Friday Flyer - December 9, 2016

Spotlight on the Queensborough Community College QuarkNet Center: Queensborough Community College (QCC) particle physicist Raul Armendariz wanted to build a cosmic ray network in New York. QuarkNet was interested in piloting our program in a two-year college. A new center was made! One-part a traditional start-up QuarkNet center, QCC has two lead teachers, QuarkNet veteran Colin Denis and new QuarkNet teacher Kelly O'Shea who will do research and go to Data Camp in summer 2017. Also, the center has a strong component of college students working on detectors funded by QCC. Recently, they made a poster about their work. The next few years will be very interesting.

News from QuarkNet Central: Have you scheduled your videoconference for International Masterclasses 2017 yet? Well, check out the videoconference schedule, look for a suitable slot, and send Ken an e-mail. We especially hope you will match up with a group that does not yet have videoconference partners. When thinking about the schedule, also think about February 10–11: International Masterclasses will have special videoconferences for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science; read all about it in the latest IMC circular.

Going to the AAPT Winter Meeting in Atlanta, February 18–21? If so, note that early registration, which saves a lot, ends on December 28. The program is now available. QuarkNetters who will be there: Let's try to get together. We'll let you know more in the new year.

Physics Experiment Roundup: The MicroBooNE neutrino detector at Fermilab has a cool new look—all to exercise the cosmic veto. Astronomers are excited these days; they have discovered a faint new satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way. In addition, symmetry reports work has begun on the Čerenkov Telescope Array (CTA) to map gamma rays from regions near black holes and elsewhere and on comsic rays and AMS.

Using the QuarkNet website: What are the different user roles in the QuarkNet site? Find out.

Resources: It's EM Experiment Friday! (We just made that up.) Here is Physics Girl on a DIY magnetic train, exploding pop cans, and the amazing shrinking quarter.

Just for Fun: Moving the two-dimensional motion, Notre Dame teacher Dan Walsh and his students at Adams High School have answered the age-old question, "When will we get a good, engaging centripetal acceleration lab?" (Here is the apparatus.) As often happens, we are not sure what to make of this XKCD, except it is geeky enough to run in the Friday Flyer. This too.

QuarkNet Staff:
Mark Adams: adams@fnal.gov
Ken Cecire: kcecire@nd.edu
Shane Wood: swood5@nd.edu