University Calendar

Senior Experience Seminar Series in Physics - 2025

Jordan Simons
Clarinet Resonance Fingerings – A Foray into Fourier Analysis
For my math capstone, I introduce the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) as a consequence of least squares interpolation using periodic exponential sample functions. For my physics capstone, I apply the DFT to measure the relative strength of the overtones of clarinet resonance fingerings to determine which performs best. A strong third harmonic is found to correspond to improvements in tone quality, and resonance fingerings with many fingers down tend to produce the strongest third harmonics. I theorize that this could be because they produce a length of open pipe between closed keys with a fundamental lower than the third harmonic of the note in question.

Connor Phelps
Numerical Methods for Calculating the Emission of Down-converted Light from a Nonlinear Optical Crystal
In Physics 260, students are introduced to a photon experiment utilizing a Beta Barium Borate (BBO) crystal. Under the right conditions, an incoming high-energy laser appears to spontaneously split into two photons, each carrying half the original energy. Interestingly, these photon pairs are not emitted randomly but are confined to a well-defined cone. Further, the shape of the cone is highly sensitive to rotations of the crystal. This presentation provides a theoretical explanation for this phenomenon, explores its experimental verification, and demonstrates how to numerically simulate the observed behavior. By the end of the talk, the audience will gain a deeper understanding of the underlying physics and surprising computational methods used to model this intriguing effect.

Ray Wetzel Meehan
Analysis of the Gravitational Waves Produced by the Merger of Compact Objects like Neutron Stars and Black Holes
Some systems, like those containing black holes (emit no light) or neutron stars (only a few kilometers wide), are challenging to view and so, hard to study. Gravitational waves, though minuscule, carry information about these systems across huge cosmic distances and aren't hindered by matter in their path like electromagnetic radiation would be. In my presentation, I discuss the phenomena of gravitational waves and their generation, then demonstrate how we can use them to learn about their source.

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