User:Moonlightjewel
From MariachiWiki
I am Zubaria Iram, a freshman in the WISE program at Stony Brook University. I am majoring in Biochemistry and minoring in Mathematics. Evidently, I am interested in the field of science, not because it is my strongest suit but because it is one of my greatest passions. My interest in science originated at a very young age, through the curiosity in my nature about the things around me in my environment. A little later on, I established my career goal to be cardiosurgery, and I have been advancing towards it ever since through my ambition and determination in the hopes of realizing this dream. Research is another one of my passions. I have been performing research for the past three years. First, I worked two years in SUNY Downstate Medical Center, in Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, as a reasearcher, and currently, I am working in Dr. Simon's Laboratory in the Department of Pathology at Stony Brook University Hospital. Through my research at SUNY Downstate Medical Center I made an important discovery regarding Coronary Artery Disease and the role that is played by the platelet surface membrane protein F11R in this disease. I also volunteer in Coney Island Hospital and have been doing so since the past four years.
I was born in Pakistan on February 16, 1988. After eleven years, I moved to the United States, or more precisely, to Brooklyn, NY, with my mother and younger sister. Here, I started 7th grade, where I made several new friends, some of which remained with me throughout high school and even in college. My motto is to excel in everything that I do, which makes me very competitive and persistent. My hobbies include reading, playing badminton and tennis, listening to music, watching TV/movies, cooking, and dancing. My favorite of these pastimes is reading. I believe that books are endless reservoirs of knowledge, which is why I love reading. Mostly, I like reading fiction, because it allows me to escape from the banality of the present reality into a distant world where I can understand the characters of a novel more fully. Some of my most cherished literature includes books such as The Sound and the Fury, Anna Karenina, Song of Solomon, Crime and Punishment, Pride and Prejudice, Angels and Demons, and Shakespeare's Othello.
One of the websites I generally visit the most: http://www.raaga.com
http://www-mariachi.physics.sunysb.edu/wiki/index.php/WISE_187
Blog Entries
March 28, 2006
On Tuesday, we performed our first experiment: Popcorn Experiment. This was mostly an analytical and observational experiment in which we analyzed a data set in order to find answers to several questions. We inserted a bag of popcorn in a microwave and attached a microphone device on the door of the microwave. We set the timer for apporximately 2 minutes or a little less. The microphone device recorded the sound of the pops and the intensity of each pop. Our goal in this lab was to determine the time of first and last pop, the rate of popping (through constructing a histogram), and the instances where simultaneous pops occured. The first and the last pop were easy to figure out because the first pop showed up as the first peak/wave on the data set and the last pop was the last peak/wave just before the microwave door was opened on the data set. Light Bulb Moment: When my partner and I figured out a way to construct a histogram which would lead us to determine the rate of popping in between the first and the last pop. We discovered that ten second intervals were appropriate for this task, and we were able to observe the peaks more closely to count through changing the scale of amplitude by zooming in on it. Challenge Moment: We were extremely confused about how to figure out the way to determine the moments of simultaneous pops and how many pops occured simultaneously. We tried to change the amplitude scale for this as well, which led us to the answer that the peaks for simultaneous popping did not have any spaces between them. Therefore, we were able to figure out the number of simultaneous pops, but not the number of pops ocurring simultaneously.
March 30, 2006
On Thursday, we came up with three different potential experiments to perform during our weeks in the Cosmic Ray and Particle Detector Lab. We had to think about cosmic rays and what we wanted to learn about them. Our first idea was to design an experiment which tests the types of materials that cosmic rays pass through. Our second experiment would be to determine the speed of cosmic rays. Our third experiment would be to determine which direction(s) the cosmic rays come from. Light Bulb Moment: When we figured out that cosmic rays did not pass through everything and that we should test different materials to see which ones allow cosmic rays to pass through them. Challenge Moment: We could not come up with any ideas because we were not thinking in terms of cosmic rays and their properties. But when we figured out their properties and that they were coming from different directions and intensities, we were able to come up with some ideas of our own on designing experiments about cosmic rays.
April 4, 2006
On Tuesday, April 4, 2006, we attended a seminar/lecture given by a world renowned researcher, Prof. Angela V. Olinto, about a research that she and her colleagues are working on. The project is about cosmic rays and their origin. To initiate the talk, she introduced us with the object of her research, which were ultra high energy cosmic rays entering the earth through the atmosphere. These rays are particles that move towards the earth at extremely high speeds. Complex large particle detectors are used to detect them and their speeds. They are fixed in the ground at a certain distance from each other in a row. The project that Prof. Olinto works on is the Pierre Auger project which is carried out in Argentina, where there is the most reception of high energy cosmic rays presumable on the entire earth. There, the large detectors are grounded and placed at a considerable distance from each other, covering the expanse of thousands of acres. The goal of this project is to determine the origin of the ultra high energy cosmic rays. The possible sources may include extragalactic, galactic, and space. Their composition may be that of protons or mixed nuclei.
The high energy cosmic rays come down to the earth through the atmosphere and then multiply into several more particles creating the effect of a particle shower. The detectors detect the energies of these particles. The highest energy measured up till now has been 10^19 eV. These particles cannot have been from the sun because they possessed too much energy even to be from the sun. Next, the professor showed the data that her team had collected so far in terms in the form of graphs comparing various parameters. Here, I got a little confused because I could not entirely comprehend the data and its results.
Prof. Olinto is an extraordinary and exemplary research figure due to her world renowned research and unrivaled accomplishments. Her work in the field of cosmic rays holds the promise to uncover the truth about our geological past and future. It could answer several age old questions and satisfy people’s curiosity in this field. I was extremely interested in her lecture, not much because of the topic of her lecture, but because of the rapt enthusiasm, motivation, and dedication in her voice for the research that she is performing. It has now become my ideal attitude towards everything that I do, especially towards my own research.
April 17, 2006
We performed our first experiment today. We put the two scintillators at different distances from each other and measured the time difference between the signal output of each scintillator. We recorded four time values for increased accuracy for each distance. We took the average of the times and calculated the velocity for each varying distance. Challenge Moment: We could not figure out the time difference between the two signal outputs on the oscilloscope because the second one flashed and then disappeared too quickly. Light Bulb Moment: we figured out how to divide one box on the oscilloscope screen so that it would give us accurate time value. We saw that it was divided by four lines which meant that each line was worth 5 ns since the whole box was worth 20 ns.
April 19, 2006
Today we performed our second experiment, which was to test the effect of different materials on cosmic rays. We measured the number of coincidences recorded by the oscilloscope when we put different materials in between the two scintillators. The materials that we used were lead bricks, aluminum sheet (thick), aluminum sheet (thin), and sheet of wood. Challenge Moment: It was when we had to figure out how many minutes would be an appropriate time for recording the number of coincidences. The experiment was pretty straightforward and we did not face too many obstacles.
April 25, 2006
Today we performed our third experiment, which was to determine the direction of the cosmic rays in which they travel. We measured the number of coincidences at varying angles of 0 degrees, 22.5 degrees, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees. We noticed that the number of coincidences decreased as the angle measure increased. We decided to record the coincidences for a period of four minutes.
Brainstorming Redux
An idea for another experiment could be to determine what particle or particles make up the cosmic rays. We know about the direction that they travel in and the materials that affect thier travel and their speed, so now maybe the next step should be to determine what cosmic rays consist of at molecular level.
Blog, Blog, Blog
I never imagined that I would ever have to do research or scientific investigations in the field of physics since it is the only science field which I don't like. But, because of WISE 187 I ended up doing some sort of research in this physics laboratory and my views about this subject area were reinforced. Nevertheless, it was a much needed experience because it is better to try everything and then form an opinion about something. I learned new things in this laboratory which I probably never would have thought about because of their relation to the world of physics. The application of scientific method in our experiments illustrated the universality of the research process. It was a great learning process and I am not at all remorseful about having to go through with it. The knowledge I acquired about cosmic rays is interesting and it awakened the curiosity in my nature. Overall, it was a stimulating experience and I am greatful to have been a part of it.
