Browsing by Subject "physics"
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Item A Study of Conceptual and Mathematical Knowledge in Introductory Mechanics Courses(2013-09-09) Van Dyke, Michael DavidMuch of current physics education research involves the use of the Force Concept Inventory, commonly referred to as the FCI. The FCI is a conceptual inventory examination used to study student comprehension and learning of introductory mechanics. These studies often focus on comparisons between increases in performance on pre-course and post-course FCI results for two statistically significant samples; one using a traditional course structure or teaching method and the other using different techniques. This study contains a complete statistical analysis of the FCI in order to determine its validity as a metric for measuring course success and student learning within the context of introductory mechanics courses. All the data is from students enrolled in one particular variety of Physics 218 at Texas A&M University during the Fall 2011 semester. In particular, the analysis is done for a single statistically significant sample in order to more closely examine the relationships between the FCI, mathematics skills, and student performance. It is shown that the FCI is not a valid metric for measuring student learning within an introductory physics course and that incoming mathematics skills play a critical role in student performance.Item Physical Simulation of an Embedded Surface Mesh Involving Deformation and Fracture(2012-07-16) Clack, BillySimulating virtual objects which can deform or break apart within their environments is now common in state-of-the-art virtual simulations such as video games or surgery simulations. Real-time performance requires a physical model which provides an approximation to the true solution for fast computations but at the same time provides enough believability of the simulation to the user. Recent research in object deformation and fracture has revolved around embedding portions of the simulation for graphical display inside a much simpler physical domain which is invisible to the user. Embedding complex geometry in a simpler domain allows for very complex effects to occur in a much more robust and computationally efficient manner. This thesis explores a novel method to efficiently embed a high-resolution surface mesh inside a coarse tetrahedral physical mesh for the purposes of interactive simulation and display. A technique to display interior regions as solid geometry without explicitly re-meshing the graphical mesh during fracture has been explored and developed. Keeping the graphical mesh static in memory during simulation allows the geometry to be off-loaded to the GPU while shaders can be utilized to only display portions of the geometry which are locally contained within the physical mesh. Recent advances in GPU technology have also been exploited in order to provide an increase in visual fidelity and help achieve the illusion that the virtual object itself is breaking apart in a physically plausible manner.Item Search for pair production of scalar top quarks decaying to a tau lepton and a b quark in 1.96-tev ppbar collisions(2009-05-15) Khotilovich, Vadim GennadyevichI present the results of a search for pair production of scalar top quarks (~t1) in an R-parity violating supersymmetric scenario using 322 pb_1 of pp collisions at ps = 1.96 TeV collected by the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab. I assume each ~t1 decays into a tau lepton and a b quark, with branching ratio B, and search for final states containing either an electron or a muon from a leptonic tau decay, a hadronically decaying tau lepton, and two or more jets. Two candidate events pass my final selection criteria, consistent with the expectation from standard model processes. I present upper limits on the cross section times branching ratio squared (~t1~t1)B2 as a function of the stop mass m(~t1). Assuming B = 1, I set a 95% confidence level limit m(~t1) > 153 GeV=c2. These limits are also fully applicable to the case of a pair produced third generation scalar leptoquark that decays into a tau lepton and a b quark.