Comps, honors papers, and prize-winning works of the Physics and Astronomy Department are featured here. All works have been self-submitted by the student authors. Descriptive information about each work is available to search or browse. Access to the full text of the works is limited to current Carleton affiliates with faculty permission. Learn more about how to submit your work and how to request access to the full text of works.
In addition to this digital archive, physical copies of the Physics and Astronomy Department comps from 1978 to 2013 are available at Gould Library.
Submissions from 2011
Laurel Schmidt, Physics (PHYS) 2011, How many protons does it take to turn on a light bulb?
Brian Howard Schuster, Physics (PHYS) 2011, Lightsails: Traveling the Cosmic Ocean
Michael John Servis, Physics (PHYS) 2011, Brownian Motion in Astrophysics
Matthew S. Strongin, Physics (PHYS) 2011, The Prospects and Physical Constraints of Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage
Thomas Adam Sullivan, Physics (PHYS) 2011, The Physics of Spacecraft Propulsion
Shao Min Tan, Physics (PHYS) 2011, Falling Through Spacetime: A Study of Black Holes
Christopher Daniel Wilen, Physics (PHYS) 2011, Free Electron Lasers: Imaging the Ultra Small and Ultra Fast
Submissions from 2010
Cory Pate Barnes, Physics (PHYS) 2010, The Action Principle: An Exlporation into the Mathematical Framework of the Universe
Grace Allsman Elwell, Physics (PHYS) 2010, The Physics of Superheroes: How to Choose a Good Superpower
Ben P. Haynor, Physics (PHYS) 2010, Limits on the Computational Power of Nature
Samuel A. Kanner, Physics (PHYS) 2010, Current Issues Facing the Wave Energy Industry
Andrew Corby McClung, Physics (PHYS) 2010, Information, irreversibility, and the thermodynamics of computation
Anna Jolene Mork, Physics (PHYS) 2010, Molecular Electronics: Exploring the Limits of Small
Katherine Alexis Perry, Physics (PHYS) 2010, Superfluid Helium-3
Callie Jenna Sand, Physics (PHYS) 2010, The Evolution of a Megastructure: Skyscrapers and the American Way
Michael Jared Sanders, Physics (PHYS) 2010, Water Erosion of Topsoil: Fundamental Physical Concepts
Chelsea Phipps Scott, Physics (PHYS) 2010, Glacier dynamics: Using velocity and temperature profiles to understand climate fluctuations
Joseph Karl Swiggum, Physics (PHYS) 2010, Out of Silence: Sound Film Technology of the 1920s
Submissions from 2009
Elliot Bartis, Physics (PHYS) 2009, Physics and applications of pyroelectricity
Thomas Brenner, Physics (PHYS) 2009, The fundamentals of solar cells
Mikael Brucker, Physics (PHYS) 2009, Designing appropriate technology for the developing world
Tiffany F. Cox, Physics (PHYS) 2009, Molten rock: a perspective on magma genesis, magma chamber dynamics, and the effects of crystallization
Lukas Fried, Physics (PHYS) 2009, The sun and its spots
Marlea Iiams, Physics (PHYS) 2009, The physics of woodwinds
Tyler Keating, Physics (PHYS) 2009, Nuclear power: basic principles and future directions
Theodore Marschall, Physics (PHYS) 2009, Superstates: Bose-Einstein condensation in the states of matter
William Mueller, Physics (PHYS) 2009, Energetics of a hovering hummingbird
Sara L. Rothwell, Physics (PHYS) 2009, The quantum effects of light
Ryan Terrien, Physics (PHYS) 2009, Fringe science: optical astronomical interferometry
Submissions from 2005
John M. Floberg, Physics (PHYS) 2005, The physics of boron neutron capture therapy: an emerging and innovative treatment for glioblastoma and melanoma
Kira Grogg, Physics (PHYS) 2005, Harvesting the Wind: The Physics of Wind Turbines
Submissions from 2004
Joseph Durham, Physics (PHYS) 2004, Feedback Control
