MSUM Society of Physics Students

Hollee Johnson, Thomas Rydeen, andTyler Lane were inducted into the Sigma Pi Sigma this year. Congratulations you all!

The Physics Demo show put on by members of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) was this Sunday, February 17.

There were numerous experiments carried out in the demo show, which started at 3:30 pm.  The experiments done in the show follow:

• Tyler Lane (SPS President) conducted an early demonstration of making a comet using earthly materials, including dry ice, dirt, water, corn syrup, and ammonia.
• Nick (SPS Treasurer) demonstrated Non-Newtonian fluids on a speaker with varying frequencies.
• Nick also demonstrated induction by a magnet in a long metallic pipe versus a non-magnetic material dropped down the same pipe.
• Aaron (SPS Vice-President) experimented with incoming radio signals being blocked in a Faraday cage.
• Meredith demonstrated walking on cartons of eggs without them cracking.
• Meredith then stood and then laid down upon a bed of nails.
• Meredith and Aaron engulfed several items (including fruits, candies, flowers, and plastics) in liquid nitrogen to show the effects of flash-freezing on these objects, and then proceeded to smash these items.
• Tyler and Meredith fit as many balloons as possible into a container of liquid nitrogen, finally obtaining around 12 in the container at once.
• Tyler and Aaron capped off the show by demonstrating the explosive powers of helium, hydrogen, and hydrogen-oxygen filled balloons.

Afterward, anyone was welcome to come up to the front of the stage where Wes and Nick had a hands-on activity with non-Newtonian fluids. Tony and Dana froze leftover items with liquid nitrogen. Aaron heated a small barrel filled partially with water to show an implosion effect, but the barrel wasn’t able to be sealed entirely from the outside, so unfortunately, the experiment wasn’t successful.

The entire show emphasized showing interesting experiments in science – and engaging the audience by asking them what they’d expect to happen. While interesting experiments were undertaken, the theory behind them was stressed as well as producing an entertaining show.

Dear All:
I hope you had a nice winter break and now you’re all getting ready for another busy semester ahead. The MSUM SPS has arranged a career workshop for those who are interested in applying to summer internship programs. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, January 16 at 5 pm in Hagen 325.

Sincerely,
Shouvik Bhattacharya

On behalf of the MSUM SPS I wish you all a good luck on your finals.

This was the last official meeting before the semester ends. Members voted for a club t-shirt design and the MSUM SPS logo. Members discussed the club budget for the fiscal year 2013-14.

Scott will check and edit the constitution of the MSUM SPS as the Office of Student Activities at MSU-Moorhead requires the student organizations to turn in an updated version of the constitutions by the end of this semester. Members decided to perform the Physics Demo show on February 10. I’m taking care of publicity and media outreach part. Tyler talked about how members can get involved in the “College for Kids” program. Dr. Cabanela shared his views on applying to REU programs.

Dr. Shastri, Dr. Lindaas and Dr. Craig joined the Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Congress attendees this evening and shared their valuable experiences about how to make the most out of a professional meeting. Here comes some advices for the Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Congress 2012 attendees:
1. Ask a question(s) at the end of each session that you are planning to attend.
2. Try to meet with the professors and researchers of your own interest.
3. Networking means talking to people, get to know your peers and ask them how they are involved with the SPS chapters of their respective schools.
4. If you are presenting at the conference know your audience and prepare a few questions that one can potentially ask after you are done presenting.

The Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Congress attendees are departing Moorhead Wednesday afternoon (November 7) and flying out to Orlando Florida.

The MSUM SPS and the MSUM Planetarium are hosting the Spooky Science night this Saturday (October 27, 2012). Members talked about the demos that they will perform on Spooky Science Night. Chapter members picked March 1-3 weekend as the possible dates for hosting the Zonal meeting. Meredith, Pragalv and I are participating in the upcoming University Physics Challenge Competition during November 16-18 weekend.

Members talked about the color and design of the club T-shirt. They shared some good ideas,especially recommending to paint it in two colors (red and blue),which symbolizes the Doppler effect. Scarlet shared her thoughts about the upcoming Spooky Science Night. Members will probably be trying out a couple of the cool demos on this occasion, such as: “Comet making with dry ice”, “Playing with non-Newtonian Fluids” and others. Members think that the midweek of February will work the best for hosting a Physics Demo Show.

Tyler asked the club members to share their ideas on the Club T-shirt. Members are expecting to pick a design for their club T-shirt in the next meeting. Scarlet Gary Bernard (Planetarium Assistant and show coordinator at MSU-Moorhead) spent time with the club members. She asked what club members think about hosting a public outreach night for Halloween. Everyone agreed that it will be a good way to connect with the public and the students of the local community beyond our campus. Members signed up to volunteer for this outreach program.