These are documents I have written, presentations I have given, and ideas
I've written up. They are posed here in the hope that the information will
be useful
to others. Some of the files are in poor formats for posting online (eg PowerPoint)
- you have been warned!
Physics
- An
investigation into teaching introductory programming to physics undergraduates (June 2006)
- The pedagogy of physics education has become the focus of increasing research.
This
project has applied such research to focus on the issue of introductory computer
programming
for physics students. It is concluded that teaching programming is both necessary
and beneficial for physics students and may improve their performance on
their
degree. The choice of programming language for an introductory course is
considered,
and the Python programming language is selected. Questionnaire results from
physics
and engineering introductory courses are presented, and conclusions drawn
from these
results. The report finishes by presenting best practice suggestions to improve
the enthusiasm
and retention of material by the students.
This was my Masters' project, supervised by
Dr Tim Freegarde. It won the prize for Best Masters of Physics Project 2006.
- The
momentum of light in media: the Abraham-Minkowski Controversy (January
2005)
- In 1908 Minkowski proposed a form of the energy-momentum tensor required
to describe the behaviour of
light at the interface between two dielectric materials of different refractive
indices. Since then physicists and mathematicians have been debating the
correct form of the energy-momentum tensor required to describe the behaviour
of
light at the interface between two dielectric materials of different refractive
indices.
The two main ‘competing’ theories during this time have been
those proposed by
Minkowski and Abraham. The controversy arises due to Abraham’s and
Minkowski’s calculations disagreeing
as to whether the momentum carried by an electromagnetic field is increased
or
decreased by the presence of a refractive medium.
This paper starts by providing
an overview of the life of Abraham and Minkowski. The opinions on the
controversy, and solutions for the controversy proposed by physicists over
the past
century are considered, and the arguments they put forward to support their
position are examined. Finally, some of the experiments undertaken are
discussed, along with whether they have shed light on the controversy. The
paper
concludes by considering proposed future work on the topic.
This was the title of my 3rd year dissertation, supervised by
Dr Tim Freegarde.
If you're interested in the subject, I recommend Steve Barnett, Colin
Baxter and Rodney Loudon's presentation from
Physics 2005.
- Hydroelectric
Power (May 2005)
- Hydroelectric power has been feted as a cheap, clean and renewable source
of energy. However there are environmental costs which are often overlooked
in the drive to generate electricity. Is it feasible or desirable for hydroelectric
power to be developed on a much larger scale in the future?
- Isotope Enrichment (May 2005)
- The proliferation of nuclear weapons is a hot topic. Can nuclear power
be exploited without increasing the chances of proliferation?
Presentations
These are in Powerpoint. Sorry, but we're forced to use this at the University
of Southampton, and I haven't found a good (free) converter to other formats.
Maybe PDF, but then you lose the animated features...
- Photoconduction (2004)
-
- Laser Excited Fluorescence (2005)
Computer related
- Tiff Sizes
- A look at how TIFF file sizes for different images change when various forms
of compression are applied. The results are not what you might have expected!