Physics 
and re
lated
meanderings coincident with my
adventures as a graduate student--and beyond--at NCSU
Home of Grace and Kulchur
I defended my
thesis on March 23, 2010; passed! The thesis is
posted below. I
graduated May 15. On July 1 I started as a Lecturer
here in the NCSU
physics department, developing distance education
courses.
Video
interview
explaining my work in general terms, April 13 2009
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Spherical Microwave Confinement and Ball Lightning
PhD dissertation
Dr. David Aspnes, committee chair and faculty advisor
Dr.
Stephen Reynolds, Dr. Dean Lee,
Dr. Mohamed Bourham, committee members
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PowerPoint used
March 24,
2010
in the oral
defense of
my dissertation
Spherical Microwave Confinement and Ball Lightning
________________________________
Galleries of lab photos 2006-2009
Beginnings: August & Sept. '06
Construction: Oct. & November '06
All Wired Up: Dec. thru March '07
End of the Year: to Christmas '07
Antenna tests: to mid-Aug. '08
Making Mark II Antennas: Sept. '08
Finishing Mark II, BN ceramic, to Jan. '09
Moving to TUNL, to March 1 '09
Improvements at TUNL, to June 1 '09
Return to NCSU, to Sept. 1 '09
VIDEOS: (best played a frame at a time)
FIRST VIDEO! September 2007
Trial
of
new
antenna August 12, '08
Evidence
of
confinement Nov. 24, '08
(shows
central
glow using magnetrons and grid, 550 mTorr in air)
Grid
only in
hydrogen July 17, '09
(powered by
capacitor
bank, 375 mTorr)
My other stuff
From 1985 to 1990 I worked on an experiment in the very strange field of Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC), which is an attempt to bridge the gap between the physical and other planes by means of material devices. The project failed, but in time this kind of work could become significant. Here are some pictures from those years. (Also listed on the Spirituality page.)
A research paper in antiquarian verse concerning the Cyclic Universe (Duelling Branes) cosmology of Steinhardt and Turok (Best to be up on your Alexander Pope; Fools Rush In where Angels Fear to Read) written and performed for PY 528 (Astrophysics) class, Spring 2004.
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Other
folks'
work
On the Effectiveness of Aluminum Foil Helmets:
An Empirical Study
An important MIT
study dealing
with matters critical to
microwave research, heretical mind-sets, resistance to
group-think, and
keeping your gray matter at least medium rare
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McGuire Family
History
a video
from 2003 featuring my completely tasteless Stephen
Hawking parody...
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A musical
interlude
I'm a
Physicist and That's Just Fine
for
Bass-Baritone and
Piano
(recording of
premiere performance by DeMar Neal,
baritone, and Kent Lyman, piano;
see Music Page for more details.
MP3
Score
)
I'm
a
Physicist
and
that's
just
fine-
It's
much
better
than
a
life
of
crime.
If
you
really
want
to
see
me
sneer,
Just
imply
I'm
an
engineer.
I
fuss
with
numbers
transcendental;
When
I
was
young
they
called
me
mental.
If
it
can't
be
measured,
it
don't
exist-
In
this
here
science,
that's
the
gist.
We
need
evidence,
with
fame
for
finders.
For
spooky
things,
we've
got
on
blinders-
UFOs
and
ghosts
and
prayer,
Hippies,
preachers,
tall
blue
hair.
I'm
a
skeptic,
tried
and
true;
My
origin
is
Cosmic
Goo.
I
can
calculate
the
odds,
Which,
though
Zero,
admit
no
Gods.
I
sit
inside
and
study
all
day;
My
eyes
are
dim,
my
skin
is
gray.
My
way
with
women
is
legen-dary-
I'll
meet
one
someday,
don't
mean
maybe!
I'm
a
Physicist
and
that's
just
fine-
It's
much
better
than
a
life
of
crime.
From
Giga
to
Femto,
from
Cosmos
to
Quark,
One
man's
Genius
is
another
man's
Dork.
If
Dork
I
must
be,
then
Dork
I
must
be;
The
Answer
to
Everything
is--
Twenty-three!
Bill Robinson January 2004 (music composed Nov. 28-Dec. 7 2004)
For more science songs, check out http://singaboutscience.org/wp/homepage/
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