Week 4: Pirate Ships and Spectroscopy

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Friday, June 28, 2013

By:

Jamie Garrett

Saturday I went to play pool and watch the soccer game with Ro, Alec, and Darren. Soccer isn’t
really my thing, but it’s fun to go out and try new places. That night we went out to Gallery Place to the Regal Cinema to see The Bling Ring. The movie was fantastic! I may be a little biased because I am a huge Emma Watson fan. Sunday I made a journey to Ben’s Chili Bowl. WOW! It was by far the best food I have had in DC. I had a chili dog and chili cheese fries. I loved it, and so did my wallet!

This week I worked on building a new Spectroscope. When built the same way, I had the exact same issue as last week with the spectra overlapping. I tweaked it a bit and angled the CD, used as diffraction grating and ‘wa-lah!’, it works! I noted when angling the CD 15 degrees in the direction of the eye piece the spectra separate and it looks the way it should. I made modifications to my worksheets and had a few of the other interns proof-read my work. In addition to building an identical version of my first spectroscope I worked on a different type that uses a cereal box instead of a larger box. This one worked well the first time without any modifications.

The AIP Development Board met Thursday and I was able to speak to Dr. Katharine Gebbie with NIST. Her list of accomplishments is astonishing. The reception was lovely. Tonight, Friday, we are meeting with the SPS Executive Committee; we are having dinner, and going toThe Capitol Steps show tonight.

Life in the dorm has been a lot of fun! Ro, Darren, Caleb, Nicole, and I bought a Groupon ticket to a Pirate Ship ride on the Potomac. It was a blast, despite the 90 degree weather. When I was planning my summer in DC I made a list of all the traveling I wanted to do on the weekends. I wanted to make a trip to New York, Hershey, PA, Baltimore and a few other places. Now, it has been a full month and I haven’t made it out of the city yet! There is so much to do in DC it’s unreal.

Jamie Garrett