Future Physics Projects in SAInT Center

A list of possible Physics related experiments that could be conducted in the SAInT Center

1. Find different types of conductors and insulators, and find the behaviour of these materials in the SEM. Since the SEM shoots high energy electrons at the sample, there is a potential difference which makes the sample light up differently when we observe it under the microscope. Goal is to calculate the conductivity of these elements, if possible, using the SEM.

2. Find a correlation between data of XRF HD Prime and SEM. SEM uses weight composition while the HD Prime uses counts (ppm). HD Prime discovers a lot more trace elements than the SEM, and SEM takes longer to analyze/quantify. Do research about the data correlation or contact Bruker/XOS.

Contacted Bruker and XOS to find out the correlation between the data. Very little or no data comparison was found online.

Comparing XRF and SEM can be found in the XOS website;

https://xos.com/technologies/sem/

Question that was asked:

Can we find a correlation between data of XRF HD Prime and SEM? SEM uses weight composition while the HD Prime uses counts (ppm). We do research for various samples using both the instruments the HD Prime and the SEM in the Saint Center in Siena College. Why would we choose the HD Prime over SEM for data analysis? How can we correlate the data between the instruments if we do use both instruments?

Awaiting a response.

3. AFM Spring Constants - The AFM uses a cantilever with a point on it that moves up and down. There is a spring attached to this cantilever and the different springs that are used in the AFM have different spring constants. This might be possible to analyze.

4. AFM Force - Look at the force correspondence between the cantilever and the sample pushing back on the cantilever. We can examine the graph on the screen to help with this analysis. The graph goes up and down in depending on the movement of the cantilever.

5. AFM Laser Diffraction - Find how the change in the angle of the cantilever affects the laser beam that is to be detected by the detector and how the AFM recognizes this change.

6. Maldie Instrument - Use the Maldie and calculate a particle's mass by accelerating it through a magnetic field and examining the radius of the circular path that the particle makes before it hits the detector. Therefore, determining the particle that was accelerated into the magnetic field.

7. Maldie test with hair sample to see if we are made with corn. (Dr. Finn)

8. Determine other Physics Projects that could be done in the SAInT Center using other instruments. (Brainstorm)

9. Get more Physics Students interested in SAInT Center Projects