Department of Physics and Astronomy - Minnesota State University Moorhead

Department of Physics and Astronomy
College of Health, Science, & the Environment

Department SeminarSenior Projects and Seminar Projects
by Jane Glanzer, Aidan Shafer, and Abel Eshete (MSUM))

Friday, December 7 at 3:00 pm in Hagen 325
B-Band Stretch Method for SN 2011fe: Senior Project by Jane Glanzer
SN 2011fe was a Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that occurred in the galaxy M101 in 2011. Type Ia act as good distance indicators because of their ability to be standardized, meaning that there is a distinct relationship between their light curve shape and brightness. One of the techniques used to standardize SNe Ia light curves is the stretch method. The stretch method works by fitting your supernovae light curves to a template light curve. The template has a time axis that will be linearly stretched/compressed around the time of peak brightness to try to match the observational data. From this, a stretch factor “s” can be translated to a distance measurement. This projects goal was to determine the stretch factor for SN 2011fe, and therefore the distance to M101.
Approximating the Ground-State Energy of Helium: Senior Project by Aidan Shafer
A classic computational problem in physics is calculating the energy levels of atom. This paper explores a few of the simpler approximation techniques for calculating the ground-state energy of helium: First order perturbation theory and variational method, and a simple geometrical model. The approximations are 5.31%, 1.95%, and 0.37% off from the experimentally measured value, respectively. Even these fairly simple techniques give fairly accurate results.
Energy of an Electron in a Hydrogen Atom: Seminar Project by Abel Eshete, Seminar Project
At the beginning of the 19th century, various experiments were being made that cannot be explained by classical mechanics. One of these was the motion of electron in an atom. According to classical mechanics, “electron is particle which moves in a circular path around the nucleus”. If electrons behaved this way then due to the acceleration the electron will lose its energy and spiral in to the nucleus and atoms would no longer exist. In 1900 the German physicist Max Plank found out that a particle can absorb and emit energy in a discrete form. In 1905 Albert Einstein and showed that light can have a particle nature. Using the wave particle duality of light and the concept of discrete energy the Danish physicist Neils Bohr showed that an electron in the hydrogen atom can absorb and emit a certain allowed energy. In this experiment we will verify Bohr’s model by determining and comparing the theoretical and experimental wavelength of photons.

Department News

Get Rewarded for Demonstrating your Demo!: The Department is offering five $100 awards for our first Physics Demo Descriptor Competition. See the scholarship page for details, applications due January 23, 2019
Society of Physics Students wins national award: The Society of Physics Students (SPS) has been once again recognized by the SPS National Council for their quality and quantity of activities they do with the wider community. The SPS National Council awarded the Minnesota State University Moorhead SPS Chapter a 2017-18 Distinguished Chapter. This is the sixth consecutive year that the MSUM SPS Chapter has been recognized with a Distinguished or Outstanding chapter award. (Dec. 11)
Sherry Fieber-Beyer '03 awarded Distinguished Alumni Award: Physics and Astronomy alum Dr. Sherry Fieber-Beyer is currently "a research assistant professor at the University of North Dakota, [and] has devoted herself to teaching graduate students the art of scientific space research. She is the sole female faculty member in the department. Beyer also currently acts as the Space Studies Alumni Coordinator and has assisted in the establishment of their alumni website and many alumni events and communication." (June 25).

Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide excellent undergraduate instruction in physics and astronomy. In lower division courses, faculty use lecture demonstrations, cooperative learning methods, hands-on activities, and field trips to develop a broad working knowledge of physics. In upper division courses, in addition to the above methods, students learn through cooperative projects, research with faculty, and hands-on instrumentation and computation projects.

About the Department of Physics and Astronomy

The MSUM Physics and Astronomy program is a student-centered program. We provide students with educational opportunities in the classroom and outside it in order to improve their preparation for a career using physics.

We have facilities including a nanotechnology and robotics lab, a student-built NMR machine, and the Paul P. Feder observatory.

Our faculty have high quality research programs in space physics, robotics, extragalactic, galactic, and solar system astrophysics, and physics education. Our undergraduate students participate in these research programs and gain experience to prepare them for careers in physics and related fields.

Contact Information
Office: Hagen Hall 307
Phone: (218) 477-2141
Email: lindellj@mnstate.edu

Send ground mail to:
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Minnesota State University Moorhead
1104 7th Avenue South, Hagen Hall 307
Moorhead, MN 56563

An interactive campus map of Minnesota State University Moorhead is available to find Hagen Hall.