Tobey S.
Posters for Fall 22 and Spring 23
Despite the website being down for half of this academic year, much progress was made on my project this year. Click the icon to read the posters for the WISRD Physiology Group this year, as well as posters from past years.
Journal entries imported from the previous iteration of wisrd.org
TOBEY S
WISRD Journal 2021-2022
WISRD Journal 2021-2022
Cosmic Ray Group Presenting During Poster Session
April 28th, 2022: The shower study done on Cosmic Ray E-Labs yielded a hit coincidence at 14 to 12 to 10 to 8 all in one second, on April 19, 2022 01:57:53 UTC. This finding has raised questions like how can the hit coincidence change to four different values in the same second.
Event Date Hit Coincidence ΔT Detector Coincidence
[Channel Multiplicity]
14
1 ( 6136[4])
12
1 ( 6136[4])
10
1 ( 6136[4])
8
1 ( 6136[3])
April 26th, 2022: During the poster session, we had the opportunity to present to, and speak with Jed Leatherman, who is currently working with WISRD’s Recon Group. We started talking about a potential project with the cosmic ray detector that would involve looking at spaceweather.com to see the sun and asking whether there is an anti-correlation with the sun and cosmic rays. Every June there is a slight peek and there is a light peak. When the earth is further from the sun more cosmic rays are detected. The project would ask questions as to whether the detector count is higher depending on the position of the sun in relation to the earth.
April 25th, 2022: The Cosmic Ray group presented at the WISRD Spring Poster Session and lecture series. The poster we presented is linked here.
April 21st, 2022: Currently, WISRD’s Cosmic Ray Group is preparing to deploy the cosmic ray detector on the roof with the radio telescope to monitor coincident cosmic ray events and radio wave production. To prepare for this, the detector was calibrated. This process is called plateauing the detector. If the detector is not plateaued, it is possible for some cosmic ray collisions to be missed and not counted. The plateauing process starts with carefully raising the voltage supplied to the counters. This power is provided by the Quarknet distribution box. The voltage is raised until each counter is running at optimal voltage. The process to figure out if the optimal voltage is reached begins with increasing the voltage in 0.025V increments starting at 0.775, and taking down the coincidence count from each channel every time the voltage is increased. This process gives the plateau, a number of voltages when the counters operate at full capacity. Because we have the plateau, data has been recorded and WISRD’s Cosmic Ray Group is currently in the process of determining whether the data we have constitutes a shower.
4/19/22: Because of the size of the universe, primary cosmic rays are constantly moving around which allows them to get energy from many different sources. This allows for primary cosmic rays to occasionally attain massive amounts of energy. Extended area showers are created when the primaries pass through the upper atmosphere. The more energy that the primary holds the larger section of the surface is affected. This creates a shower because of the rays that cover a larger area and have many particles. Currently, I am navigating Fermilab’s Cosmic Ray E-labs website, a website that is used to upload cosmic ray data, to try and conduct a shower study to see if the data that we collected constitutes a shower. I am using the online analysis tool on the e-Lab website. In order to do this, I have to change the shower study interface to set the levels of the detector, challel, and hit coincidence.
S
4/22: WISRD Board Retreat:
Annual Treasurer Report:
_____________________
Since the last board meeting, WISRD has made 19 purchases coming to a total of 766 dollars and 36 cents.
Previously, from November to January 21st, WISRD spent $2,480.57 on 12 purchases
That brings us to a total of around $3,246.93
For the Annual WISRD Treasurer Budget Report, It’s important that we talk about the overall financial state of WISRD and where we are currently in terms of budget.
Joe, can you speak on WISRD’s budget?
Does anyone have any comments about the WISRD budget?
WISRD LGBTQ+ Committee Report:
______________________________
The LGBTQ+ Committee drafted an LGBTQ+ Anonymous Survey For WISRD on google forms.
The questions included are…
Number 1, Have you experienced any discrimination in WISRD based on your gender identity or sexuality?
Number 2, Have you witnessed anybody being discriminated against in WISRD based on their gender identity or sexuality??
Number 3, Do you have any suggestions on how WISRD can improve in order to better the experience for LGBTQ+ Students within WISRD?
And lastly,
Is anything else you would like to say about your experience as an LGBTQ+ identifying individual in WISRD?
Max and Allyson, do you have anything else to add to this committee update?
To be an expert, know 3 people in your field, know 3 questions, and know 3 places where your research is being done.
Poster Session Date: Update, Poster Started. Doing 2 posters, 1 for cosmic ray collaboration with radio telescope, and 1 for just cosmic ray. And potentially one more for the Half Life of A Muon.
April 13th, 2022: Found the Half-Life of a Muon. When a cosmic ray enters the atmosphere, it collides with atoms in the atmosphere and produces a stream of ionized particles and electromagnetic radiation. This is called an air shower. The secondary radiation consists of various particles including positrons, pions, and electrons. Pions decay extremely fast into Muons, Gamma Rays, and Neutrinos. Muons are makeup the majority of particles that reach Earth’s surface. A muon is an elementary subatomic particle that is 207 times heavier than a similar particle, the electron. In 1936 American physicists Carl D. Anderson and Seth Neddermeyer discovered the muon when they were studying cosmic ray showers. Thousands of muons pass through humans every second, but there is no danger from these particles at sea level. We are protected by Earth’s magnetic field. Muons are dangerous to astronauts because they do not have the protections garnered by Earth’s magnetic field. Delicate electronic equipment is also subject to malfunctions due to muons.
Poster Session Date: . Update, Poster Started
Question – Can WISRD’s Cosmic Ray Detector Group find instances of radio waves generated by high altitude cosmic events?
2022/03/23: On Cosmic Ray E-lab running shower study for data with correct geometry. Looking for showers.
2022/03/22: Shower Study ran for data file 21Mar2022_135437. coincidence for detectors 1,2 and 3,4 to indicate a shower activity. Trying to figure out how to change geometry on Cosmic Ray E-labs after the data has already been uploaded.
2022/03/14
Uploaded file: data/EQUIP_13mar2022_100021 to QuarkNet. It is ready for shower study
Joe W
For Data and Benchmarks, I put them on the server. I uploaded this benchmark to Quarknet. This is the URL:. Username and password is found on the server under:.
ssh pi@—.—.—.–(IP ADDRESS)
ENTER PASSWORD
Turn Remote Login On
Change directory to directory of file (i.e. cd Downloads/data)
scp file.txt your_username@your_ip_address:/Directory/You/Want/To/Copy/To (i.e. /Users/Tobey)
On the Pi type exit
Turn Remote Login Off
~/Downloads/data
data/EQUIP_1MAR2022_132438.txt
Journal Entry:
2/23/22 Journal Entry: To make sure the PMT is responding, We checked the distribution box and its working. Now were checking the photomultiplier to make sure they are working the way their supposed to by changing the voltage on the photomultiplier and changing the counts and making sure its an exponential decay.
2/16/22 WISRD LGBTQ+ Committee Meeting Minutes:
11:05:19 AM: What issues are LGBTQ+ members of WISRD Facing
Bathroom Issue
Wildwood School’s administration commented…WISRD Members who identify as non-binary dont have a bathroom to use in the WISRD hallway.
https://www.livescience.com/48177-smartphone-app-cosmic-ray-detector.html
2/9/22 WISRD is hoping to collaborate with Daniel Whiteson at UC Irvine on the cell phone as Cosmic Ray Detector. He was instrumental in Pierre Auger Telescope in Chile. He also is part of the ATLAS collaboration which collects data at the Large Hadron Collider where the Higgs Boson was discovered. Collaborating with Whiteson on the cell phone as Cosmic Ray Detector would get the public interested in gathering data and understanding things they don’t ordinarily get a chance to seem, the particles around them. It would allow us to collect data on a large scale covering a lot of ground and enable us to do the cosmic watch, the phone cosmic ray detector, and the radio telescope, and intertwine each of them to find correlations in the data.
1/27/22. New Learning: Cosmic Ray Data uses UTC to track the time of each count. UTC is not a time zone. It is a time standard for civil time and time zones around the globe. No country uses UTC as a local time.
1/26/22. Tweet: Finding the half-life of a muon to test the reliability of our newly repaired Quark-net Cosmic Ray Detector in anticipation of integrating our radio telescopes and cosmic ray detectors to develop new findings beyond what has been discovered through the Hadron Collider. #WISRD
Half Life of a Muon Experiment:
January 27th, 2022: WISRD’s Quarknet Cosmic Ray Detectors’ panels are stacked to detect the secondary particle produced when a Muon decays. Data from WISRD’s Quarknet Cosmic Ray Detector is uploaded to Quark Net’s Cosmic Ray E-lab where their operating system is used to analyze the data. The graph of the secondary particle created by Muon decay is exponential. This graph reveals the half life of a muon.
January 25th, 2022: I learned about hex to decimal. 123456789ABCDEF. 123456789_10_11_12_13_14_15. Graphing hex to decimal and the voltages can give us the ideal voltages. Saturated is when you keep increasing your voltage and your counts flatten off. You can do this by getting two detectors and setting one as a reference set with somewhere between 20 and 40 counts per second. The reference voltage stays constant. Then with the other one, it ramps. Then look at the coincidence. Conicidences become leveled off. And that gives us the voltage that we want to run at. The scatter plot below shows where the coincidence becomes leveled off. We can use this to grab the voltage that we want to run the detector at.
January 25th, 2022: WISRD newly added a raspberry pie computer to the Quarknet Cosmic Ray Detector. I learned how to operate the Quarknet Cosmic Ray Detector through the Rasberry Pie. After getting on the interface, I checked each page: Control Panel, TOT Moniter, Rate Moniter, Shower Moniter, and Geometry. After I to accessed these windows, I checked the rate monitor. and found something strange. The rate monitor Channel 1 and 2 of the Quarknet Detector dropped significantly. We anticipate that the issue was a result of the connector being bumped. The connector is sturdy and should not produce falty data when bumped. We thought of a way to check the connectors. We isolated the connectors to ensure there was no more bumping into them. If this improves the data, we can argue that the connector was certainly bumped. The connector is a 3.5mm jack.
After I learned how to access these windows, I checked the rate monitor. and found something strange. The rate monitor Channel 1 and 2 of the Quarknet Detector dropped significantly. was outputting data that was Cosmic Ray Data from the . After looking at the Rate monitor, channel 1 and 2 had dropped significantly . We anticipate that it was the connector. That shouldn’t happen even if it gets bumped. Were trying to think of a way to check the connections. Now wever isolated the connectors. if the solution holds, we can argue that thee connector was bumped. However. In order to fix it we have to isolate the bad connector. 3.5mm Jack.
Voltages on PMT 11:25 1/24/2022
0 .785 .805
1 .796 .720
2 .780 .775
3 .733 .725
November 30th: Tweet:
November 25th:
November 20th: WISRD’S Cosmic Ray Group has begun a process called ‘plateauing to find the optimal supplied voltage for the Quarknet Cosmic Ray Decector’s photomultiplier tube.
November 11th: Tweet:
November 10th: WISRD’s Cosmic Ray Group has added verniers to the distribution box for the Quarknet Cosmic Ray Detector.
November 1st, 2021: WISRD’S Cosmic Ray Group has begun calibrating the Quarknet Cosmic Ray Detector to eventually start taking viable data.
https://www.livescience.com/cosmic-rays
October 15th: Still waiting on shipment. Uploading code to previously built cosmic ray detectors.
October 1st: Organization of parts complete. Shipment is placed.
September 15th: Tweet: WISRD’S Cosmic Ray Array Group is back in person and currently preparing to build the cosmic ray detectors.
September 1st: WISRD’S Cosmic Ray Array Group is currently taking inventory and organizing parts for the Cosmic Watch cosmic ray detector.
August 24th, 2021: Start of WISRD in Senior Year
Relational Data Base Project Started April 19th, 2021
https://quarknet.org/content/resources-cosmic-ray-analyses-online adams@fnal.gov
Diploma for Fermilab’s Saturday Morning PhysicsCertificate for Fermilab’s Saturday Morning Physics
UPCOMING PROJECTS: Continuation of cosmic ray array and cosmic ray research. Attending a scientist talk titled Mapping the Origins of the Universe, on February 16, 2021, from 6:00 pm – 7:15 pm (CT) Registration link https://bit.ly/3tGeHv1 . New Saturday Science program starting in April. Meetings will occur Saturday mornings 3,10,17,24, Further details involving this program will be released in early march from Juliet M. Crowell at University of Chicago’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/cosmic-ray-muons-reveal-hidden-void-in-the-great-pyramid/
***Received Diploma from Fermilab’s Saturday Morning Physics
February 11th, 2021 WISRD UPDATE: The past 4 or 5 months has been spent discussing and analyzing radio telescope data. Today, the Radio Telescope group has decided to narrow down on a project. For this project we are mapping the sky at the Hydrogen 23 cm wavelength through 15 degree increments with the horizon. We anticipate creating a strip chart for each elevation that can be compiled as a part of our first paper. The data collection will continue. I will also be starting research on cosmic ray analysis in preparation for when WISRD starts meeting in person and the cosmic ray detector construction continues. https://quarknet.org/content/resources-cosmic-ray-analyses-online
Tobey analyzing Data for the radio telescope
January Update: WISRD’s work in radio astronomy was featured at a webinar yesterday presented by the American Astronomical Society. Presenter Dr. Glen Langston’s slide deck included acknowledgments of WISRD’s contributions with images of our work. He remotely connected to WISRD’s radio telescope and shared our data in real-time. Congratulations to Allyson, Nnenna, Tobey, Max, and Emile for this acknowledgment of their work.
WISRD UPDATE: Currently, Mr. Steiner is in attendance at Fermilab’s Saturday Morning Physics. The weekly class that he has been attending since September 26th, 2020 is soon coming to an end on December 12th, 2020. Mr. Steiner and Joe decided that the Cosmic Ray Array will get up and running after the start of 2021. Mr. Steiner is currently in the process of analyzing data with the Radio Telescope group. He has learned about coding and improved upon his strength in data analysis during this process.
Attended Flipping the Switch On Right and Wrong:
The Evolving Nature of Ethics in Science on Wednesday, December 9, 1PM-2PM
I joined the Radio Telescope group to analyze data that the Radio Telescope has been collecting.
Tobey Steiner is participating in WWDD by analyzing data collected by the ATLAS detector. They are looking for Muon pairs in the data and then measuring the angles from a reference point for each muon. These measurements are used by scientists at CERN to calibrate the Hadron Collider.
There is a world-wide zoom webinar today at 2:00 pm pacific, featuring CERN scientists working with participants to interpret the collected data.
Tobey, Principal Investigator for WISRD’s Cosmic Ray Detector Group coordinated the event for WISRD’s participation.
World Wide Data Day
World Wide Data Day was a success!
alice in quantumland
10/17/20 Standard Model of Particle Physics Notes SMP
Fundamental Particles and their interactions is incorporated into the Standard Model, Everything we know about particle physics
-What is a Fundamental Particle?
+ Impenetrable: Infinitely Hard, cannot be broken down into smaller pieces
+ Indistinguishable: Every electron is identical to every other electron
+ Foundational: Building blocks from which everything is is made
History: Ancient Greeks believed water was the underlying principle behind all matter
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/rutherford-scattering/latest/rutherford-scattering_en.html
Things in the works: World Wide Data Day, International Cosmic Day. https://quarknet.org/content/register-w2d2 https://indico.desy.de/indico/event/27426/registration/
10/5/20: Notes from second SMP Lecture: Special Relativity
Special Relativity:
Time dilation, length Contraction, simulatanety
-“The book of nature is written in the language of mathematics”
-Galileo Galilea
1687 Newton: (Classical) gravity
9/30/20: I Attended a lecture by Elena Amato, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, about recent developments on the acceleration and transport of Galactic Cosmic Rays. I learned about recent discoveries on the subjects of acceleration and transport of Galactic Cosmic Rays. I also learned about high energy astrophysical observations, and direct cosmic ray detection data. I attended this lecture because it was about Cosmic Rays which I am very interested in and have worked with in the past in the Cosmic Launch project and I am currently working on the Cosmic Ray Array.
9/30/20 Notes from first SMP Lecture: Introduction
The Scientific Method: Observation => Hypothesis => Predictions => Experiment
Example:
Observation=Light Arrives from the sun and other stars
Hypothesis=Similar to sound, there is a medium through which light propagates
Predictions/Experiment=Since the earth is moving through the aether, the speed of light depends on the direction it is emitted
Example #2:
Observation=Earth seems to be rotating
Hypothesis=Laws of classical gravitation, classical mechanics, earths rotation.
Predictions/Experiment=Foucault’s Pendulum
-The scientific method needs logic/mathematics for predictions
-Experiment needs to be done with great care (unbiased, controlled)
-The choice of observation or question is extremely important
-Experiment should be designed to refute hypothesis
Foucault’s Pendulum (1851)
At the North Pole, pendulum is oscillating and earth is rotating beneath it.
SCIENCE: Science is the search for truth.
The catch is that we cannot confirm a hypothesis, we can only reject it! But as more and more tests fail to reject certain hypothesis, we accept it as “the truth as possible”
Particle Physics and Cosmology:
Gallei, 1564- 1642
Newton, 1643-1727
-Classical Mechanics
From Newton’s Laws of motion and some information like position, velocity, and forces, everything can be calculated: past and present of a system
-The Laws of Physics
Quantum Mechanics: Physics of very small scales, observable quantities are quantized, things are both particles and waves, measurements have intrinsic limited precision.
Relativity: Physics of fast moving objects, physics is dependent of the reference frame, the speed of light is the limit.
Fermilab Saturday Morning Physics Schedule
Fermilab’s Saturday Morning Physics Schedule
9/23/20 Acceptance to Fermilab’s Saturday Morning Physics.
9/21/20 Article Research: Fermilab.
America’s particle physics and accelerator laboratory
Mission: Solving the mysteries of energy, matter, space, and time.
Fermilab hosts DUNE and the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, being built by scientists and engineers from more than 30 countries.
Fermilab explores the universe at the smallest and largest scales, studying the fundamental forces and particles that control our universe
Fermilab builds, designs, and operates powerful accelerators to investigate natures building blocks, advancing technology for science and society
9/16/20 WISRD Article Topic and study focus for next few months: What can Neutrinos Tell us? Why would anybody be studying Neutrinos? – Fermilab History. Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. Neutrino Catastrophe Cern. More Matter than anti matter (right hand over left hand) Solar Neutrino Problem.
9/11/20 COSMIC RAY ARRAY GROUP ELEVATOR ACTIVITY: We are the Cosmic Ray Array Group. Our Goal is to build an array of cosmic ray detectors across SOCAL. Previously, our group participated in a rocket launch for NASA. Our Cosmic Ray Detector was launched in the payload of the rocket. We used the data to test the question, can a cosmic ray detector withstand flight? Our array is important because the data that we collect will contribute to the world of space and science.
Award for our Payload from the NASA Student Launch
9/3/20 TWEET: Update: Not to worry! COVID-19 has not stopped the fast-paced cosmic ray array group! Prior to the pandemic, the Cosmic Ray Array Group launched a rocket for the NASA Student Initiative! Currently, the Cosmic Ray Array Group is preparing to build an array of detectors to be placed across Southern California! More updates to come soon. Stay tuned. And that’s all from the Cosmic Ray News. The Cosmic Ray Array group is also in the research phase of working with the Radio Telescope group in measuring and comparing the data of a cosmic ray shower and a radio wave.
Start of Junior Year.
Article Topic links and Notes:
Notes:
https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/ParticleAndNuclear/solar_neutrino.html Solar Neutrino Problem: What is this? Why did it occur? Body paragraph, then conclusion and sum everything up.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-is-there-more-matter-than-antimatter/ More Matter than Anti Matter: Why? What? Body Paragraph.
https://cds.cern.ch/record/475569 https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/science/physics-neutrino-antimatter-ichikawa-t2k.html Neutrino Catastrophe Cern: What is this? What is it for? Body Paragraph.
https://www.dunescience.org/ DUNE Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment: What is this? What is it for? What does it do? Body Paragraph.
https://www.fnal.gov/pub/about/index.html https://history.fnal.gov/brochure.html Fermi Lab: A quick History. First Few Paragraphs of article.
2019-2020 Journal Archive
8/27/20 WISRD lost some members because of the start of WIE which resulted in some groups downsizing or merging. I decided to stay in the Cosmic Ray Array Group, but the other members switched their projects. I am now the head of the Cosmic Ray Array Group. Online learning has taught me how to be productive while being online.
4/29/20 The poster presentation was 2 nights ago. I learned about exoplanets and the everyday life of someone who works at the NASA exoplanet archive.
4/9/20 Through the past few months, WISRD has gone online because of the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 Virus. I took a virtual tour of the LHC. I learned…
3/10/20 In WISRD, I am researching what a shooting star is. I was inspired to do this work because the other night I was looking at the stars and I saw a shooting star. I was able to see this because of the lack of pollution thanks to the COVID-19. I have learned…
2/25/20 In WISRD, I have expressed my interest in joining the board. I have sat in on board meetings and I am learning how a board works. Some things that I took away from my experiences as an observer on the board is how a decision is made, propositions and voting, and the different roles on the board. Throughout the next few months, I will be sitting in on the rest of the board meetings and preparing myself to be on the board next year.
The FRR (Flight Readiness Review) Presentation was a success! After many hours of practice and preparation, we presented to NASA and achieved an overall success. In the process of practicing and presenting the FRR, I learned how to present in a way that would create a positive impact on the audience.
2/10/20 Currently, In WISRD I am working on the Flight Readiness Review Presentation for the Student Launch.
1/23/20 After getting feedback about my work performance in WISRD, I have set certain goals for myself. 1: Writing journal entries about what I am learning. 2: Staying on the task at all times. 3: Take chances and opportunities even if it feels uncomfortable. I am going to apply these goals to my work performance throughout this semester.
1/16/20 The payload group is looking into the possibility of getting a reed switch to turn on the payload components. The reed switch is an electrical switch operated by an applied magnetic field.
*Picture of team Athena and WISRD members presenting to NASA for the CDR
1/14/20 Yesterday, we successfully presented our CDR (Critical design review) to NASA. After weeks of preparation, we presented with Notre Dame Academy. NASA specifically said that they admire the effort that WISRD put into addressing their previous comments. Yesterday was my first serious presentation in WISRD and I’m looking forward to many more presentations in WISRD. After the CDR, our team is going to be focusing on building the cosmic ray detectors for the WISRD data collection project. My part in building the cosmic ray detectors is part organization and navigation, and practicing soldering to eventually be able to solder parts onto a circuit board.
1/11/20 Practice presentation day for CDR NASA payload project. Today, team Athena and WISRD met at Wildwood at 10 am. We are running through the CDR to catch any errors and to practice for a flawless presentation on Monday.
Final draft: Retaining Payload Components slide #27, #28 , and #29
Script for #27: We will have two cosmic ray detectors for a coincidence, and both of those detectors have the main printed circuit board, the SiPM printed circuit board, an SD Card printed circuit board, a plastic scintillator, and an Arduino nano on the board. They also have additional pieces like the 3-axis gyroscope and a battery. All of these parts are essential for our cosmic ray detector to function properly. The 3-axis gyroscope was added since the PDR.
Script for #28: As you can see, these are the circuit board retainers. They have been accurately measured so that they fit inside the payload and properly secure the components. They are 3D printed using polylactic acid. PLA is a substitute for plastic. PLA is a thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from renewable resources, such as corn starch. Printing with PLA is beneficial because it is easy to print with as it melts at a lower temperature and is lightweight. When 3D printing, we used polyvinyl alcohol to create thin slots for the circuit board retainer. The PVA is dissolvable and saves time and resources because we do not have to sand it or cut it down. PVA is a water-soluble material. Because PVA filament dissolves in water, it is a great choice for a support material when 3D printing complex objects like the circuit board retainers.
Script for #29: Another component of the payload is the battery retainer. Like the circuit board retainers, this piece is 3D printed using PLA. It has similar properties to the circuit board retainers but instead of holding the battery horizontal, it is vertical. Since the PDR, we have 3D printed a new retainer to fit the top of the battery for stability.
PROGRESS REPORT FOR TOBEY IN WISRD: NASA Payload project. Mechanical Technician and parts locator and tracker.
1/10/20 Slides changed to #27, #28, and #29 for CDR
1/9/20 Notes for #37 and #36 of CDR
Why?
How?
Why using dissolvable filament was beneficial?
1/9/20 Script for #37 CDR presentation: Another component of the payload is the battery retainer. Like the circuit board retainers, this piece is 3D printed using PLA. It has similar properties to the circuit board retainers but instead of holding the battery horizontal, it is vertical. We have 3D printed a new retainer to fit the top of the battery for stability.
1/9/20 Script for #36 CDR presentation: These are the circuit board retainers. They have been accurately measured so that they fit inside the payload and properly secure the components. They are 3D printed using PLA plastic. PLA or Polylactic acid is a substitute for plastic. It is made from fermented plant starch. Its benefit is that it does not emit toxic fumes when incinerated making it environmentally sufficient. Printing with PLA is also beneficial because it is easy to print with as it melts at a lower temperature. When 3D printing, we used PVA as a stable holder for the components. The PVA is dissolvable and saves time and resources because we do not have to sand it or cut it down.
1/8/20 As seen below, there is a centrifuge with a cosmic ray detector on one end and on the other a certain amount of mass. The centrifuge was used to see if the cosmic ray detector could stand the 13g’s of the rockets force during launch by rotating it around a fixed axis.
Centrifuge: “a piece of equipment that puts an object in rotation around a fixed axis (spins it in a circle), applying a force perpendicular to the axis of spin (outward) that can be very strong”.
1/6/20 It is a new year and I am starting to look at WISRD with a new attitude. An attitude of gratitude and opportunity. I am going to be present and focus on my current task in WISRD. After coming back from winter break, I am energized and ready to put effort into the student launch payload project for NASA. Before the break, I was working on counting and ordering the parts needed to build 10 cosmic ray detectors. The purpose of building these cosmic ray detectors is to take data from spread out parts of Southern California.
12/3/19 Today in WISRD. We faced a new problem with the payload. The cosmic ray detector has an Arduino which was supposed to be powered by mini USB connected to a battery. When testing to see if the cosmic ray detector fit in the payload, we saw that the mini USB port stuck out and did not remotely fit in the payload. After much research and consideration, we found a new way to power the two Arduinos using wires connected to pin 27. The objective was to have two Arduinos using the same battery without using the mini USB port. This alternative would fit in the payload and give us enough room. This is a 12v 1.5A supply which we would connect to the NANO Arduino using a connector and then solder it to Vin and GND on the NANO Arduino. We are using a 5V regulated external power supply (pin 27). References: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZq8g782Sl8 https://www.instructables.com/id/I2C-between-Arduinos/
12/2/19 Today in WISRD. We just got back from Thanksgiving break and have a lot of work to do. I took on the task of determining the tilt for the rocket. I also have to write my WISRD job performance self-assessment. Progress report: Today I finished the part count and I determined what parts are needed and how many we have of each part.
CR DETECTOR PART LIST: what do we have and what do we need?
11/18/19: Not doing a presentation due to permit test to drive. I wrote a script for my part of the presentation: Script slide 18: Here are the initial designs for the payload. The main thing that the design revolved around was the two cosmic ray detectors. We figured out a way to put all components into the rocket. A system using poles and 3D printed holders for the components was used. After finding all the measurements of the components, we 3D printed slips to hold each component. The slips have holes for two poles which keep the whole thing stable. Script slide 19: these were initial sketches of how the instruments might fit within the payload bay, This is the scaled mechanical drawing of the payload holding the two cosmic ray detectors, one Arduino, and a battery that can withstand high altitudes as previously tested. Here, all measurements are recorded and this is the final sketch including each part and the size of each part in mass and in length.
11/11/19 Script for slides 18,19 of PDR Presentation
Here are the initial designs for the payload. The main thing that the design revolved around was the two cosmic ray detectors. We figured out a way to put all components into the rocket. A system using poles and 3D printed holders for the components was used. After finding all the measurements of the components, we 3D printed slips to hold each component. The slips have holes for two poles which keep the whole thing stable.
This is the scaled mechanical drawing of the payload holding the two cosmic ray detectors, one Arduino, and a battery that can withstand high altitudes as previously tested. Here, all measurements are recorded and this is the final sketch including each part and the size of each part in mass and in length.
11/4/19 Today in WISRD, the poster presentation will be taking place at Wildwood School. I am responsible for setting up our booth.
Notes about PLA and why we chose PLA: research this document when noodle tools is back online https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/learn-about-polylactic-acid-pla-prototypes
Idea for WISRD article: Effects of Ground Water Pumping
10/17/19 Immediate Task List. Why are we using PLA plastic to 3D Print rather than APS, Nylon, wood, brass, or steel? Research PLA and write a paragraph explaining its characteristics. Why are we using it? Today in WISRD, I found the mass of the 2 CR detectors, the battery, and the Arduino. I have to reschedule my permit test for driving because it is on the same day as the PDR.
PLA RESEARCH: https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/learn-about-polylactic-acid-pla-prototypes
https://three.jsc.nasa.gov/articles/CosmicRayDetectors.pdf
Reminders: Bring NASA release and wear WISRD shirts on Monday. GET MASS OF EVERYTHING ON FRIDAY – TAKE MEASUREMENTS ASAP
10/17/19 Today in WISRD, my group who is working on the Payload for the NASA student launch had a conference meeting where we discussed final tasks and the Gantt chart. MY TASKS: For sketches: Is it in the weight limit, Center of mass, 3+ sketches, Included dimensions, Sophisticated design, How is it fastened? We have to know the correct mass of 2 CR detector, battery, nuts, and rods (They have already done rods, but still do it. Design with measurements by Monday. 3-5 compelling reasons why we use the model – reduced mass, ease of assembly, price, temperature range (materials), strength in material (stress). 1# priority is mass. Then ease, Last is the price. Research PLA and Nylon ( PLASTICS WE USE TO 3D PRINT IN WISRD), Experience with this in a weather balloon
10/11/19 Today in WISRD, we have a lot to do for the payload. I continued to sketch three different ideas for fitting the two cosmic ray detectors and the Arduino. My 3d print finished and I tested it in the rocket cone. It fit and had the correct dimensions but now I have to figure out how to get the actual cosmic ray detector to fit into it. I will upload more sketches next class. To-do list for sketches: For sketches: Is it in the weight limit, Center of mass, 3+ sketches, Included dimensions, Sophisticated design, How is it fastened?
10/11/19 Today in WISRD, I printed the first draft of the 3D design that I made on Tinker Cad for the placement of the coincidence in the rocket. This was my first 3D printed project ever in WISRD. My group got started on our poster project.
Online 3d Sketch
3d Printer
10/10/19 Today in WISRD, I started to turn my physical sketches on paper to 3D models on tinker cad.
10/08/19 Sketches of the payload.
Paper Drawing #1
Paper Drawing #2
Paper Drawing #3
10/08/19 All pictures that were taken so far from the payload project.
10/08/19 Yesterday in WISRD, we reached out to a colleague who is also in WISRD and asked him to run a coincidence of a cosmic ray detector. He said that he would and this is what he made.
Cosmic Ray Detector
CRD
CRD
10/08/19 Today in WISRD, My group started a Gantt chart for the poster project. I continued to sketch for the payload student launch. Our group is working on getting our name on the official NASA website because we collaborated with Notre Dame on this project and we were accepted by NASA in collaboration with Notre
10/07/19 Today in WISRD, The wifi was down due to privacy issues, so, unfortunately, I could not get onto the server or upload it to my journal. I sketched models of the rocket, specifically the section of the rocket that holds the coincidence cosmic ray detector, the Arduino, and the battery. We got a pretty good idea of how we are going to execute the positioning and placement of the cosmic ray detectors.
10/04/19 Today in WISRD, we continued to work and collaborate on the student launch. Today, I wrote and published a tweet about the progress and description of the payload project.
10/03/19 What I have accomplished and learned so far in WISRD: Techniques to solder in the process of making a cosmic ray detector. What a cosmic ray detector is and what its purpose is.
10/03/19 Tasks in WISRD: Download sketch up and start to sketch a model of the rocket for the payload. Step up and start a project to build a telescope. As I have taken the lead on this project, it is my responsibility to make a gent chart for everyone.
10/03/19 Today, my group and I got the news that NASA accepted the payload proposal! We have been working for the past five weeks soldering cosmic ray detectors, writing proposals, and ordering parts necessary to build ten cosmic ray detectors. The hard work has paid off and now we are going to Huntsville, Alabama to launch a rocket. The cosmic ray detectors that are not used for the payload will be used to create a network across southern California of cosmic ray detectors.
09/20/19 Today was the first day of our project to create a network of cosmic ray detectors all over Sothern California. All the parts were organized prior to starting and now that everything is ready, the process for building the first ten cosmic ray detectors has commenced.
09/19/19 Today in WISRD, we reviewed all the parts for the cosmic ray detector and organized them so that it is easier to know where everything is when the time comes.
09/16/19 Today in WISRD, I reviewed each and every part necessary for building ten cosmic ray detectors. After reviewing, I ordered all the parts on different websites.
09/13/19 Final edited version of the WISRD prior experience with cosmic ray detectors: WISRD first started working on cosmic rays in 2014 when it partnered with QuarkNet to detect and monitor cosmic ray showers. In 2017 WISRD became acquainted with Doctor Spencer Axani of MIT. He had built a cosmic ray detector for 100 dollars that seemed to give results that were comparable to more expensive detectors. WISRD built its first detector and launched it on a weather balloon in spring of 2019. With this experiment, WISRD will launch two detectors configured to count coincidence events that occur in both detectors. This improves the reliability of the counts. Also, WISRD will test the detector’s capacity to withstand up to 13 g’s during the launch. If that is the case, the cosmic ray detectors can be developed as an individual wearable product to monitor exposure to astronauts.
09/12/19 Health Aspect of Cosmic Rays: https://phys.org/news/2017-06-collateral-cosmic-rays-cancer-mars.html Next Classwork on this and paraphrase
09/12/19 Notes on past experience with Cosmic Ray Detectors: Doctor Spencer Axani of MIT did a study on Cosmic-ray detectors. He built a cosmic ray detector for 100 dollars that seemed to give results that were comparable to a more expensive piece of equipment. So, we downloaded the parts and ordered everything, everything was soldered. It was a single detector and was launched with a weather balloon in the spring of 2019. The result was that it landed in a naval base and all data was compromised and deleted. With this experiment, we are going to do a coincidence where we have two detectors where we have a simultaneous detection in order for it to count. We are interested in looking at if the cosmic ray detector can withstand the expected 12g from the launch. If that is the case then the cosmic ray detectors can be developed as an individual wearable product for astronauts to be taken up to space.
09/06/19 Today, we started to learn about soldering. It is an essential skill to have when building cosmic ray detectors. A capacitor was soldered into place as a way to practice how to solder.
We are going to launch a rocket. We are the instrumentation team and our job is to build two cosmic ray detectors for this launch. In addition, eight other cosmic ray detectors are going to be built and placed in places all around Southern California. The data will be collected and we will conduct a study about the cosmic ray showers.
To-do list for NASA Payload Launch:
Read cosmic watch physics paper
Order the remaining materials
Describe Cosmic Ray Detectors
08/26/19 FIRST WISRD PROJECT: NASA Payload Launch: Cosmic Ray Detectors