October+11-12

October 11th:

Today was a very different day. I didn't scan at all, and instead spent the day modifying a laser. What I'm doing is similar to what Sean Nees did in the summer of 2009. By creating a "fake battery", we are able to more easily control the battery's output and, more importantly, keep track of it's charge. On this model, a small LED light is being included to monitor the charge; if the battery output is more than 3.5 volts, the LED will shine brightly. The less power the battery has, the less the LED will shine. This is important because if the battery has less charge than thought, the results will be interpreted differently. We would see results, assuming that they were from 3.5v, while they were really from 2.7v, for example. To hold the batteries externally, a battery holder was modified. It was originally designed to hold four batteries, but through (de)soldering, I (with help from Becky) was able to remove the connections and rewire them, allowing the holder to transmit power from 3 batteries, not four. I had never soldered before, and it was a learning experience, with a couple burns to go with. I was happy to learn this, because it will be a large part of the current laser construction.

October 12th:

For the second day in a row, there was a strange schedule. First, at 4:00, I went to a talk ("Making Dioxygen using heme: Newly Evolved Rules and an old Protein family", by Jennifer Dubois). The talk lasted until 5:00. When we returned to the lab, Becky told me that the design of the laser was changed slightly, and that we would be using 4 batteries instead of 3. She also showed me how to make the insert for the laser. The "fake battery" insert reaches down to the anode in the laser and connects it to the cathode at the end. However, just after she finished explaining this and I started working, the fire alarm went off. We were outside for about 20 minutes, waiting for the firemen to arrive. We were let back into the lab, but i wasn't able to do much except prepare the wire for soldering next week. I'm not sure if I'll be able to go in next week because of Notre Dame's fall break, but right now the plan is that I will.