Work Experience

Day 1,
I went to a science demonstration as part of science week which included exploding custard, rocket balloons and the power of carbon dioxide which I found very interesting. I also went to a lecture about the universe given by a visiting professor also as part of science week this was very interesting and I found it very enjoyable. Then I went to the optics lab with my supervisor and I saw the Newton's rings experiment. I had a very good first day, I though it was very interesting and found it very enjoyable, I also found the staff very helpful.

Day 2,
I was given a tour of the physics department, I saw the optics laboratory, computer laboratory, chemical laboratory, the workshop and the postgraduate laboratory. I liked this because I got to see all the different equipment used in experiments and analysis. I also used equipment used to teach students how to create circuits. Then I went to the gas yard to make dry ice from carbon dioxide, then went to the lab and used the dry ice in an experiment. The experiment showed how alpha particles decayed from a radioactive source. I really liked doing the experiment and using the radioactive materials because I like nuclear physics.

Day 3,
Firstly we installed an operating system onto a computer. We also looked at all of the internal components of a computer. This will be very beneficial for future work with computers. Then we carried out the freefall and pendulum experiment used to find the acceleration of gravity. We were also shown an experiment to demonstrate what happens when a magnet is passed over a semi-conductor with a current flowing through it. I really liked doing the experiments today and working with computers.

Day 4,
Today we finished the freefall and pendulum experiments by putting our results into a graph in microsoft excel. Here are our results:

These are the freefall results.







These are the simple pendulum results.
Then we went to a lecture about Charles Darwin as part of science week, this was very interesting. Then we did another experiment to investigate the fundamental frequency of a stretched string with length. I really liked doing this experiment.
These are the frequency of a string results.

Day 5,
Today was our last day, in the morning we did another experiment. The experiment was to measure the wavelength of monochromatic light using a helium neon(HeNe) laser. Our result was 632nm. We really liked this experiment. Then we went to a lecture on heat and mechanics this was very good. We really enjoyed doing our work experience at U.L. and would like to thank John Sweeny and everyone in the physics department who helped us.

Work Experience, Day 5

The last day??? Today we started by working on the computer server so students could print faster. We worked on this yesterday but ran into a few problems so we finished it off this morning. After tea with Eamonn and a VERY interesting talk about photography I started to work on an fm radio for Maria's office. The more soldering the better!!! 

For lunch John showed me the new Kemny Business School and the restaurant they have. After lunch we fitted the printer server to its new home and I finished off the radio for Maria. It worked!!!

Thanks to John, Eamonn, Maria,John Bird, Eoin,postgrads and every one else who I was in contact with during the week.

It was a great experience and I would recommend it to anyone with a faint idea of doing physics in college.

Thanks again

Paudie

Bye..........................

Day 4, Work Experience

Again this morning working on the blog. The computer lab has nearly become my second home. This morning John and I worked on some computers for a new print server for the physics computer rooms. John added extra memory to the new PC as i looked on. John explained all about the inside of the computer and the importance of the different parts. We met up with Eamonn for a quick break.



We headed back to the office where we worked on the computer and a new laptop for one of the postgraduates. Maria called and gave a radio for her office which she asked me to make and assemble. I worked on the project until lunch. For lunch John took me to the sports bar by the swimming pool which was great as I had never seen that part of the Campus before.



After lunch, Maria took me across the living bridge over to the Health Science buildings to see all the "super" labs they had. It was quite interesting and they have rats there for students to work on. Maria didnt really like them so we moved on in our tour to see the other rooms that they have in the complex.



I then met with Eamonn and joined one of his 1st year labs to do some experiments. I did one of the Leaving Cert experiments which was all about light. This is an interesting experiment and one I had not done before. We took the results from the test and make a graph.



I headed home at 4.00 as i did everyday and looked forward to coming back tomorrow.....

Day 3, Work Experience

I started off my day today as normal. Working on the blog and doing some of the physics trivia questions. John called in around 9.20 and we headed up a few floors to meet John Bird who is involved in the Electronics Department. He gave me a tour around the facilities,Showing me all the different pieces of equipment and rooms. I then went into one of the labs and got the chance to make some of my own circuit boards for an electronic dice. I got to see all the steps involved. Although i do things like this at home it was great to see it being done in large pieces of equipment and all the specialised tools. After the PCB was made I went and got all the different parts needed to make the dice. I soldered it all together and tested it over in John's office.

After that I met a guy called Eoin. He showed me FRED the robot who has all different sensors and motors. He is controlled with a laptop and even has wifi. He could sing and had cameras so he could see where he was going. FRED was also able to take photographs at the push of a button. Eoin then showed me an experiment about sound and explained how a speaker can actually be a microphone. Before we finished he showed me how he monitors the computers in his labs. He started messing with a students computer, turning off his keyboard and mouse, Very funny!!!

After lunch, John gave me an electronic bug kit to make. I went back to lab and assembled the project which would walk upto walls and would turn away if it hit something. Once the project was assembled I headed back to John's office where i got to make circuit boards using a special program on his computer. This was very enjoyable as I had not used this kind of software before and was a great way to end the day.
Back to Physics tomorrow.....

Day 2 Work Experience

I started off my day today a little differently. I didnt get lost!!! I arrived this morning at around 8.20, ya i know early!I was given access to the computer room alongside john's office. I worked on the blog and started a physics trivia. The is a new experience for me so that was interesting.Trying to type as fast as the thoughts were coming into my head. At around 9.00 John ventured in and from then until tea break(very important) I worked on a small robot project soldering in all the components which is a carry on from yesterday afternoon.

After a break and a bite to eat I got to meet the old veterans,the postgraduates. They showed me around their little HQ. The amount of equipment they have is amazing. They all have there own specialities and projects they are working on. I then went to lunch. After lunch I headed back to the postgrads office where i met Immanuel. He showed me his wind turbine project which was very interesting. We also got a call from another postgrad who is working on a ROV(remotely operated vehicle) to look at the sea floor. Once I was finished with Immanuel, Kate another postgrad showed me her project using a high powered laser to look at the skin. She said this could be used to check if a person had skin cancer but it needed more research first.

After seing all the different projects I headed back to John where we went for a well deserved break with Eamonn down at the local restaurant. A great way to finish the day.
Tomorrow????????

Work Experience 9-13 of March ,Day 1

I arrived at the college this morning to try and get to grips with the huge campus. There were not alot of people around which was a perfect oppurtunity to have a little wander. After going around in circles for a while I met up with maria Quinn from the Physics Department. She took to my mentor for the week John Sweeney.
He gave me a tour of the Department and showed me the different facilities around the college.We then went for a well deserved break to finish off the morning. He then took me to the Library where he gave me a "mini project" to do. I spent about an hour and a half wondering through all the books and making the notes needed for the project. Once I had finished that I went to lunch.
In the afternoon i met up with John again. He gave a small robot to make which involved soldering and assembly of gears and other parts. This was alot of fun as i enjoy projects like this. Around four O' clock I headed home and wondered what was instore tomorrow............