Becky started the morning with a discussion about what graduate students do. Michael and Vicky shared their unique perspective but overall I marveled at how dedicated they are to their education.
Becky moved into teaching about scanning tunnel microscopy (STM). The basis in STM is that electrons have wavelength properties. It's the wavelike property of that allows them to tunnel. There is a probability that an electron can penetrate a barrier without the required amount of energy. The measurement is actually the measure of the amount of electrons that jump from surface to tip. There are two modes for STM, constant height mode and constant current mode. In constant height mode the tip stays at the same height . The problem with this is that the tip might crash into an obstruction. Most of the time constant current mode is used. In constant current the tip moves when it comes to an obstruction.
According to Becky you must be clever when interpreting STM data. STM maps out information about electron density of the surface-you are not actually looking at the topography, Your data is how much the tip moves up and down. STM can also be used to move atoms around. Becky showed two examples of atoms that had been moved.
The program continued with Lynda presenting her summer research. This was followed by the presentation of work being done by local high school students. At the start of the afternoon Becky presented the project that she is working on. The remainder of the day was spent working on our reflections and symposium presentations.
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