Thursday August 2, 2007

A much better day in the lab. We met in Hasbrouck Physics Hall this morning at 9 AM to set up the 0.03% surfactant solution at the optical microscope where we take the wrinkling pictures. Jaingshui suggested that we add the surfactant under the water and stir it with the paddle we use to move the film around in the bath, then let it sit for at least 30 minutes. After we set up the solution, we returned to Conte and prepared three films each. The spin coater had been acting up yesterday afternoon, not holding continuous speed, but it is working fine today. Once we each prepare our films, we return to Hasbrouck for the wrinkling experiments. I went first today, and had no trouble floating my first film and running the wrinkling experiment. Dave was able to get one set of data, but Efren's films folded or would not disengage from the glass; this is the problem I had yesterday. We are using a lighter touch cutting the films, and they seem less dirty. At the end of the morning's work, we decide to clean the microscope base, light source, and the dish holding the solution, since we are all noticing dirt in the background. WE spend about a half hour cleaning. We then prepared another 0.03% surfactant solution, and went to lunch.

It is Efren's birthday, so we celebrate with cake after lunch. Good stuff! We made three more films each, and each of us is able to get a set of data for analysis. We return to Conte for an afternoon of data analysis using Image J and Origin.