Any scientist knows that research is time-consuming. Most researchers, both at Hamilton and in the world at large, will wait years to see the results of their labor, but Jonathan Wexler '08 (Beverly, Mass.) anticipates seeing his work put into operation before the end of the summer. Under the advisement of Associate Professor of Physics Gordon Jones and Professor of Mathematics Larry Knop, Wexler will update and perfect existing programming – as well as creating new computer code – for programs integral to the Spallation Neutron Source in Tennessee Oakridge National Labs in Nashville. Beginning in mid-July, Wexler will spend a month installing these programs and overseeing their operation at the facility, which provides a controlled source of neutrons for experiments regarding subjects as diverse as the composition of antimatter and the origin of the universe.
"The basic system is that an infrared laser hits a glass bulb that is filled with rubidium and Helim-3," explains Wexler. Helium-3 has two protons but only one neutron, and that neutron can "spin" in either one of two ways, which are magnetically different. These two ways are "spin-up" and "spin-down," and the infrared laser charges the rubidium, which changes all the helium-3 to its spin-up form by canceling the helium that is spin-down. These neutrons are then said to be "polarized." The polarized spin-up neutrons are released in eighteen different beams, each one of which can be used for a different research purpose at any one time. This process of laser bombardment is known as optical pumping and, while extremely beneficial to scientists – especially physicists – the world over, the process is acknowledged to be dangerous.
"The biggest issue is making sure you know the status of the neutron beams at all times. It's almost impossible to analyze the beams directly, so the programs I'm working on analyze the Helium-3 instead," explains Wexler. To get an idea of the duties he will be undertaking in Tennessee, Wexler paid a visit in early June to the polarized neutron source at the Argonne National Labs in Chicago. "The two sources [the Chicago neutron source and the Oakridge SNS in Tennessee] are essentially the same except for the fact that the Oakridge source will have eighteen neutron streams, while the Chicago source only has nine," says Wexler, who says he enjoys the travel.
"I was really interested in this research because I would get an opportunity to travel and a chance to see my results put into practice," Wexler says. "I was well-qualified because I'd taken Computer Science 110, and this project needs someone who knows computers." Wexler's work until he goes to Tennessee consists of updating computer code and the interfaces used by people who are doing research. "For example," says Wexler, "there are a lot of buttons on the interfaces now that people at Oakridge will never use. I have to remove them, and put in new buttons for functions they'll want and need." Wexler explains that the project is made more difficult by the fact that there are two different ways to control the programs. "One is faster and more reliable, but the other is more accurate. One of my main jobs is to make sure both of these systems work and that people can jump between them without getting confused," he says.
Wexler is a physics and math double major, a choice that may sound intimidating but he insists is, "really fun if you like the subjects like I do." Wexler eventually wants to go to graduate school and pursue a career in experimental physics, doing research. He says that the current research he's doing, "will really prepare me for what I want to do with the rest of my life. This is not an isolated thing." Wexler appears to be as much at home with his fellow human beings as he is with computer code and polarized neutrons; when he's not directing the ebb and flow of helium-3 and infrared lasers, he can be found performing Scottish country dance.
-- by Elijah Lachance '10
"The basic system is that an infrared laser hits a glass bulb that is filled with rubidium and Helim-3," explains Wexler. Helium-3 has two protons but only one neutron, and that neutron can "spin" in either one of two ways, which are magnetically different. These two ways are "spin-up" and "spin-down," and the infrared laser charges the rubidium, which changes all the helium-3 to its spin-up form by canceling the helium that is spin-down. These neutrons are then said to be "polarized." The polarized spin-up neutrons are released in eighteen different beams, each one of which can be used for a different research purpose at any one time. This process of laser bombardment is known as optical pumping and, while extremely beneficial to scientists – especially physicists – the world over, the process is acknowledged to be dangerous.
"The biggest issue is making sure you know the status of the neutron beams at all times. It's almost impossible to analyze the beams directly, so the programs I'm working on analyze the Helium-3 instead," explains Wexler. To get an idea of the duties he will be undertaking in Tennessee, Wexler paid a visit in early June to the polarized neutron source at the Argonne National Labs in Chicago. "The two sources [the Chicago neutron source and the Oakridge SNS in Tennessee] are essentially the same except for the fact that the Oakridge source will have eighteen neutron streams, while the Chicago source only has nine," says Wexler, who says he enjoys the travel.
"I was really interested in this research because I would get an opportunity to travel and a chance to see my results put into practice," Wexler says. "I was well-qualified because I'd taken Computer Science 110, and this project needs someone who knows computers." Wexler's work until he goes to Tennessee consists of updating computer code and the interfaces used by people who are doing research. "For example," says Wexler, "there are a lot of buttons on the interfaces now that people at Oakridge will never use. I have to remove them, and put in new buttons for functions they'll want and need." Wexler explains that the project is made more difficult by the fact that there are two different ways to control the programs. "One is faster and more reliable, but the other is more accurate. One of my main jobs is to make sure both of these systems work and that people can jump between them without getting confused," he says.
Wexler is a physics and math double major, a choice that may sound intimidating but he insists is, "really fun if you like the subjects like I do." Wexler eventually wants to go to graduate school and pursue a career in experimental physics, doing research. He says that the current research he's doing, "will really prepare me for what I want to do with the rest of my life. This is not an isolated thing." Wexler appears to be as much at home with his fellow human beings as he is with computer code and polarized neutrons; when he's not directing the ebb and flow of helium-3 and infrared lasers, he can be found performing Scottish country dance.
-- by Elijah Lachance '10
