| Here are just two of the
many emails we received regarding our scripts and then some questions
that came up as a result of reading the scripts. Stephen Bosi - Plasma Physicist > We just did quick Internet search for you and found > your name at the Sydney Uni site. Our next question is > what are Applied and Plasma Physics? :) (for Yr3. we > really want to know. We love science). "Physics" means using science based strongly on mathematics combined with experiments. Physics usually involves the study of things from the list belowbut there are also many things I left out; Magnetism, electricity and electronics, gravity, outer space, astronomy, stars, planets, atoms, sub-atomic particles, how things move, light and optics, lightning, energy and heat, collisions, the atmosphere, radioactivity and how the universe started. APPLIED Physics means; a) using physics to do practical things e.g. to help industry find better ways of making things you use everyday b) using physics to solve problems is OTHER areas of science or medicine e.g. we are involved in helping to make those artificial heart pumps (verticore) you might have seen on the news recently Some of the areas of research in the Applied Physics Lab are; Solar energy (my project), ways of making thin coatings for industry and medicine, using computers to make mathematical models of how atoms in solid materials behave, making special thermally insulating windows (which contain a vacuum) to save heat energy in your home, measuring the spectrum (colours) of different materials, understanding how colourful birds and butterlies make their beautiful colours, how to solve the greenhouse effect problem, checking to see if the radiation from mobile phones is safe or not. PLASMA physics means the study of plasmas. What is a plasma? When a gas gets very hot, it glows. When it glows it is called a "plasma". Don;t get confused with "blood plasma". No connection. Examples of plasma; Those funky "Plasma balls" you can buy from gift shops, Fire, lightning, fluorescent and neon lights, the sun and the stars. Plasmas can also be used to deposit thin coatings onto things for example the shiny aluminium coating on the inside of your chip packet. The Plasma Physics lab does research on; Finding ways to use plasmas to deposit thin films onto objects, understanding how plasmas work, how to use special kinds of plasmas (like in the sun) to get energy, measuring the spectrum (colours) of plasmas. Should You Wake a Narcaleptic? |
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