Articles — Physics

My dissertation for my Astrophysics MPhys degree at the University of Liverpool compiles research, simulations and calculations to come to concise conclusions about the feasibility of a human mission as stated in the project title.

Sinds enkele jaren ben ik op zoek naar eenvoudige wiskundige en fysische problemen die onverwacht gerelateerd zijn met het getal \(\pi\). In The bouncing balls and pi beschreef ik eerder al hoe de opeenvolgende decimalen van \(\pi\) kunnen berekend worden door twee ballen volledig elastisch tegen elkaar en tegen een muur te laten botsen. In dit artikel zal ik aantonen hoe het getal \(\pi\) tevoorschijn komt door een oneindige serie rechthoeken met oppervlakte 1 spiraalsgewijze aan elkaar te kleven. In een veralgemening van dit probleem duikt op een natuurlijke wijze de gammafunctie en de formule van Stirling op.

This report provides insight into the magnetic phenomenon of Hysteresis. Hysteresis is defined as a retardation effect where the magnetisation of a magnetic material lags behind the magnetizing force. Here we will explore the hysteresis loop for a silver steel ferromagnet and use this to discover it’s magnetic properties. The method used will be to place a ferromagnet inside a solenoid with an alternating voltage which will continually reverse the magnetic field and magnetism direction. The relation between these two quantities will be used to produce a hysteresis loop from which magnetic properties can be deduced. The results obtained were: saturation magnetisation = (8.4±0.5)(105)Am-1; remnant magnetisation = (5.9±0.5)(105)Am-1; coercive field: (4.3±0.5)(104)Am-1; energy expended per cycle per unit volume of material: (1.55±0.05)(103)Jm-3s-1; energy product: (8.7±3.0)(104)Jm-3.

The fundamental necessity for water is a widespread issue affecting many communities across the globe. In this project, our team sought to provide an innovative solution to this problem for a small community with access to a relatively close source of flowing water. Resultant flow rate of water was calculated to be 0.498 L/min. Stress and strain analysis on individual subsections of the system were as follows: -44.2 MPa for bending moment in the rod; -7.04 MPa for shear stresses in the rod of the axis; -8.88E-5 for shear strain in the rod ; -1.11 MPa and .429 MPa of shear stresses in the L brackets; -0.123 MPa for radial stress of spiral, -0.422 MPa for hoop stress of spiral, -2.10 MPa for bending moment of spiral, and -0.176 MPa for the maximum shear stress of the spiral pump on the rotating wheel. The focus of the design remained fixated on water acquisition; however, further additions can be made for water purification.

TP thermodynamique

Consideraciones mecánicas en la instalación de Sistemas Solares Fotovoltaicos

The aim of this laboratory work is to design a strut/bracket assembly for aircrafts. Experiments are carried out to determine mechanical properties of certain materials.The material chosen is Mild Steel. Given the possible condition experienced by the material and the safety factor, the dimensions for the designs of the strut/bracket assembly for aircrafts are obtained to avoid failure by yield or fracture. The diameter of the pin, d ,which is subjected to shear stress should be larger than 14.56mm. The diameter of the rod, D, should be larger than 12.74mm. The thickness of the rod would be 10mm.

The axion is a hypothetical particle, introduced by the Peccei-Quinn theory in 1977 as a solution to the strong CP problem in quantum chromodynamics. The axion, if it exists, must have a very small mass, and must be very weakly interacting with baryonic matter, giving it the abbreviation WISP (Weakly Interacting Sub-ev Particle). The predicted attributes of the axion would give it the ability to pass directly through an opaque wall without obstruction, and this is how the ALPS experiment (Any Light Particle Search) at DESY in Hamburg is exploring the possibility of their existence. In this report, we will use matrix methods to reproduce the relationship between axion mass and axion coupling as published by the ALPS experiment \autocite{Ehret, K. et al (2010). New ALPS results on hidden-sector lightweights} in 2010, using their conversion probability to plot the result. Note that all equations, unless otherwise stated, are in natural units ($c=1$, $\hbar = 1$).

The impact crater of a small metal ball of 63.7 grams (0.0637kg) is dropped from 8 different heights, ranging from 0.20m to 0.90m was observed. A mean was measured for the craters diameter. Using the equation E=mg$\Delta$h given that we have m, and g is a constant of 9.81 we can find the kinetic energy of the ball on impact. The relationship between crater diameter, D, and impact energy, E, is given by D=kE$^n$ where K is constant and n is found by the gradient of the graph and is also constant. This can be modified to give $\log D = n\log E + \log k$.