User:JLever
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My names is James Lever and I am 23 years old. I currently teach Regents High School Physics at Eastport South Manor Jr./Sr. High School. This is currently my second year at this school. While here I have taught only physics and have loved it so far. Since I have started last fall I have started a Varsity Girls Winter and Spring Track team. Running has always been a hobby of mine. I enjoy the level of fitness and competition that comes along with running. While spreading my joy for it I have recently began running competitively myself. My next goal is the Long Island Half Marathon. After I accomplish this in May my next goal is the New York City Marathon. This is a promise me and my mom have made to each other for the new year. We decided that if we both do this together neither of us can quit. So far...so good, but check back on that one in a few weeks.
After graduating from St.John's University last year and getting a job at ESM I had to start my masters. This is where I find myself at Stonybrook University. I am currently a liberal arts major with a cluster in science and coaching. Since I teach physics many of these courses catch my eye including this one PHY315-08.
When I am not taking classes or teaching I lifeguard during the summer. I have been working at the same beach since I was 18. It is a federal beach called Watch Hill on Fire Island. Although it is still a job it is a great way to relax and stay in shape. If you ever have time during the summer I suggest checking it out, it is one of New York's best kept secrets.
Week 2 Assignment
This week in class we actually had a chance to do some hands on work which was great in my eyes. We tested the efficiency of one detector. To accomplish this we took three detectors and placed them all on top of each other, in a row. From here we adjusted the voltage of the middle detector by .1 interval. While doing this we recorded the number of coincidences between the top and bottom and then between all three. We did this for thirty second readings. From this we can determine the efficiency of the third, middle, detector. The results are posted below.
Media:JLever_data.xls
As can be seen from our groups data and graph our maximal efficiency for this detector occurs around 5.8 Volts. This allows us to set this detector at this voltage when we are using it in experiments. Also we took our detector and checked for the consistency of detection rather than just efficiency. When we added up all the noise over ten second periods for 120 seconds we found that our detector detected noise at an average rate of 266. This can be seen in the data below:
Media:Rate_at_10s_intervals.xls
For our last test we had to alter the efficiency of the middle detector. To do this we off set detector #3 in different trials. In Interval 1 the detector is offset 20%. In Interval 2 the detetor is offest 40% and finally in Interval 3 the detector is offset 60%. The data follows below: Media:Efficiency_vs_showing.xls
Week 3 Assignment
Due to the weather this week I was not able to make class. However, I have looked at the notes from class and a few others updates. It seems that this week we discussed scientific terms such as precision and accuracy.
In science these terms are important. More importantly is how we use the terms precision and accuracy. Many times these terms are misused and interchanged. In all experiments we have "the truth". "The truth" is what the actual answer is. Now acurracy is how close our values are to the truth. This can be measured in a percentage. To find this we do the following: N = number of counts dN = square root of counts To get the percentage we take dN/N.
This is opposed to the precision, which is like the related error. The precision itself is how often the measurement repeats. Even if it is not close to "the truth" as long as it is occurring over and over again it is considered precise.
Week 4 Assignment
This week Vin, Brad and myself got caught up on the work we missed and began collecting data for our experiment. For our experiment we took Cosmic Chris,shown to the right, and placed him in different levels of the building in order to determine the amount of hits Chris gets in sixty second intervals. The hits can be seen using the counter shown below. We took Chris in the starewell and put him on his back for two trials at each floor in the building. From this data we can find the percentage of statistical error that occured with Chris per second.
As can be seen from our data there is a slight increase in counts which in turn creates an increase in statistical error. All of our trials seem to have a nice trend and fit within each others statistical error. This is true for all trials except the trial on level S. In order for us to get better readings we must take different measurements in a different part of the building. The middle of the building may work a lot better than the stairwell. This is because of the material above and surrounding the center of the building. As opposed to the stairwell which mainly has glass surrounding it. The data and graph can be found below.
Week 5 Assignment
In week five we continued our investigation with Cosmic Chris. This time in order to regulate the data a bit we decided to take Cosmic Chris and test with him again. We went floor by floor and we decided to stay out of the stairwell. On each floor we went 20 meters in from the elevator at the same central hallway. Each floor shared the same hallway within five feet of each other. Brad, Vin and I decided that this would be the best way to regulate Cosmic Chris' counts. Last time we felt that the stairwell may have thrown off our readings. This time if each floor has the same surroundings and no glass to the outside we thought we would get better readings. As can be seen in the data below, both weeks seem to be decently close. However, last weeks data fits much better. It is possible to put a line through all the data points of last week. As opposed to two weeks ago in pink which is not as clear cut.
Media:comparing_both_weeks.xls
This becomes much clearer if we look at the data from last week by itself:
Media:Rate_versus_height_middle_building.xls
We will continue to work on this project and see if we can better interpret this data through further investigation.
Week 6 Assignment
This week we got a chance to see everyone else's current projects. I really enjoyed the presentations from the last class. As I was watching the other presentations I was trying to see which project was most related to ours and a possible collaboration. It would be interesting to exchange data with Tom and Joe's group. They seem to have the most relatable topic dealing with height and angles of cosmic rays. Also our data had to do with laying cosmic chris on the ground. This related to Karyn's data that dealt with the lateral movement of counters. This could perhaps be used to further our investigation of the relation of cosmic chris counts to height.
Week 7 Assignment
New Experiments! Brad, Desiree and I have joined forces to create a new group and a new experiment. We have taken over the counter that has a variable height. With this we are looking for the speed of a cosmic ray. We must first determine the amount of coincidences bewteen each counter at various heights. After this step we can check the different lengths and types of wires. After all is said and done we should be able to get the average speed of a cosmic ray. The first few steps are all about limiting the error in the experiment. Below the data can be seen from our first few trials:
Week 8 Assignment
This week we had a major breakthrough with our results. Professor Marx had helped us in discovering how significant our results were. We found that we measured the particles to be moving at a speed close to the speed of light. Our next step was to limit our error to make our findings a little more concrete. In order to do this we had tested different lengths of wire and different gauges of wire. The only problem is that all of our data from week 7 was lost. The computer completed died out on us and we lost it all. Hopefully, we could recover that data otherwise we will have to test all the heights again. Our data is located below:
We found the speed of our cable to be 1.9x10^8 m/s. The production of the RG8 is that it moves at 66% the speed of light. Which comes out to be 1.98 x10^8 m/s. Our next step is to limit our errors and find our original data so that we can analyze it. RG8 Speed
Week 9 Assignment
James.Lever02@stjohns.edu
During week 9 we had a chance to take a lot more data at the extremes of our distances. The reasoning for this was to help limit our error. Originally our goal was to take as much data as possible with Desiree reading the time difference between the peaks. After some technical difficulties we had Dima set our computer up to take numerous two fold coincidences. When all was said and done it had recorded over 130 coincidences between the two cases.
By taking multiple readings at the ends of the spectrum we can better move the slope of the line to find our true reading of the speed of the cosmic rays. However, we must first find our errors. If you look at the chart below I have begun our histogram. This is my first histogram ever, so please be kind. I had to increase the range otherwise excel would add everything up and make a large peak. You can see where the histogram begins to peak around 51. As this point is where we must make our curve and take our width and height. From this we can find our percent error of Desiree's reading.
The data below is what I used in order to creat the histogram:
Media:Data.xls
Our group presnetation can be found below: Media:Measuring_the_speed_of_Cosmic_Rays2.ppt
Week 10 Assignment
This upcoming week I would like to go back and review some of the work that Vin is doing with Cosmic Chris. I believe that he is tapped into some pretty cool resources. It would be interesting to take our project of the speed of the cosmic rays through different materials and see how this affected them.
Week 11 Assignment
This was the beginning of our last experiment. After much thought I decided to join up with Vin again and give Cosmic Chris one more try. We began taking count rates at increments of 25 feet from the physics and mathematics building. It can be seen that these buildings have a great effect on the rate counts. This amount of shielding is most likely due to the building height and material. This upcoming week Vin and I will examine the other sides of the buildings with the same precision. From this we plan on making a topographical map of the buildings. Our data can be see below and the count rates: Media:Lastexp.xls
Week 12 Assignment
Vin and myself have just about finished our data collection. This week we focused on the mathematics and physics building perimeters. When we returned to class we uploaded the numbers and we got rates for all of the findings thus far. These can be seen here: Media: 4-22.xls. Next week Vin is going to show me how to take these rates and turn them into a topographical map of the building. From here we can analyze the building structure.
Week 13 Assignment
This was our last week and it culminated with a presentation from each person. It was great to see everyone's accomplishments and what they have learned. I was no different, I learned a great deal about cosmic rays and mathematics. Let me start with what Vin and I did in order to get our graphs. We took all of our data, turned into rates at each point using 240s intervals. From here we created a 3-D axis and ploted each point on the graph. In order to get a better representation of our data we inverted the axis. However, this did not work well. We tried several attempts but none worked. Finally I found that if you click on the axis there is a command that you can flip the axis. We did this and had a perfect topographical image of the two buildings and the bridge between them. This can be seen in my final presnetation about mid-way through.
I truly enjoyed this class and all it had to offer. As a science teacher I definitely liked the technical aspect as well as the content. By far my favorite was the discovery learning that took place. I enjoy when I ask a question and get a response with a question. It makes you think harder and apply yourself a little more just to find an answer or a better way to do an experiment. This class challenged more than I have been in any of my grad classes to date. I would definitely sign up for another MARIACHI course. Thanks for a great course!
Media:Cosmic Chris and Past Experiments.ppt -James Lever
