March 10, 2010
Published by Bryan at March 10, 2010
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003 Positivism, empricism

In my last entry I talked a bit about reality and introduced the ideas of Ontology (the philosophy of being) and Epistemology (the philosophy of knowledge). In this entry we move down to the microscopic level where things are quite different. Our intuition in the macroscopic Naïve Reality in which we live changes dramatically.
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October 31, 2009
Published by Bryan at October 31, 2009
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What I like about quantum mechanics.

The purpose of the is blog is to stimulate discussion into the interpretation of qm. I am sure that you have ideas, questions, comments about qm and reactions to what I say. I invite you to submit those in my blog and perhaps we can stimulate a lively discussion and even get to some answers as to what qm really means.
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