a day in the life... Karen Bultitude
Laser Scientist studying for a PHD at Oxford University in the combustion physics and non-linear optics group.
Featuring: Stephanie Wiggins (16) and Peter MaCallister (16)
10.00 am
Arrived at the Laboratory which is part of Oxford University to meet Karen. She looked very glam - she said because girls at school demos don't listen if she's not wearing make-up - weird!
10.15 am
Before we set off for the school, Karen showed us her baby or as she called it her STL or Single Mode Tunable Laser. Looks quite innocent doesn't it?
But... Here's Karen showing us a close up of one of the lenses. The Laser kit is like a pin ball machine which bounces and reflects the light around an assault course of reflectors and lenses.
10.30am
Then it was time to leave to get the school where Karen had been booked it to give two demonstrations about lasers. We thought this might involve actual lasers but this is far too dangerous! So she packed lots of things to demonstrate laser technology and off we went in a minibus.
11.00am
Arrived in time to sit in the science staff area and practice a couple of the things we'll have to do in the show for Karen. Balancing a ball with a hairdryer. AKA the Bernoulli effect - "not as easy as I make it look"!
11.30am
Mastered it just in time to wow them all in year 8! Wondering what this has to do with lasers?
We learned a lot about lasers during the talk. Karen had really prepared with a powerpoint show.
Here's another of Karen's demos, a UV light and some ordinary household tonic water. It contains stuff that makes it glow under the UV - to show how lasers can be made from loads of different things.
13.00pm
Lunch time and the very glamorous surroundings of the main hall at the school.
14.00pm
Back to the grindstone with another demonstration to another group. Karen works really hard at these demos, and she has a good way with the pupils - if they talk or make any noise she's on to them really quickly.
Her work with lasers will be applied to the science of combustion (burning things) to help make better more efficient engines in the future. She'll use different colours of lasers to measure exactly what chemicals are burning.
To demonstrate how this works here's a couple of chemicals squirted into a flame to see what colour flame they make!
Burning lithium (RED FLAME)
Burning copper (GREEN FLAME)
Another reason why laser science gets funding in universities is its many applications in the communications business. Sending messages via light down fibre optical cables for example has revolutionised the industry.
And of course, you can't make holograms without a laser! Can you see what it is yet?
We learnt LOADS about lasers today and worked hard assisting Karen. She has a great love of her subject that was really infectious - hope the kids enjoyed it as much as we did!
To find out more about Karen visit the www.noisenet.ws site
Karen
Karen comes from Australia, where she got a degree in general science then went on to apply lasers to chemistry working on shock tunnels. Her supervisor in Australia knew her supervisor in Oxford and that's how she came to be studying for a doctorate here.
return to story
Lasers
Karen has to take off all her jewellery and watch before she uses the laser for her experiments cos if she doesn't and the beam catches and reflects into her eyes she could go blind. This actually happened to a colleague of hers, who lost the sight in one eye.
If the laser catches her skin she feels a burning sensation and moves her hand quick if she left it there the laser would drill through her skin. Yeow!
return to story
Laser Kit
Karen says she's built lots of the laser components herself, so she's picked up loads of new skills in metal working apart from her studies as a physicist!
return to story
What has this to do with lasers?
Karen uses the Bernoulli effect to illustrate how laser 'tweezers' will work. The real thing is far too small to demonstrate, but laser light will pick up minute particles in the same way as the hot air stream holds this ball in place. Give it a go yourself with a hairdryer and a ping-pong ball.
return to story
Loads of different things
The intense light of a laser is generated in several different ways. You can get solid state lasers, gas lasers, lasers generated using a diode, or lasers from crystals. You can use anything that will amplify light. LASER = Light Amplification by the Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
return to story
Burning Chemicals
In the engineering department of the university companies will be able to build test versions of their engines for, say, a new car model. The engine will have two windows in it so that Karen's laser beam can be sent through the interior of the engine and the combustion inside very accurately measured. Any saving in efficiency of the engine is good for the environment, and good for the economics of the new car, so there is commercial money available for this type of research.
return to story
<< Go Back