University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

Page 33 text:

Top: Dr. J. O. Maloney considers the many aspects of his job as director of the Research Foundation. Here he adjusts one of the many projects that he controls. Below: Dr. John C. Frye, executive di- rector of the Geological Survey, points with pride to one of the Survey ' s projects, the complete map- ping of all mineral resources in Kansas. larly fascinating. It is heated above its melting point of 645 C without any fire whatsoever. This is done by an induction furnace. A crucible con- taining the metal is placed within a water cooled tube. Encircling the tube is a coil through which a high energy alternating electric current is pass- ing. Each time the current is reversed the magnetic lines of force created by the current pass through the cerium in the crucible. This causes a terrific heat build-up in the metal. Since the temperature of the metal is so high, an ordinary thermometer is out of the question. Instead, an instrument known as an optical pyrometer measures the temperature by scanning the color of the metal. As the tempera- ture of the metal rises, its vapor creates a pressure in the tube exactly like the vapor or steam of boil- ing water. These figures are tabulated and will eventually find their way into a handbook of chemistry tables. This is the merest hint of the work done by the department of chemistry. The department is unfortunately handicapped by the lack of room at Bailey and is anxiously waiting to move into the new science building. The faculty is one of the best anywhere and its former students agree that the moment you enter Bailey you begin work on some of the most fascinating and most difficult courses of your college career. A few blocks from the delightful aroma of Bailey is another hot spot for research. This is Blake Hall, home of the department of physics. The physics projects are extremely complicated to say the least, and are mostly concerned with some form of atomic energy. The department has three major projects at present, each under the sponsorship of a faculty member, one of whom is Dr. L. Worth Seagon- dollar. His main piece of equipment is the Uni- versity ' s pride and joy, the Van de Graaff gen- erator. This essential for atomic research was built by the University several years ago. Since such machinery as the generator and cyclotron are not manufactured, all parts except some electrical de- vices were made here on the campus. The gen- erator is one of the largest in the Midwest, the only comparable ones being in St. Louis and Houston, and it is probably one of the best controlled in the world. The machine is capable of producing near- ly 3,000,000 volts and driving a particle at very nearly the speed of light. It is a monster of a machine consisting of a tank about six feet in diameter and twenty feet long. The control panel, containing a maze of wiring and dials, is shielded 31

Page 32 text:

Top: Tad Shvotsuka, graduate student from Waseda University in Tokyo, contemplates just where to start as he examines some of the Research Foundation ' s massive equipment. Below: Dr. Cordon Wiseman poses with a bat- tery of two oscilloscopes, an electrometer and other measuring devices used in his project. various metals in unusual oxidation or valence states; an example (for those who understand some chemistry) is the formation of aluminum with a plus one or plus two charge instead of the usual plus three. The most interesting thing about the project is the fact that the whole experiment does not use water as a solvent, but liquid ammonia. The advantage of liquid ammonia is that such strong reducing metals as sodium and potassium will dissolve in it much as salt does in water. In- cidentally, besides aluminum, the metals being studied include gallium, indium, magnesium, and ruthenium. The larger portion of research in the chemis- try department is the work of graduate students. Their work is done in the quonset hut behind Bailey. The hut is divided into small rooms; this allows each student to have his own laboratory (and rumor has it that they make excellent day- time sleeping rooms). One interesting graduate project is that of Ronald Jackson, who is working toward his doc- tor ' s degree. This project is the determination of the vapor pressure of cerium, a metal used in cigarette lighter flints. The metal used is particu- 30

Page 34 text:

Top: The electrometer, a fundamental part of the Physics Department ' s project in dielectrics, is shown in operation by Dr. Cordon Wiseman. Center: 3,000,000 volts at my fingertips might be the thought of Dr. L. Worth Seagondollar as he operates the University ' s Van de Graaff gen- erator. Bottom: A must for modern petroleum research is a combination of high and low tem- perature analyzers here operated by C. V. Dostie. by a wall of concrete blocks. The basic parts of the generator are an aluminum bucket and a belt passing very close to it. When the generator is in operation the moving belt causes a very high static electrical charge to build up on the bucket. The process is very similar to the sparks that jump from a tractor belt. The charge continues to build up until both the bucket and the gas within (usually hydrogen) are highly charged. Since like charges repel, the gas is forced out of the bucket in the form of charged atoms at a speed of nearly 15,000 mph. The charged atoms continue down a porce- lain tube, still increasing in speed, until they strike a target of some material to be studied. Doctor Seagondollar ' s project is technically described as a tabulation of the values of the ener- gy levels in the nucleus. The project is carried on by mutual agreement of such groups having the necessary equipment to study the atom. The idea is that if enough observations are made concerning the behavior of certain elements and the results placed on a master list, some day, perhaps one, five, or fifty years from now, someone will see a pattern in the figures and we will be one step closer to the mathematical explanation of physical reality. The results of this project will never become the plot of a popular novel, but it is the stuff that is carried on by the unsung hero who does the real work and keeps the inner wheels of pure science turning. A main concern today is the threat of atomic war and its aftermath, the damage of radiation to living tissue. This is exactly what Dr. Frank E. Hoecker is now studying. The effects are studied by injecting mice or other animals with some radio- active substance and noting where the compound settles and what harm it does. These results can be pinpointed with such accuracy that the radia- tion effects on humans can be predicted. This project is extremely important and the more we can learn the more we will be protecting not only our- selves from atomic warfare but also learning more about cancer and other diseases that can be treated by radiation. Another project in the physics department has quite a history. Dr. Gordon Wiseman ' s project, concerning the permanent electrification of non- conductors, was started as a departmental function 15 years ago. In February, 1950, the Army Signal