Single Bubble Sonoluminescence (SBSL) is a phenomenon by which acoustic compression waves collapse a bubble to induce a flash of light. Despite many theories, the mechanism by which this phenomenon occurs is not known today. Of these proposed theories, the most prominent and promising include bremsstrahlung radiation, hot spots, corona discharges, electrodynamic jets and proton tunneling. Theoretical models have calculated the temperature inside the collapsed bubble could range anywhere from 20 kilokelvin to 1 gigakelvin. Temperatures this high make the study of sonoluminescence especially appealing for the possibility that it might produce a method for achieving thermonuclear fusion (not to be confused with cold fusion). If the bubble is hot enough, and the pressure in it is high enough, fusion reactions like those that occur in our Sun could be produced within these tiny bubbles.

I am going to present how and why I built a seismograph. Last summer as a member of the Student Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program at Carthage College I build a seismograph. Using the Lehman sensor design with a few of my own modifications I am able to detect movements in the earth by creating a voltage moving a coil through a magnetic field. The voltage is then amplified and filtered through a circuit I built, and sent to a computer where the graphs are created.

I am working on a neurological probe. This probe can measure action potentials in a rat’s brain. It takes the weak signals in the brain and amplifies them allowing a neuroscientist to better understand action potentials. This is done by the probe cutting the noise frequency down and amplifying the signal.

Tunings forks do not radiate sound uniformly in all directions. Modeling each tine as an acoustic dipole reproduces most of the salient features which we observe experimentally.

A brief look at how we know the Universe is expanding and accelerating in that expansion.