University Calendar

Senior Experience Seminar Series in Physics - 2024

Kate Superka - Characterizing the Variations in Magnitude of the Star
Betelgeuse Before and After the Great Dimming
During the event astronomers have dubbed the Great Dimming, the star Betelgeuse experienced an extreme dip in its brightness. While variations in brightness aren’t uncommon, this dip was much more extreme than normal. Betelgeuse has held the fascination of astronomers even before this event took place due to its likelihood of dying and going supernova, an event that hasn’t occurred in our galaxy since 1604. But the Great Dimming event caused an extreme increase in the number of people making measurements of the star’s apparent magnitude, meaning that photometric data is much more readily available to the public. In this talk, I will be discussing my analysis of two different sets of photometric data on Betelgeuse from before and after the Great Dimming, and how this event has affected the periodic nature of the star’s light curve.

Sam Schulte - Timbre, Tuning, and Dissonance: An Investigation into the
Unique Acoustic Properties of the Balinese Gamelan
In this experiment, we investigate the acoustic properties of various Balinese gamelan instruments in comparison to those of Western instruments. Taking advantage of the set of instruments owned by Lawrence University, we collected spectrogram data representing the five tones comprising the pelog scale specific to the Lawrence ensemble on two different instruments. We were then able to construct dissonance curves that represent perceived sensory dissonance of the fusion of two tones based on an instrument's harmonic spectrum. We use this data to both provide a physical basis for many of Balinese gamelan's distinct timbral characteristics as well as to examine the phenomenon of sensory dissonance in the context of an ensemble utilizing non-Western scales and tuning conventions.

Location:	Youngchild Hall 121
Contact:	Matthew R. Stoneking matthew.r.stoneking@lawrence.edu
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