January+31st-+February+1st

January 31st:

I am scanning another graphite sample. This sample, however, was exposed from 1:00 p.m. today until 3:30 p.m., at which point I arrived and began scanning.

February 1st:

-The last image from yesterday was a new graphite layer sample. -Becky suggested scanning that sample and then exposing it. -Therefore, the sample I scanned today is the same sample as the last image from yesterday, but exposed to the Polonium-210 from 6:00 p.m. (yesterday) to 3:30 p.m. (today).

-The samples seem to be very irregular, undoubtedly due to the change to graphite -The surface is very angled. These images are taken at x-axis changes as high/low as +/- 15 degrees. Typically Au(III) doesn't exceed +/- 5 degrees. -An explanation may be the surface behind the graphite. The Au(III) samples are on a plastic sample holder. This allows the sample to be on a solid, flat surface. -The graphite, conversely, is on a piece of scotch tape. The tape is used to peel the single graphite layer off of the larger sample. It is not possible to take the graphite off the tape. However, there may be another method of positioning the sample, possibly using double sided tape, to give it a more solid surface. -Next week I can see what is handy in the lab to make a better support.

-Also, I switched to a new image naming system, putting dashes between the parts of the date. With the year being 2011, the 1s were making it difficult to read. -Ex. 1211 (February 1, 2011) is now 1-2-11