The Quantum

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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES ˚ COLLEGE OF SCIENCE ˚ DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES

ISSN 2243 2243--8521 Volume 1 1◦◦ Issue 1 1◦◦

Converging Relative Minds ◦ January January—June June 2011

THE OFFICIAL NEWS MAGAZINE OF THE PUP PHYSICS SOCIETY

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1st Prize

Physics is everything. A requirement of life. The key to excellence. The path that gives light to everyone. It reflects totality. It brings anybody to higher excitation level either in medicine, education, Industry, and research.

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DOST PNRI NIP NISMED PAGASA PHILVOCS St. LUKES DENR

Medical Professionals

Engineers and Technologists

Government and Corporate

Other Scientists


January—June 2011 Quantum

ABOUT THE COVER What lies ahead the BS Physics Program? Well, this is the answer.

Concept by: Arven I. Cafe

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QUANTUM Converging Relative Minds Dr. Zenaida R. Sarmiento Dr. Evelyn M. Matchete Dr. Edgardo A. Latoza Publication Consultants Ron Louie G. Palacio Editor-in-Chief Debbie V. Velasquez Managing Editor Lorenzo P. Lopez Jr. Associate Editor Ma. Angela B. Faustino Feature Editor Jona Mae M. Dalisay Copy Editor Ricky G. Ampoloquio Cartoonist Mr. Reynold V. Luna Publication Adviser

Annaliza M. Amo, Ronald A. Anonuevo, Jocel B. Bartolay, Aldrin S. Bendal, John Paul A. Besagas, Debinya B. Buenafe, Michaelray Cainglet, Joseph A. De Mesa, Ryan T. Diocampo, Kevin P. Domingo, April Angelique E. Dominguiano, Kate Ann R. Esguerra, Jobelle J. Gimeno, Roma S. Lopez, Rheymar T. Morales, Micah Ann G. Padua, John Patrick L. Porcadilla, Louie Jane R. Rico, Arianne Gail S. Rivera, Bhenz Rodriguez, Yuta Louie Rola, Joniel F. Rumbawa, Kerve M. Supnet, and Karlo J. Timbal CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

DR. ZENAIDA R. SARMIENTO Dean, College of Science I congratulate the Physics Society in coming up with its official news magazine, Quantum. This is a venue where the physics students can express their ideas, display their accomplishments and share their knowledge and research findings on how valuable physics is on the lives of men and their well-being. Quantum, the magazine, is an innovative move towards encouraging students to be interested in physics and go into this field. To the men and women who never get tired in providing guidance and support to our physics society, may your tribe increase. To the editorial staff of the Quantum, keep up the good work and more power!

DR. EVELYN M. MATCHETE Chairperson, Department of Physical Sciences

I consider the publication of the maiden issue of Quantum as one of the major achievements of the PUP Physics Society. This official news magazine that features inspiring articles ignites the desire of BS Physics students to become great scientists who will serve as pillars in nation building. To editorial staff and adviser of Quantum, Quantum as well as to the officers and members of PhySoc, MY CONGRATULATIONS. You have proven that in unity there is strength and power. Let Quantum be an instrument in bringing out the best in everyone of you. Keep on promoting the importance of Physics in this modern world of technology. MR. REYNOLD V. LUNA Adviser, Quantum It is with great pride that the Physics Society is presenting this 1st issue of its news magazine, the Quantum. This material is a product of the collaborative efforts of the society members, the PUP physics students and faculty who all recognize the value of physics in man’s life. The articles published here are expected to awaken the students’ interest in this branch of science. I would like to thank the editorial staff of the Quantum and those who made this publication possible. To the PUP administration, please accept our endless appreciation to your support to the cause of our Physics Society .


January—June 2011 Quantum Message from the Dean The Chairperson of the Department of Physical Sciences The Quantum Adviser Advanced Physics Training: Its Probability and Advantage

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Advanced Physics Training: Its Probability and Advantage

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DR. EDGARDO A. LATOZA

News PhySoc Ushers Head Start 2011 CS Holds Recognition Day SMPP Accredits PhySoc Physics 3-Day Sale Year End Means New Beginning Basic Mass Integration PhySoc Holds Freshmen Orientation ASTROCAMP and NIP HOUSE Tour PhySoc Amazing Race Held PhySoc at 13: A Total Maturity Swim for Fun New Materials for Future Physicists PhySoc Academic Achievers

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Opinions PAGASA: Boon or Bane? Physics Society: Continuing … Weather Forecasting…

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Features Don’t Call Him Sir SHIELD: Clash of the Houses Jr. Agham Meets the Nation Convection and an Insight to the RB Planet PhySoc SWORD Strikes for Excellence Is Planking Fascinating Physics First Class DOTA: Physics Mode Fear Not: Radioactivity. X-Men: First Class

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The relative importance of teaching in the physics enterprise has increased dramatically in recent years. A larger fraction of available academic positions requires people inclined to teachingscience –related courses and subjects, physics, among others. Even at research universities, science teaching is now playing a larger role in promotions and tenure decisions. In this brave new world, a physics graduate student who aspires for an academic career dares not neglect his graduate training to enhance his teaching capability and experience. Physics is an excellent career major. The key to a successful career in these changing and unpredictable times is flexibility, that is, the ability to adjust one’s career to technological and societal changes. Most of what one learns or achieves in physics is fundamental and enduring. The processes by which science in general and physics in particular should be taught demand advanced training. The ability to analyze physical situations in quantitative terms, the mastery of sophisticated mathematical analytical methods, the skills necessary to handle and use a wide variety of measuring instruments, the applicability of physics laws and principles in dealing with life and the considerable capacity to use computers and other modern technology will definitely provide the knowledge-provider or the instructor, the confidence and enthusiasm to share himself his skill, knowledge and experience, and thus, contribute to the development of future Filipino scientists or science-inclined students. The Polytechnic University of the Philippines is very much in a position to develop further physics-trained individuals. It can offer an advanced course in physics, specifically through its Graduate School and Open University. Technologies as the internet, videotape, telephone and the like are easily accessible nowadays, be it at house or in school. Appropriate skills, competencies and desirable values can be developed thus boosting the teaching capability of the concerned professionals, the physicists. This training is advantageous for it will redound to better-trained students who can contribute and become assets to the nation.

Literary Love is Like… Tomorrow’s SketchUp NIPians Breaking the Egg Shell Game Over! Dalawang Taong Paglalakbay A Physicist Nature’s Blessings Liknayismo Pagtupad sa Pangarap

Take affordable advanced training in Physics and make the difference in nation19 19 20 21 22 22 23 23 23 23

building.

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Quantum is a semi-annual news magazine of the PUP Physics Society. Any contributions, suggestions/comments can be forwarded to the editorial board at N609 6th Floor of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Look for Ron Louie G. Palacio.

VISION Quantum, Quantum, the official publication of the PUP Physics Society, envisions itself in becoming an avenue to relay news and information about the local and international physics communities. MISSION Quantum commits itself to provide students with information through unbiased journalism and relevant news and features in science community and researches.

Researches Fabrication and Characterization of… Shattered Glass Door Probe… Freezing Hot Water Pendulum In Furnace! Notes My hymn, My discipline PhySoc Kasama Mo

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Contact information E-mail: Mobile no.: Landline no.:

quantum.physoc@gmail.com 09176081964 716-78-32 to 45


January—June 2011

News

Quantum

4 JOHN PAUL A. BESAGAS College of Science Recognition Day for During the event, Mr. Jeffrey C. de Vero, school year 2010-2011 was carried out on March a research associate of the University of the Phil22, 2011 at the Bulwagang Bonifacio, Ninoy ippines Diliman Photonics Research Laboratory Aquino Library and Learning Resource and also a member of CS faculty Center of the main campus of Polygave an inspirational talk. He shared technic University of the Philippines. some of his experiences when he The said program was was a BS Physics student of the colheaded by the dean of CS, Dr. lege and delivered motivating mesZenaida R. Sarmiento; and the chairsages. persons of the college, Dr. Evelyn M. Mr. De Vero’s talk was folMachete of the Department of Physilowed by the awarding of students cal Sciences, Dr. Lourdes V. Alvarez of who achieved academic excellence the Department of Biology, Prof. Berand shown good performances and nadeth Nobles of the Department of Official logo of the College of leadership. This included giving of speMathematics and Statistics, with the Science cial awards to those who won the uniparticipation of the science faculty. continued on page 9

DEBBIE V. VELASQUEZ

SMPP Accredits PhySoc Manila City-April 30, 2011, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Physics Society (PhySoc) went to the Samahan ng Mag-aaral sa Pagpapaunlad ng Pisika (SMPP) for the accreditation of the society. Jowi P. Cruz started the presentation by introducing the universities to the panel schools: De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila, University of Sto. Tomas (UST), Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) and University of the Philippines (UP). The PUP Physics Society was presented by its president and vice president ,Kate Ann R. Esguerra and Lorenzo P. Lopez Jr., respectively. Then, after a long time of waiting for the decision they announced that PhySoc has been formally accredited under one year probation. After the schools’ accreditation, the SMPP decided to proceed to the new phase of law-making and revisions in its constitution. This is just the beginning of how we can supervise the next set of officers next school annum to continue achieving the goals and objectives of the society. -KERVE M. SUPNET

The PUP Physics Society, PhySoc, held the characteristics of a leader and discussed its first activity in this school annum as Head some leadership styles from his experiences as Start 2011: The Physics Society’s Team Building the PhySoc president during his term with with the theme, “Firing Up and Keeping the Mo- bunches of advise for the current officers. He mentum of Excellence in Passion in Leadership”. also gave emphasis on problems that arose in his The event was conducted last May 14, term and how he solved them. Saturday, at Tierra Ms. Gianan Fontana 12 Waves discussed the types of Resort in the city of leaders with their San Jose del Monte, functions. In this conBulacan. The pronection, she adgram started with an dressed the reorganiopening remark zation in the Society. from the former As an applisociety vice presication of leadership dent, Ms. Lara Jentalks, games swalina A. Gianan, followed the whole day. Fire Up. PhySoc with Mr. Reynold V. Luna during the lowed by a trivia Team 4 (composed of Team Building at Tierra Fontana. game- Name Your Annaliza M. Amo, Name. Noel Jesus Oliver Jr., The first talk, given by Hernanie T. SalaMa. Regina Ilarde, Joniel F. Rumbawa, and Karen zar Jr., focused on how to develop leadership Luz Penetrante) was the overall champion. within oneself. He pointed out the keys in sucParticipants were given the chance to express their cessful leading as he cited some influential peosparks in leadership through a project planning ple of the history. He also stressed the differworkshop and a Tug-of-war game. This activity is the beence between management and leadership. The program ended with the awarding of ginning of a year of excellence The PhySoc’s former president, Mr. certificates and tokens to the speakers as formally for the society as it lights up Raymond C. Ordinario, focused on leadership in closed by the current PhySoc president, Kate Ann R. the path towards totality. the academe and real world. He broad it up with Esguerra.


January—June 2011

News

Quantum

Physics 3-Day Sale

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KATE ANN R. ESGUERRA PUP Manila– The PUP Physics Society held its 12th founding anniversary last February 23-25, 2011. Day 1. To open the wholeness of Physics Days, a blissful mass headed by the University pastor was held at the PUP interfaith chapel. Right after, a parade was formed highlighting physics advocacies between the hous” e divisions: Einstein, Newton, Galileo and Maxwell. Continuing the CS officials together with PUP Physics Society day, an activity called members on the ceremonial parade “Physikalan”, a sports event was set with games such as Dragon Head and Tail, Patintero, Dodge Ball, and Agawan Base. Day 2. An exhibit was organized by the society inviting all students and professors. This shared the full spectrum of Physics with its blasting set-up of experiments and presentation. With ample time, continuity games were battled. The brainiac game chess was held at the University freedom park with human pieces. Another was the Treasure Hunting Quest with gold boxes giving Physics puzzles before garnering their fortunes.

PhySoc’s SET OF ACTIVITIES Here is the list of the upcoming wave

AUGUST

University Contest

Latex Seminar

OCTOBER

Linggo ng Wika

Tree Planting

Science Enrichment Program I

Science Enrichment Program2

Urban Training

NOVEMBER

SEPTEMBER

Mid-Year Assembly

Climate Change Seminar

DECEMBER PNRI –AEW Tour

Basic Mass Integration Historical Tour

Star City Tour

Day 3. It was a battle between brains and beauties. On the first half of the day, an Academic Contest was held at the E611 laboratory with participants grouped from all year levels. The team of Angelie J. Liamzon conquered the outrage of mathematical and conceptual Physics. The “Little Mr. and Ms. Physics” started late afternoon. It was attended by Dr. Edgardo A. Latoza, Assistant to the Vice President for Student Services, and other Society presidents from the College of Science as honorary judges. To crack the ennui, a forthcoming singing competition served as the intermission. Noel Jesus Oliver Jr. and Micah Ann G. Padua won the said pageant, and Dan Estrella and Jemerleene Oxciano got the peak of singing notes. The 3Day activity though time limited was one of most exciting activities the so- The Pageant. Kerve M. Supnet, Rachel Caalim, Micah Ann G. ciety produced. Padua, Noel Oliver, Regina Ilarde, Gene Itable, winners of the said event.

Year End Means New Beginning Annual PUP Physics Society (PhySoc) YEAR END ASSEMBLY was held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Sta. Mesa main campus, east wing, E611 room last March 31, 2011. Dr. Zenaida R. Sarmiento, dean of the College of Science, gave her inspirational talk as the program started. In addition, Dr. Evelyn M. Matchete together with other physics professors gave their appreciation to the organization with their encouraging remarks. PhySoc 2010 – 2011 officers presented the achievements of the society as well as the summary of the entire activities of the organization in their term. The administration honored the respective outstanding members by giving their corresponding awards. Oath taking and transition of authority to the newly elected officers were done afterwards.

Awarding Ceremony of the PUP Physics Society

Before the event ended, an inspirational talk was given by Mr. Reynold V. Luna, PhySoc adviser, which encouraged and ignited the new elected officers as well as the members of the society. -LORENZO P. LOPEZ JR.


January—June 2011

News

Quantum

6 PhySoc Holds Freshmen Orientation KERVE M. SUPNET

BS Physics boys while preparing to carry the carbonated hay stock to be used on reforestation program.

Members of AGHAM, coordinator of Kalingap Watershed, and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines Junior AGHAM (PUP Jr. AGHAM) in cooperation with the PUP Physics Society organized and facilitated a Basic Mass Integration last March 28-29, 2011 at Sitio San Joseph, Paenaan, Antipolo City, Rizal. The said activity was participated in by BS Biology students from PUP. At around 10 in the morning, the stu- to their assigned areas accompanied by their dents left the university riding two rented jeep- adopted family and spent their night with neys and arrived by 12 noon at Sitio San Jo- them. seph. After the coordinator guided and toured Early morning the next day, the stuthem to the working field, they were also introdents maximized their stay through fun activities duced to the residents of the said area. A lunch such as swimming and mountain hiking. Right at the lounge was prepared by the facilitators after, a gathering ceremony was held highlightfor the participants as well as for the residents. ing the participants’ overall experiences folWhile having their lunch, the coordinator gave lowed by a full-packed meal. the students some insights about the livelihood of the community and challenged, at the same time encouraged, the students to embrace and share lives with them. After lunch, the students headed a seminar concerning the proper nutritional food to eat. Right after the seminar, the participants were headed to the proper tree planning activity. Moreover, the students were grouped in their respective area wherein they would stay with and live like the residents of Peasant coaching with Ms. Natalie Pulvinar of that place. Late afternoon, the students went Agham

First year orientation was held at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Sta. Mesa main campus last June 13, 2011. In line with this, Mr. Reynold V. Luna, the adviser of PUP Physics Society (PhySoc), introduced the PHYSOC as well as the officers of the organization to the first year students of Bachelor of Science in Physics (BS-PHY). Afterwards, an election for freshmen officers was done. Right after the election, PhySoc officers together with their members toured the freshmen in different rooms, offices and places of the said campus. In addition, to make the

Freshmen meet Seniors connection between the society and the freshmen more intimate, the PhySoc officers and members had their lunch meeting together with them. Before the activity ended, a surprise birthday celebration was held for June celebrators. In line with this, before the activity ended, an inspirational talk was given by Bro. Pol Soriano, AGHAM’s head coordinator, citing the importance and nobility of the people at that place with regards to their livelihood and daily living. -LORENZO P. LOPEZ JR.


January—June 2011 Quantum

News

7 ASTROCAMP AND NIP HOUSE TOUR DEBBIE V. VELASQUEZ PUP Physics Society took the opportunity in stepping the outside shell of its bound states. It was invited to go through the doors of the National Institute of the Philippines (NIP) and Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), both located in the University of the Philippines, last February 22, 2011. The PhySoc members roamed around the NIP hopping at different laboratories. The program included the introduction of devices and equipment, its principles and mechanisms, and applications contributing to national and international technology. Open laboratories were: Supercon-

Jayvee Hayuhay of violet team while blowing the tissue paper down the dome.

Green team while dancing at the SM Sta. Mesa for the third post.

Seminar at N.I.P. ductor, Semiconductor and Photonics. Participants also passed the lectures of the alienated laboratory of Theoretical Physics wherein space-time projection of Super Virtual World of Cartoons, Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z became real. On the late night, the society held an astronomical camp at the PAGASA. The department provided large telescopes in viewing constellations, stars and planets. There was also a lecture on astrophysics at the Planetarium viewing a 3D motion of constellations. The program highlighted astronomi-

Angela Faustino as she accomplish her job to photoshoot with a guy.

White team as they reach the QCMC.

Saturn, Feb. 22, 2011 cal reading and viewing of some heavenly bodies. At the end, astonishing participants were awarded as PhySoc Stars for their deeds and views during the entire day.

Yellow team as they build a human pyramid.

RON LOUIE G. PALACIO

In pre-celebration of the Physics Days, PUP Physics Society launched its Amazing Race last February 22, 2011. The event aimed to advocate that students’ excellence should not only exist within the academic grounds but also in extracurricular activities and to establish rapport with its members. Among the 7 participating teams of Violet, Black, Green, Brown, Yellow, Blue and White, Rachel Caalim, Regina Illarde, John Manalo, Mary Grace Dan Estrella and Jona Padilla, Joy Mina, and Roberto Dalisay as they do the 2nd task. Leal of the Red Team emerged victorious. Contestants assembled th 8:00am at the 6 floor south wing lobby of the main building, PUP Manila campus. Challenges in sequence included: crawling Debbie V. Velasquez of yellow team while searching down the PUP dome while blow- for his ticket buyers. ing weightless tissue paper; eating a concoction full of onions, tomatoes, radishes, chilies and pepper; performing a cheer and dance number; ticket selling worth 25php; getting mobile numbers of Green team begging for handsome men at the command money. of usher Sandi A. Razalan in St. Thomas Square, España; begging for up to 200php worth of money in Delta, along Quezon Avenue; bell hunting and on the spot poetry writing plus reciting at the Quezon City Memorial Circle Violet team as they walk across the footbridge. (QCMC); walking across an overpass in University of the Philippines-Diliman (UP) in joined laces of shoes to Arven I. Cafe and; straw blowing with pyramid building at the Sunken Garden of UPDiliman. The last challenge symbolized the unity of the society. - The winning team.


January—June 2011

News

Quantum

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Congratulations to the PUP Physics Society as it successfully celebrated its 13th year of existence with a theme, “Continuing the Trajectory Towards a Total Person”.

Mr. Raymond C. Ordinario (upper) and Mr. Unico A. Bautista (above) giving their respective career talks.

“ Continuing the TRAJECTORY towards a Oath taking of the PUP Physics Society officers, assisted by Dr. Zenaida R. Sarmiento, Dean College of Science. Next, the PUP Physics Family

A General Assembly was held last June 25, 2011 at the PUP Claro M. Recto Hall joined by its society arms: both undergrads and alumni of the BS Physics program; faculty members of the College of Science, Mr. Jeffrey C. De Vero, Dr. Edgardo A. Latoza, Mr. Rogelio G. Dizon; and also special guests from its national affiliations- Junior Agham and Samahan ng Mag-aaral sa Pagpapaunlad ng Pisika (SMPP). The event was formally opened by the Dean of the College, Dr. Zenaida R. Sarmiento, and followed by the 8th PhySoc president and current PAGASA Weather Observer, Mr. Raymond Ordinario. He boosted the undergrads’ spirits in continuing their chosen program by giving strategies in surviving the tension, pressure and stress of it. He even quoted, “ Start your future with full spectrum by putting the best foot forward” firing up every listener in setting the momentum of sweet success in their Personal Legends. Another talk was given by Mr. Unico A. Bautista, another PhySoc former president, he shared stories of his life from a Physics student up to a Science Research specialist at the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute. He also highlighted the rewards of choosing the Physics course by giving positive vector paths not only in research but also

in other career fields such as industry, medicine and education. After each talk, certificates and tokens were awarded to both speakers by the Physics Society as headed by the Dean and Chairperson of the Science College. To continue the assembly, the first live presentation of PUP Physics Hymn was done by the selected 3rd year students. Right after, the General Plan of Activities for the school year was introduced and supported by its proposed budgetary outline. Another presentation, categorically an Infomercial, was viewed giving insights of career avenues for personal totality in the field of Physics. The latter part of the day is dedicated on giving the certificates and medals to those who won the annual PUP Physics Society Academic Contest held before the start of the assembly. The president of the society, Kate Ann R. Esguerra gave a presentation on their plans for this year and the energetic Prof. Mr. Reynold V. Luna, the PUP Physics Society adviser. Dr. Edgardo A. Latoza, Assistant of the Vice President for Student Services, closed the program followed by a short picture taking of the students. -DEBBIE V. VELASQUEZ


9 January—June 2011 Quantum

New Materials for Future Physicists

KATE ANN R. ESGUERRA Fun is always a by-product of Physics. Either from the stressful touch of exams or the storm rage of problem sets, it is a commencement to laugh and have fun for every small thing. But, the roll-going activities of the Physics Society never evade its members. For their convenience and enjoyment, the society proceeds to its once-a-year event called, “Physics Funday.” It was held last March 24, 2011 at the Rainforest Park in Pasig City. The event started 10:00 in the morning wherein participants were grouped into five.

Quarks bound together for Physics’ excellence.

The first activity was the “Amazing Treasure Hunting” which maximized the park vicinity searching for color-coded eggs. The Blue Team won the game with prizes still for fun. Afterwards, the water pool served the participants to cool the warmth welcome of summer start. From it, games and physics rituals followed. Witnessed by the water, quarks (participants) bound together to form one single particle; having one single goal in lifeto gain Physics’ Excellence. This activity gives path to stronger bind to the society members, and also to view each potentials in maintaining the Physics’ greatness with smile in faces.

PhySoc Academic Achievers Congratulations to the follow-

Free fall apparatuses.

The College of Science ing for being at the top. Laboratory, headed by Dr. Liwayway Velasquez, has pro- GENERAL SCIENCE duced new sets of laboratory 1. Jocel Bartolay materials for BS Physics stu2. Redentor Natividad dents. Some of them include 3. Stephen Louis Cordura hydrometer, transformer, gal- SOCIAL SCIENCE 1. Danilo Estrella vanometer, x-ray demonstra2. Michael Montalban tors, oscilloscope, ripple tank, 3. Bon Lester Roan voltmeter, gyroscope, electro-

scope, barometers, DC motor, and optical bench, among others. In an interview with Hand crank generators Dr. Velasquez, she stated that she’s very glad with the improvement in the supply on the quality of laboratory materials in physics. She gave as an example the old force tables that had been broken which are replaced by new ones. She also said something about the value of these materials on the Oscilloscopes students, and I quote, “Kahit anong bagay, ‘pag yung theory, you put into action, into practical use, mas matututunan mo kasi naaapply mo ang mga itinuro sa iyo sa lecture. ” -JP BESAGAS

CONGRATULATIONS to the

Physical Science Faculty New Doctors! ROMEO G. CASTRO Doctor of Education and

Capping ceremony of Dr. Romeo G. Castro

News

JEFFREY C. DE VERO Doctor of Philosophy in Physics

Dissertation defense of Dr. Jeffrey C. De Vero

GENERAL STATISTICS 1. John Carlo Elmaguin 2. Jayson Almario 3. Kenth Sallegue BASIC MATHEMATICS 1. Justine Kyle Tiamzon 2. Ryan Hechanova 3. Jerwin Laurente ADVANCED MATHEMATICS 1. Hernanie Salazar Jr. 2. Raiseth John Fajardo 3. Jocel Bartolay PHILIPPINE HISTORY, CULTURE AND ARTS 1. Xyrus Ayala 2. Jonathan Guste 3. Christian Anjo Ringor EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING (ENGLISH) 1. Jona Mae Dalisay 2. April Dominguiano 3. Arvin Lamando (FILIPINO) 1. Rheymar Morales 2. Angela Faustino 3. Aldrin Tan

CS Holds... continued from page 4 versity and inter-university academic contests, graduating scholars, presidents of the college student organizations, passers of the 2010 licensure examination, best theses writers, and those who gained highest general average. Special awards for faculty were also given to the advisers and co-advisers of students’ organizations, thesis advisers and thesis panelists.


January—June 2011

Opinion

Quantum

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PAGASA: BOON or BANE? Wounded. Lost. Dead. These are what we see after a storm, and people blame PAGASA for these. PAGASA. Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical & Astronomical Services Administration, is the official weather forecasting agency of the country. It is comprised of weathermen, IT experts, with the instruments used to predict the weather for the next successive days. When we are dealing with forecasting we are dealing also with uncertainties. Predicting weather is done in a scientific manner carefully observed and studied by men called meteorologists. These people commit themselves into the agency. For people working in PAGASA, a government institution, having low compensation is not

an issue; mocks and blames are well-endured by them. Dedication is not enough. We need an innovation in PAGASA and in GOVERNMENT. In order for the agency to give adequate information, proper instrument should be supplied. Weathermen should be handled properly. From Typhoon Milenyo to Ondoy, people mocked and spoke to PAGASA for their bad forecasts . Do they have the right to do that? No. Innovation and modernization must be done on the tools that forecasters use. They must be upgraded and maintained. PAGASA people are intelligent, educated and experienced. Some further enhance their capabilities through pursuing higher education here and abroad. Scholarship grants by foreign institutions are offered to its men with potential. Piracy is also a proof of how great PAGASA is. Materials they are state-of-the art. Compared to the other developed and developing countries, our PAGASA uses advanced equipment really designed to predict intensive weather with higher accuracy. When we are dealing with science we are also dealing with complexities and uncertainties. Turbulence and chaos are always present in the atmosphere. Science, especially forecasting, which the public does not know, deals with them and not with the classical 100% folk. Today, PAGASA has new sets of equipment donated by Japan and other countries, and some state-of-the art equipment acquired through the efforts of our government. Weather forecasting is made easier with these tools, which also increase accuracy of prediction and frequency of bulletin issuance. BOON or BANE? Everything will be a bane if it is treated stubbornly. In the case of PAGASA, it will be a bane if it is not considered as a priority by the government.

“Physics Society: Continuing the Trajectory Towards a Total Person” DEBBIE V. VELASQUEZ “Totality is scattered everywhere. It is how you consider them as logical parts of your body.” The Society’s theme really converges my mind into something enthusiastic world of vision but it also baffles me at all time. From the extemporaneous speech contest I have attended, also an activity provided by the society, I got impressions of the annual theme from my fellow students and they really enlightened my puzzled consciousness. So let’s integrate them by parts. Continuing. From the word CONTINUE. So what will be continued? The Physics Society provided activities for selffulfilment since 1998. The astronomical

camps at PAGASA, open-house visits to National Institute of the Philippines (NIP), attending seminars from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), and so on; are activities that partly give great deals to students pursuing to fathom the applications of Physics. Trajectory. It is the travelled path at a projectile motion. An exact position in real dimension. A vector path, true directional, continued on page 11


January—June 2011 Quantum

Opinion

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Physics Society: Continuing ... continued from page 10

provided to any interested body to understand its desire in Physics. It is a pushing way to move forward, either positive or negative, for the challenges of life. Towards. To whom? To what for? This includes the aiming point of every individual. The pushing force, the total energy, a real goal in life. It is the inspiration that lives in any objective. Total. A completeness of something that may give an impression of value and love. This positive force makes somebody to swim into the wave pool of massive encounters. It is the strength-maximizer, adrenaline power, that puts anything at comfort. Person. A pinnacle of every point of life. It delivers harmony of humanity and peace. A true conjunction of faith and honour. Into agreement upon the integration, the PUP Physics Society does not want to be a starting point for ravenous intelligence. It provides service of happiness, completeness, concreteness, and psychological consciousness. The Society wants to illuminate each of its cells the transparency of life, the balance, the shine and glitters of it, the hard core, the high-fly of every award, the actions and results – thus, the REALITY. It is a society of mental awareness. It visions to open every conscious mind into its super conscious level. The activities are not literally focused onto Academics but connotatively on Personal Totality. People need social communication as a reflection of their interest. The camps, seminars, assemblies, contests, meetings, community services, and also the travel trips are part of life enjoyment. They teach how to live life. Even the Creative Plan has said, “Let there be light,” and so there is light. Light is the most promising material (to be considered) in the vast universe. It radiates and transfers its photon energy to each of the particles. It behaves like a wave as one receives heat that eventually gives life. It also cleanses people from any other impurities. Be a light, too. The society is a torch of wisdom. It is a vista of pleasure. In every path it offers, is gained a thought of wholeness – the stepping stone of satisfaction. It follows, therefore, that as you CONTINUE moving forward into the TRAJECTORY of life, walk TOWARDS your vision (selftotality), live as a TOTAL PERSON.

MR. RAYMOND C. ORDINARIO (Weather Scientist, PAGASA)

Our day to day activities are affected by weather. Weather is variable both in time and space. Knowing this fact, weather forecasting deals with many uncertainties. The main question is how uncertain is the weather forecasting? In terms of science, when you deal with variables you deal with many assumptions and limitations. Physical parameters as well as known physical laws are not enough to make these uncertainties negligible. Meteorology is the science that deals with the study of the atmosphere at which the weather is dependent. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) is the country’s official weather bureau. How does PAGASA deal with the uncertainty of the weather? Expert meteorologist or weather forecaster is one of the key factor to limit the error due to these uncertainties. Another factor is the modern equipment being purchased and employed by PAGASA. Another is the use of well-developed numerical weather prediction models. These models are based on the atmospheric equation derived from the known physical laws. But, even with these why does

PAGASA always fail to give an accurate weather forecast? The answer to this is not in the people or in its equipment, is the science itself. The atmosphere itself is complex in nature, as told by James Gleick in his bestselling book: Chaos. Dealing with complexity makes weather forecasting an interesting one. But, being uncertain makes many people vulnerable to unexpected weather such as the local thunderstorm that occurred in Davao last June 28 that caused massive flash flooding which resulted to less than 25 people dead. Even in developed countries such as United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and others weather forecasting is a great challenge. They never got a 100% accurate forecast. But they have higher confidence in terms of their forecasts. The question of who to blame should not be a great issue. The awareness of the people regarding these weather occurrences together with the uncertainties is the key to lessen the hazard of this weather disturbance. Preparation and proper decision keeps the people away from the impacts of these atmospheric hazards.


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Don’t Call Him Sir

Alumni Roster Congratulations to the newly graduates of BS Physics program last May 2011

Tête-à-tête with Mr. Raymond C. Ordinario By MA. ANGELA B. FAUSTINO

Rialyn Z. Maquinad Lara Jennina A. Gianan Roma S. Lopez Lou Bryan G. Abrena Sandi A. Razalan Sheryllyn M. Linda Mheldee D. Dizon

Mr. Ordinario while doing his numerical models at PAGASA

Jobelle J. Gimeno

From call center to PAGASA. You might be thinking, “What could be my career after my four years of physics?” I am a very positive person knowing that my future is secured in the One who holds everything in His hands. But as time goes by, here in the physics course, it was not very easy for me to hold on this hope, but I did. Everyone needs an inspiration. Kuya Ordi has a story to tell, he did not become what he is now without perseverance. He did not become a weather specialist in a snap after he graduated.

Arianne Gail S. Rivera Vida A. Sayson Angelie J. Liamzon Arven I. Cafe Ryan T. Diocampo Mary Ann A. Pangilinan Melvin N. Borbe

Graduates pose for the camera after the graduation ceremony .

“When I first stepped in the BS Physics program, I met two groups of people: first, the ones who really wanted the course, second, the ones who were just put by the registrar”. So then I asked, “So.. were you in the former or latter?”. He answered, “I am a physics enthusiast”. “Walang madaling course sa PUP. There are students who come to me for advice. They wanted to shift to another course but I encourage them to pursue physics”. Just like any other students, “I have no idea. ‘Di ko talaga alam!” was his answer to my question, “What was your first impression in the program and the physics society?”. Q: So what did you expect as a freshman? A: Wala talaga. E-enter ako ng BS Physics, I need to graduate after 4 years. Yun lang! Nothing at all. That was my mindset (with an emphasis on “was”). What he realized afterwards was

that he could not just do that. He could not just enter in, go away, and find a good researching job. Like us, he went through many challenges. It wasn’t easy for him to lead the society (PhySoc) as a president and the same time a third year student where he met all the “hard core” physics. As a student, I admired this successful man in the bravery he possesses. “When it comes to PhySoc activities, I wanted them full of fun. Moreover, I didn’t want us to box ourselves inside the university so for an activity, I waived the whole society. That was tough. Someone almost had an accident. I knew for a fact that when ‘the bad thing’ happened, I should expect the worst: I would be kicked out of PUP”. There was also a time, same school year, that someone, during a society meeting, threw him a bad word just because he “impeached” an irresponsible officer. INTRIGUING.


January—June 2011 Quantum

A conference and appreciation party with his (Mr. Raymond Ordinario – fourth from right) colleagues.

This now young professional is blessed by intelligence and a gift of leadership. In addition he has, a good heart willing to help his Alma Mater, the physics students, by giving lectures/ seminars on things related to his work: FORTRAN (a programming language

now is how you use physics in the industry. When I started my masters in meteorology in Ateneo, I had observed that it is more of applications rather than theoretical”. He works now at PAG-ASA as a weather specialist I at the numerical modeling section – research. He showed us his sample output: it was a 2D Philippine map, “simulation-like” wherein a tropical depression is moving towards and away from the Philippines. He advised us that we cannot live in “whatever”, in that “after four years, I’ll graduate and find a good job”. He quoted, “Kailangan nating aminin as scientists, as researchers, we’ll never stop studying. Do not expect that

Mr. Raymond Ordinario (right) together with the interviewer (left) and PUP Physics Society adviser (middle). A numerical model done by Mr. Ordinario, used to predict the behavior of the weather.

used in numerical modeling) and global warming. “We have two semesters of numerical methods for physics but the problem is the facility. ‘Till now it is my heart that the physics society will have its own computer that would be available for all”. “We cannot love now in Physics more of a theory. The trend

you can be in the physics industry without taking up your masters first.” “We don’t wanna see you in call centers”, he added. Mr. Raymond Ordinario, a physicist, a Weather Specialist I of PAG-ASA, is an alumnus of batch 2007, taking up his Masters in Meteorology at the Ateneo de Manila University. Thumbs-up Kuya Ordi! (from Quantum feature staff). He always insisted that BS Physics is BS Physics and not as call center agents and high school educators.

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SHIELD. Students’ Homogeneity In Excellence, Leadership and Development: Clash of 2011-2012 is a house battle wherein different houses will aim to be on top. Its main objective is to unleash the competitiveness and leadership skills in every member. It also aims to balance the academic and n o n - a c a d e m i c SHIELD: logo of unity , leaderskills of each ship and development team. The name of last year’s houses came from the names of the scientists who contributed to the world of physics. For this year, the name of houses came from some Greek letters that are often used in studying physics. These are the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Gamma each with their colors, red, blue, green, and pink, respectively. Each member of a house that will participate in some projects of the society will bag points. These points will depend on the nature of project. Some of these projects are seminars, contest (academic and non-academic), extension programs, and also Quantum, the official publication of the PUP Physics Society. Heavy points are given away for the academic contest rather than the non-academic because the officers believe that the members of the society should excel in these aspects. Many members of the society are excited to showcase their skills and also to prove that they are the best. Some are hoping and praying that they will not be at the bottom. One thing the officers are sure of is this project will be great and members will experience trials and fun, trials that will mold them to be better member of the society and fun that they will cherish forever. - BHENZ RODRIGUEZ


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AGHAM Youth or PUP Junior AGHAM is an advocate of science and technology like its mother superior, AGHAM. Its vision and definition are the same with its parent yet this sector is focused in molding the youths to be leaders and to be promoters of goodness to the environment as well as to the people behind. AGHAM is an organization of patriotic, pro -people science and technology advocates, bonded together by a common interest of pro-

MR. JEFFREY D. TARE Advancement in technology in the past decades allowed us to explore not only the magnificent lifeforms here on Earth but also the depth and immensity of the Universe ( at least partly ). Who among us would not be amazed of the picturesque views of planet atmosphere such as those of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, or even our Earth seen on print materials or videos? Awesome, indeed! But the natural processes behind those huge forms are even mind-boggling yet worth working on to fully understand the mechanism involved. In the literature, it is agreed upon that convection plays a major role in the atmosphere of a planet. Convection is a well-known physical process that pertains to fluid motions caused by temperature differences. It is essential as breathing; and, as a mode of energy transfer, it is really important in disturbing minerals and nutrients from the underneath to the Earth’s surface, be it on land or ocean. In addition to wind currents in the atmosphere, convection can also be observed during a volcanic eruption. Molten rocks from the Earth’s inner core act as the convecting fluid that rises to the earth’s layer. The pressure beneath the earth keeps accumulating and the temperature constantly rises. In due time, once a critical parameter is reached, say the threshold to which the Earth can no longer hold the pressure from the inner layer, our planet will instantly collapse and then annihilate from the solar system. That is far more destructive than a volcanic eruption. Is there any way on how we can keep track of all convective processes and then possibly reduce the overwhelming effects of catastrophes? Modern state-ofthe-art technology makes various forecasts with quite good accuracies. However, the

data provided by detection systems to offer short-term information and long-term prediction remain a challenge up to now. How important studying a phenomenon like convection entails realization of its complexity and understanding the significance of simplification of the problem to come up with reasonable approximations. One might over rate the impossibility of modeling convection given the observation of its real-life manifestations. On the contrary, convection can be modeled, under a controlled condition ( and that is good thing! ). It is mentioned above that convection is mainly due to differences in temperature. In fact, the temperature gradient involved is said to be pointing in random directions. This occurs when uniform heat is applied from the bottom of the plane or the system is uniformly cooled from above. This setup anticipates Rayleigh-Benard (RB) convection whose arising fluid motion is primarily induced by buoyancy owing its wide-range applications in astrophysics, meteorology, and even in industry like cooling nuclear power plants and heating of buildings. Benard cells are regular convection cells that form because of close constraints on experimental conditions .

moting science and technology that genuinely serve the interest of the Filipino people, especially the poor. It aims to vigorously encourage S&T professionals, workers, and advocates sharing their knowledge and expertise through direct community service, research, consultancy, campaigns and advocacy, fora, fact-finding missions, and discussion groups. AGHAM is established in the Philippines as the name of Samahan ng Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Teknolohiya Para sa Sambayanan, on July 24, 1999 and duly registered with the Security and Exchange Commission on January 2000. PUP Junior Agham was founded on October of 2010. It was established by physics students of PUP, a professor who is already a member of AGHAM, and other AGHAM officers. Before, students were just invited to join one of AGHAM's many activities, the PSS or Peoples Science School. Its aim is to teach urban peasants’ basic science so that they can use it to improve their daily life. Students participated in the said activity. After that AGHAM conducted a second activity that made students interact with the rural folks, BMI or Basic Masses Integration. It was joined by volunteers outside the campus, members of AGHAM and physics students from PUP. Hence, PUP Junior AGHAM and AGHAM have the vision for the society to be unite and be innovated in the field of science and technology. Moreover, they believe that science should work for the people and not KARLO J. TIMBAL the other way around. -KARLO Let us imagine the Earth as exhibiting purely RB convection process, and Benard cells are present both in the atmosphere and beneath Earth’s surface. In this setup, we depict Earth as an example of an “RB PLANET”. With the simplistic nature of RB convection and regularity of Benard cells, how life on Earth be? We might think that weather forecasting will no longer be applicable. That makes sense as regularity of Benard cells in the atmosphere means no weather disturbance at all. Wind currents will be uni-


January—June 2011 Quantum

F E ATURE

15 assess improvement. Monitoring of the program will be done twice for this school year, one for each semester. In line with this, JOHN PAUL A. BESAGAS tutees will evaluate their tutors based on their performThe PUP Physics Society carries ance during the tutorial. SWORD: Scientific Wisdom Ontogeny and Readiness in the Discipline out its tutorial program named SWORD. SWORD stands for Scientific Wisdom Ontogeny and Readiness in the Disci- Convection and an Insight… porosity of the soil and all land masses to weaken pline. It was started in June 22, 2011, continued from page 14 the pressure that accumulates beneath the surheaded by Mr. Reynold V. Luna, PhySoc face. This means weak earthquakes, less to tsuadviser and project consultant and yours in all places. We might even have a single weather nami alerts, less to destruction of properties, and truly, the academic affairs chairperson of system, neglecting Coriolis Effect and other effects less casualties (if there is any). Will RB convection the said organization. brought by the Earth’s rotation and revolution. All in this case allow for long-term earthquake predicThe SWORD has its general ob- countries will have the same number of climate tion? Periodicity of Benard cells may favor the jective “Extending the Enlightenment of seasons as well as good weather condition all year possibility. If scientists and engineers will be able Minds in Exploring the World of Sci- round. That means no flight cancellation, no casu- to develop a technology that can determine perience”. It aims to develop the scientific alty from typhoons or hurricanes, no tornadoes, ods of occasional strong quakes based on moveand mathematical skills of the students and so on-just a perfect weather! Moreover, the ments of giant convection cells beneath, then long Earth as seen from the outer space will look more -term prediction will be likely. and boost their potentials. Other applications of RB convection are The program includes tutorials appealing and resemble like a giant Christmas yet to be discovered, and more accurate approxiin physics such as college physics, gen- ornament owing the regular pattern of its atmosmations warrant advancement in computational eral physics, physics fundamentals, mod- phere. How about periodic shifting of the atmos- fluid dynamics and software development. This ern physics, electromagnetic theory, pheric pattern from hexagons to rolls, rectangles, poses a great challenge to our scientists and engitheoretical and statistical mechanics. In or squares? We may observe and experience some neers, and even to us, students. Deep understandthe field of mathematics, SWORD has pros of living in an RB planet on land. Assuming a ing of all mechanisms involved in the RB phetutorials in college algebra, analytical favorable and uniform temperature on the tropo- nomenon may pave way to significant improvegeometry, trigonometry, differential and sphere and good porosity of land masses, hazards ment in weather forecasting and earthquake preintegral calculus, elementary differential of volcanic eruption will be lessened. This will be diction in the future. One should just be openequations, vector analysis and complex made possible through approximate uniform cool- minded enough for all possibilities. How about analysis. Moreover, general biology and ing of planet’s surface so that temperature be- migrating to the RB planet for a while and look chemistry are also included in the said neath will be prevented from further increasing. everything in an RB perspective? program. Also, the release of heat will be aided by good Students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines especially those who have science and mathematics subjects are welcome to join the program. In actual, the registration period for tutees had started on the first day of classes, June 13, 2011 and is extended. Planking refers to the act of lying face ran, a New Zealander living in Sydney, AustraAlso, 2nd to 5th year students down in unusual public places with arms to the lia. Today, plankers multiply in number because who have good grades are qualified to sides with fingers pointed, while the body re- of their taste for innovation, good photo conbecome the tutors of the SWORD. mains straight together with toes pointed, and cept which they can use on social networking SWORD follows a class discusthe expressionless face lied down, mimicking a sites. sion method. Books and printouts are wooden plank. Participants of planking are Many students, especially in the Polyused as reference materials. A precalled plankers. technic University of the Philippines (PUP), do examination is given to tutees to see if Planking began in 2006 when two Brit- planking for fun. Some of them plank at the they have a good background about the ish students posted pictures of themselves in Obelisk, at the desk, at the swimming pool, at lesson to be discussed. Then, it is folFacebook, participating in the “Lying Down the famous unlimited lugawan spot, even at lowed by a lecture and coached problem Game”. Not later in 2008 when the term the chairs where they looked like levitating. solving. “planking” was reportedly coined by Paul Car- continued on page 16 After that, a post examination is given to

PhySoc SWORD Strikes for Excellence


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January—June 2011 Quantum

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DEBBIE V. VELASQUEZ

These are the Physics prodigy profiles of super powerful mutants, clash of the class of knowledge- bringers. BEAST. Reynold V. Luna. A geek with high interest in medical physics. He conversely created connections between any other forms of sciences related to medicine. With too much desire in genetic engineering and radioactive patenting (Raven’s Blood), he made an experimental formula and tested it himself, transforming him into overflowing strength. He is capable of swinging his body from place to place, acting like a low mass dancing ballerina. A living proof of Incredible Hulk purely packed with obedience, giving him the aura of gentility. HAVOK. Rogelio G. Dizon, Physics and Chemistry bias, he formulated his body to emit super powerful plasma, make him part of the Physics First Class. At first, he can not make plasma hula hoops and make them blast ironically in specific pattern. With the help of Professor X and Magneto, he developed a skill in electronics wherein he was packed with a distressful-to-discuss silicon device, giving him a control of his plasma blast with a certain vector. All out of these, he is a man of sincerity and soul-enlightened attitude.

Is Planking… continued from page 15 But what really is planking? Is it an outrage of an emotion or is it a flashback on the history? People plank because of their TRIP to do it so. It is their way of saying that here I am, free and liberated to express my feelings with this manner, a genuine fun, a sign of calmness. Regarding the history, slaves caught in Africa were forced to lay down on planks with hands side by side on their bellies and had their wrists chained on their waists. They are stacked on top of the other as they are shipped to be sold in market. Many did not survive this cruel treatment, some died of hunger and possibly suffocation.

MAGNETO. Jeffrey C. De Vero. Being part of the Physics First Class made him a sturdy person. With great love for his mother, he entirely discovered his magnetic ability. A lure type man that broadens his skills up into electromagnetic radiation, more specific a LASER. He’s a living superconductive magnet that quantumly elevates the potentials of his every ally. You may think that he can whip you into macabre state, but surely he’s a maestro that repels your negative domains. PROFESSOR X. Ruben Madridejos. The very most foundation of the Physics First Class. This mental magus has greatly developed his Physics skill since childhood. With high precision of theoretical knowledge, he eventually conforms any sort of any problems at instant. He can mathematically prove the existence of any living force and nearly read what’s in your mind. This unjustifiable abilities make him a true honor, still puzzling identity covers him for nobody knows his middle name, that exactly made him be called, Professor X. Although many contradict this, that it was called “packing,” it was also referred to as “planking” and that planking was different because they lie face down and not face up. Was it that hard to see the resemblance? Though it is good or not, what necessary is to exLet’s do the plank. press your emotion. Showing it can gain you sympathy and enemies too. Just be responsible for it. -JOCEL B. BARTOLAY


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Defense of the Ancients. This top game of the season acts like a hydra-quickly growing; attacking the mass players being versatile evolution of Warcraft. The hitting points of it are the revised gameplay mode (Sentinnel VS Scourge), more hero options, and having an automatic call for power (back-ups). In any game concept, hero’s background are the mean point. The strength, agility, and intelligence, also the survival stamina, skills and stats are the one always being considered. But most eventually, heroes are selected according to their abilities, skills and mechanism in the battlefield. In which way they will be valuable in times of a saga. This is necessary to inflict more damage, threaten and even slay their opponents as the pinnacle of the game. To be more specific, the game is rolled upon the physics environment that is purely attributed to the enthusiasm of any player. Let me give you some heroes so you would refrain to be a “noob” or to evade the worst adjective-“weak.” Darkchow. He is a radioactive villain from the remains of the nebular collapsed star enformed within a field of cosmological magic with the mystical power consuming hundreds of worlds, he’s a living proof of the Olber’s paradox. With the knowledge of Albert Einstein about his special theory of relativity and other out-of-this world mathematics Darkchow had managed to solve the unification theory we had for today. With this, he can teleport to any of his allies or making them portals of escape in baffling state. He happily summons a super massive scattered black holes sucking up his enemies while having pieces of anti-matter on the ground making a way for a closer destruction. These great attributes bewilder any form of creature that let him known to be “Enigma”-a true oblivion more enough than a supernovae. Stone Giant. There is a newly born giant from the rocky mountain gradient of having the strength of a hill and the acceleration of a falling boulder. He is definitely massive yet full of haste-a wonderful momentum. He masters the Newtonian Mechanics (of defense building), capable to stun his rival by giving a bone-breaking bash that is powerful as it creates shockwaves that make vibrational ripples on the ground. Tangled with superconductive elevation force, he can flurry huge amounts of soil at ease to cause sinusoidal avalanches and also, perfectly throws huge-massive rocks in different trajectory. Moreover his ferromagnetic granite heart shifts his body-magnetic domains, attracting rocks on his environment, evolving him to a larger iron-hand golem, a more powerful one. These Newtonianmagnetic entities called him to be Stone Giant. Morphling From the succession of evolution, this magnum opus has a liquid body supported by an unknown membrane. He believes on Daniel Bernoulli’s principle for his dynamic locomotion. He can change power attributes in a whim whenever it is needed, changing from a particle type (strength) for a wave-like (agility) and vice versa. Morphling can also force his body to flow over opponents creating a wave fronts of high amplitude, critically damped, leaving great injury to them. Also to include he’s an expert of Snell’s Law, distributingly creates literal clones of his target, forcing them to face their own reflection as he crushes them in confusion. I remind you guys, don’t let yourself be a psychological war freak. Instead, be an intelligent gamer, one who balance entertainment and work. Analyze the information behind the game, it is a reflection of who you are. Rock on! Keep learning playing while. Put the Physics forward. -DEBBIE V. VELASQUEZ

How did you feel when you heard the news about nuclear meltdown, or commonly known as radioactive scare? Were you afraid? Or you’re intelligent enough so you don’t care? Compared to bomb scare, the reaction of the people is less intrigued. It’s all over the news like wildfire but still not many of us know what radioactivity really is. For the sake of the doubt, everything, even the person beside you is considered to be radioactive. Since “radioactive or radio-

activity” has been mentioned many times in the forms of mass media, I’m sure that almost every person is familiar with it. But still, not everyone knows its definition. According to Encarta, radioactivity is the process of emitting energy in the form of a particle or wave. It is classified into two forms namely the ionizing radiation which is mostly used for nuclear purposes and non – ionizing radiation which is commonly found in some devices. continued on page 22


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“X-MEN: FIRST CLASS” PHYSICS QUANTITY KATE ANN R. ESGUERRA

Oh no! Physics again? Maybe that’s your initial reaction when you saw the title of this article. Well, I’m not making things complicated but since I’m a physics student let’s relate things with physics. We can’t escape physics whether you like it or not. Physics is always present in this universe; all we have to do is to deal with it. This movie caught my attention when I first saw it. At a German concentration camp in occupied Poland in 1944, scientist Dr. Schmidt observed young Erik Lensherr bend a metal gate with his mind when the child was separated from his parents. In his office, Schmidt ordered Lensherr to similarly move a coin on a desk, and killed his mother when the child cannot. In his grief and anger, Lensherr's magnetic power manifested, killing two guards and destroying the room, to Schmidt's delight. At a mansion in Westchester County, New York, young telepath Charles Xavier met homeless young shape-shifter Raven. Overjoyed to meet someone else "different" like him, he invites her to live with his family. In 1962, an adult Lensherr is tracking down Schmidt to take revenge. In England, Oxford University graduate Xavier is publishing his thesis on mutation; Raven, now his foster sister, lived with him. In Las Vegas, CIA agent Moira MacTaggert followed US Army Colonel Hendry into the Hellfire Club, where she saw Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, and Azazel. After Shaw threatened Hendry, Azazel disappeared with the officer; moments later Hendry was in the War Room,

missiles in Turkey. Shaw later killed Hendry, revealing himself as Schmidt and demonstrating the energy-absorbing mutant power that had de-aged him. MacTaggert, seeking Xavier's advice on mutation, convinced him and Raven to join her at the CIA, where they convinced Director McCone that mutants existed and Shaw was a threat. The unnamed "Man in Black Suit", another CIA executive, sponsored the mutants and invited them to the CIA's secret "Division X" facility. Xavier located Shaw, arriving in time to stop Lensherr, who had attacked Shaw, from drowning as Shaw escaped. Xavier brought Lensherr to Division X, where they met young scientist Hank McCoy, a prehensilefooted mutant whom Xavier inadvertently as a mutant. McCoy, developing a bond with Raven, promised her he would find a way to normalize their appearance. Xavier used a mutant-locating device, Cerebro, to find and recruit mutants for training to stop Shaw. He and Lensherr found stripper Angel Salvadore; taxi driver Armando Muñoz, who took the code name Darwin; Army prisoner Alex Summers, who called himself Havok; and Sean Cassidy, who dubbed himself Banshee. Raven took the name Mystique. She also dubbed Charles "Prof. X" and Erik "Magneto." When Frost met with a Soviet general in the USSR, Xavier and Lensherr captured her. Meanwhile, Azazel, Riptide and Shaw attacked Division X, killing everyone but the young mutants and offering them the chance to join him. Angel accepted, when Darwin tried to fight back, Shaw killed him. With the facility destroyed, Xavier took the mutants to train at his family mansion. McCoy devised protective uniforms and a stealth jet. In Moscow, Shaw compeled the general to have the Soviet Union install nuclear missiles in Cuba. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, US President John F. Kennedy instituted a The BEAST at CIA’s secret facility blockade to stop a Soviet freighter from moving the nuclear missiles to Cuba. Shaw, advocating that the US install nuclear wearing a helmet that foiled Xavier's

telepathy, accompanied the Soviet fleet to ensure the missiles arrive, trying to trigger World War III and achieved mutant ascendency. Raven went to seduce Lensherr, who convinced her to embrace her nature as a mutant. Later, McCoy offered Raven his cure for her appearance, but she refused. The cure backfired on McCoy, rendering him a leonine beast. Though ashamed of his new appearance, he piloted the mutants and MacTaggert to the blockade line. In an ensuing battle with Shaw, Lensherr took the helmet for himself, allowing Xavier to immobilize Shaw. Despite Xavier's objections, Lensherr killed Shaw by forcing

Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr the Nazi coin through his brain. Fearing the mutants, the fleets fired their missiles at them. In a struggle, Xavier kept Lensherr from destroying the fleets with the missiles, but when MacTaggert fired at Lensherr, a deflected bullet hit Xavier in the spine. Lensherr, remorseful, left with Mystique, Angel, Riptide and Azazel. A wheelchair-bound Xavier and the mutants returned to the mansion, where he intended to open a school. MacTaggert promised never to reveal his location and they kissed; at the CIA later, she said she has no clear memory of recent events. Lensherr, in a uniform with the helmet and calling himself Magneto, broke Frost from confinement. If you have seen the movie you’ll be attracted with the powers of mutant which some of them use the principle of physics. I bet we all agree that physics is very hard, but seeing a movie like this and relating it on our forte we can say that physics is somehow enjoyable. Clips from: http://www.imdb.com/ media/rm2875308288/tt1270798 © 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation


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Literary

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Tomorrow’s Sketch Up A FUTURISTIC VIEWS

Love is Like...… By RON LOUIE G. PALACIO Love is like Algebra, The x is annoying. Love is like Solid State Physics, Full of bonds. Love is like Quantum Mechanics, Filled with uncertainties. Love is like Radiation Physics, It is lurid to those who don ’ t understand. Love is like Classical Mechanics, It is fundamental. Love is like Statistics, You ’ r e my mode I wanna be your mean.

DEBBIE V. VELASQUEZ

It’s been a minute after I regained myself from the space-Lifelight. As I leave my emphatic virtual room, I went through the entire vicinity of Millenium City (formerly Manila). Years before, it was an ill-blood city of wilderness, almost forgotten from strains of the great deluge of “Super Typhoon 7 OPENG” and now urbanized by the creation of the international sector Physics Minion for Advancement, PMA. The Heepney. Walking through the smart road, with controllable magnetic domains for vehicle safety, I rode a heepney. Yes, it is! It’s a three door commuter jeep with up and down compartment having a capacity for 150 riders. It is made up of scraps from space shuttles and 7th generation Mag-Lev with a 150kW hydrogen internal combustion engine with the ability to put you at instant to your destination with a travelling maximum speed of 350kph hovering the ground of 10 feet above. By the way all vehicles are renamed with H for hydrogen for all oil companies are down and replaced with extractor dams as source of this techy fuel. 10-Gen House. As I say buh-bye to my SpongeBob pineapple house, I remember the notion bringing up all universal houses into solar powered house with a plant landscape on top. The outer walls of this house is made up of amorphous anti-reflection solar stands with carbon nanotube coating. So surely, it is eco-friendly with a Typhoon 10 resistance. HoloCom. As I observe during my trip to the Water Lion City (Singapore), it’s annoying and distracting to view the behemoth dimensional holographic ads that will thoroughly access to my H-pod. Although they give views of my favorite H-TV listing, it spoils my technological interest. Somehow, it relieves my rear tension as I scroll my Dbook comment list.

Kinetic Pant. Oops. I’m in low-batt. Good thing I gained this 27th generation of Levis jeans. All I need to do is to attached the chargLove is like Complex Analysis, ing cord to my H-pod (in hologram too). The secret of charging It has the Real and Imaginary. (now it is not a secret anymore) is within the fibers making this clothes, converts your mechanical energy input (by means of walking) to electrical energy output. Truly this innovation is a call for healthy and green living. By the way this is washable and cool to wear! “If nature was not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and Anti-Gravity Structure Technology. The reality of if nature was not worth knowing, breaking Newton’s Law, here I am at the city. I got to life would not be worth living. ” snapped at the Ayala Zenith, the first route-walking mall in Asia. With its sky rise parking units, shoppers -Henri Poincare can freely hop from place to place though the traveler mall.


January—June 2011

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Quantum

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NIPIANS APRIL ANGELIQUE E. DOMINGIUANO Waking up on a rainy day, I realized that summer has ended. Just like a dream, the summer that we, the incoming fourth year students, have been waiting for, ended. Time really flies when you enjoy the moments of your life.

Trainees of NIP from Theoretical, Photonics, Superconductor, and Semiconductor Laboratories. (up to down).

Every time I close my eyes, I can still have a glimpse of the National Institute of Physics Laboratories such as Photonics Research Laboratory; Instrumentation; Semiconductor and Superconductor Group under the Condensed Matter Physics Laboratory (CMPL); Theoretical Physics Group; Plasma; and Structural Dynamics. We are so blessed to be one of the universities that got an access to the said Institute, thanks to Mr. Jeffrey C. De Vero, proud alumni of Polytechnic University of the Philippines, PUP. To give you an update about Mr. De Vero, after his degree in the Bachelor of Science in Physics at the PUP and got his Masters Degree in Physics at the University of the Philippines (UP), he is now taking his Doctorate at UP. So if you are a PUPian, be proud that you’re one of the thousands of students who studies at PUP. Sixteen students from the incoming fourth year students had an opportunity to be trained in four of the laboratories at NIP. Annaliza M. Amo, Joseph A. De Mesa, Bhenz Rodriguez, and I, were accepted at the Photonics Research Laboratory that was divided into two groups, the Laser Group and, Holography and Shearography Group. We had a great time learning new things from our trainers, Ms. Jaziel Vitug and Mr. Lean Dasallas. Ms. Vitug taught us about the apparatuses that they use in the Pulsed -Laser Deposition (PLD) which is under the Laser Group, and how these work. Mr. Dasallas, alumni of PUP, taught us how to fix things in the laboratory. I could still remember the vise grips, wrenches and Teflon that we used in fixing the chiller for the Vacuum Chambers that PLD used in the experiment. And oh! I could not forget the time when Ms. Vitug asked me and Annaliza to connect the wires for the ionization gauge. It was like a mini-welding task which was very exciting figuring out how to connect them in a neat way. For the two boys, Bhenz and Joseph, it was like a gym but the difference was that they learned how to tighten things. Under the CMPL, eleven students namely: Mary Ann Calleja, Micah Ann G. Padua, and Hernanie Salazar; Ricky Ampoloquio, Mina Rose D. Bagay, Michaelrey Cainglet, Angela B. Faustino, Lorenzo P. Lopez jr., Vanessa Malapit, Jemerleene Oxciano and Kerve M. Supnet, were admitted to the Superconductors and Semiconductors Group, respectively.

When I heard the word “Semicon”, the first thing that came into my mind was that they were the ones wearing jacket at summer. Ricky, Mina, Michael, Angela, Lorenzo, Vanessa, Jemerleene, and Kerve wore the coziest jacket they had. At a room there these trainees’ worked on their thesis were two airconditions. For their OJT, they worked on their thesis that Dr. Armando S. Somintac, assigned them to do. They did the sample preparation, the experiments, and the analysis using the apparatus such as Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Optical Reflectivity, Ellipsometer, etc. Having a serious time on their research works, at lunch time we all got together and ate our packed lunch where the entire laugh trip happened. Vanessa, once called a “Dalagang Pilipina” and now a “Segway Queen”, made us laugh with all of her “segway”. Going back to their work, their trainors, taught them about the different programs that the laboratory uses, one is Python. Python is a software where you could solve problems using a formula that you’ve made. And lastly, for the Theoretical Physics Group, we had Raiseth John Fajardo as a trainee at the said laboratory. It was furthermore divided into three sub-groups (Galapon Group, Esguerra Group and Palisoc Group). Each group specialized in different fields of interest. He submitted himself to Dr. Galapon. His group focused on the field of Quantum and Mathematical Physics. Dr. Galapon gave a problem about the integrals involving multiple-valued functions, incomplete gamma functions, and systems of first order differential equation. Raiseth, as we all know, is one of the toughest human being in the society that can solve all this problem. When he talked about it, we just laughed and thought about what his question was. In the end of our OJT in the NIP, we all learned the art of obedience and time management. OJT is all about obedience, obey and you won’t be lost. Submit to the authority, because they know what the best is for you. And most of all, rejoice, laugh in simple terms, and enjoy the moments of your life. Life is short. We only borrowed it, so handle with care. The One above won’t let us stumble. If He does, He knows that you can stand up and learn from that experience.


January—June 2011

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Breaking the Egg Shell -The Story Behind the Institution that Always on EasterPhilippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) is a scientific caring mother that sways the peaceful uses of its baby nuke. This eco-friendly haven is best suited for research enthusiasts who want to pursue medical and nuclear instrumentation and material science engineering. Being one of the chosen children, this institute helps me in gaining knowledge in various fields of research, instrument calibration, social activities and also in putting my best foot on the course of professionalism. This Institute greets me

tories, shared cranks with our bosses, ate fullpacked meals, went through dungeons, sawweir-

“I am now an expert in, quartz-nitric acid soup cooking, glassware dishwashing, and remodeling the injection type- aspirator, a good floor manager, full time construction worker, multi-tasked secretary, speedy encoder, sports enthusiast, eco-friend, keen observant, and mathematics jester all packed with Physics creative think-

Radiation Protection Services (RPS) trainees

Applied Physics Research Group and Trainees with a smile on faces that naturally give off my travelling stress. Together with my co-trainees in Applied Physics Research Group (APRG) and Radiation Protection Services (RPS): John Anthony Tan, Ron Louie G. Palacio, Gilbert Tesalona and Kate Ann R. Esguerra, Joniel F. Rumbawa, and Christian Valgomera respectively; we entered the battle of nuclear research and development activities with the commensalism of knowledge and service as civil workers. We were given the opportunity to be socially active not only in our group, but also in other divisions such as ARD, NRLSD, NSTD, FAD through sports and gaming interests. Also we’re closed to morality and spiritual thinking as blessed by the motherly director Dr. Alumanda M. Dela Rosa. I’ve observed that it’s been a habitual notion to glance and tag happiness to everyone in the compound. This once in a lifetime training prepared us to face the world of professionals. With this practicum, we discovered different and amazing walkthroughs in the compound, jumped to the labora-

does and never imagined discoveries, felt the appreciation of every kind of sciences, and knew our specific goals in life. We played with x-rays, hugged radioactive sources, physically and mentally worked-out with 45 lead blocks (12 kilos each), fetched from deionized water pool, play in the rain, sang along together and mimicked each voice, slept during broken times, and From left to right. The PNRI summer trainees: Ron Louie G. Palacio, Kate Ann R. Esguerra, Debbie V. Velasquez, Gilbert Tesalona, Joniel F. Rumbawa, Anna Grande, Paul Chavit and Christian S. Valgomera. also listened to our most favorite DJ-Jasmine. I am now an expert in, quartz-nitric acid soup cooking, glassware dishwashing, and remodeling the injection type- aspirator, a good floor “I’ve observed that it’s manager, full time construction worker, multitasked secretary, speedy encoder, sports enthusi- been a habitual notion ast, eco-friend, keen observant, and mathematics to glance and tagged jester all packed with Physics creative thinking.happiness to everyone -DEBBIE V. VELASQUEZ

in the compound.”


January—June 2011

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Quantum

22

Game Over! RONALD A. ANONUEVO Nalilito. Nang malaman kong nakapasa ako sa PUPCET, agad-agad akong tumutok sa computer at binuksan ang account ng PUP. Nang mapuntahan ko na ang mga kurso sa PUP, bigla akong nalito. Hindi ko alam kung anong kurso ang kukunin ko. At nakita ko na lamang ang aking sarili na tila ba naaakit sa kursong BS Physics. At yun na nga, mula sa araw na iyon , Certified BS Physics student na ako. Naiilang. Tumapak na nga ang aking mga paa sa tinatawag nilang Sintang Paaralan. Umakyat sa ika-anim na palapag. At pumasok sa N618. Mainit. Nakakailang ang mga kaklase ko. Pakiramdam ko nanliliit ako. Pero iba, naging masaya ang unang semestre ko kasama sila.

maalis ang takot sa dibdib ko. Kinakabahan. At ilang araw pa ang nagdaan. Marami ng mga aralin ang naituro. Marami ng takdang aralin ang naipasa. At dumating na ang unang pagsusulit namin. Pinagpawisan ako ng malagkit. Kinakabahan ako, di ko alam kung ano ang gagawin ko. Hanggang sa maubos na ang oras. BAGSAK. At ito na lamang ang aking nasabi, “Pito lang nasagutan ko,...Nag-aral naman ako..”

Watching the moon, while it’s smiling through it’s phase, I realized that the sky is the greatest place; Because gazing at that star above my face… Is the only one who knows my secret as a phrase!

Nagalak. At di ko namalayan, tapos na pala ang unang taon ko sa kanya. Kinakabahan ako. Hindi ko alam kung papasa ako. At nang tumambad sa akin ang grado ko sa Physics. Hooh! PASADO.

Each one’s life is like a game; When you win, you will have all the fame, And when you lose, maybe you can cry under the rain, Masaya. Dumaan pa ang isang taon, hindi ko Always remember, Natatakot. Sa kabutihang palad, pumasa ako sa namalayan na minahal ko na pala ang kursong no PAIN…no GAIN! unang sem. At dumating na nga ang kinatata- ito. Na nakikita ko ang aking sarili na nag-aaral kutan naming lahat, lalong lalo na ako. Dahil sa araw na ito, haharaping ko na ang major ko, Physics. At nagturo na nga ang aming professor. At bawat buka ng kanyang bibig ay ito namang kabog ng aking dibdib. Sa wakas natapos din siya. At hanggang ngayon, hindi ko pa din

tungkol sa Physics. Masaya na ako rito. Magmula sa libro, aparato, guro, hanggang sa mga kaklase ko… masasabi kong dito na nga ako. At sa mga ito, ipagpapatuloy ko pa ang paglalakbay na aking nasimulan. -RHEYMAR MORALES

Going out alive is a God’s gift, Bringing yourself for Him by retreat; For Him, no one of us will be drifted Fear Not: Radioactivity... continued from page 17 Because our Father… The probably most common forms of non – ionizing radiation are the infrared and Bluewill let us be provided. tooth. With just a simple click of a button it enables us to transfer files from one device to another via these, making things convenient for people. On the other hand, ionizing radiation is used in powering electricity and innovations in the field of medicine. These are only some of the benefits we can get from radiation. In 1945, the Americans discharged the Enola Gay, a plane carrying atomic missile. The Japanese, having mocked and degraded its ability, were astonished when the bomb landed and caused everything in its path to be ruined. The atomic bomb was a nuclear mechanism that is designed to explode and annihilate anything on its course. It is considered to be a weapon of mass destruction, a negative fact that we should take consideration. Currently, it seems that history is planning to repeat itself. Not in Japan but in the Philippines. Like any common belief, what Filipinos do not know, they are afraid of. Our lack of knowledge will make us susceptible to the adverse effects of radiation. This is a reflection that we should understand and to be aware of. Listen. Think. Act. Let’s keep in mind that knowledge is power and need not be afraid of radiation. We shouldn’t be afraid of what we don’t know, the right attitude therefore is be eager to know. -RON LOUIE G. PALACIO

Game over is not the sign of end, It’s a new beginning on how you will defend; Your soul, mind, and heart…don’t teach how to pretend, Because in our life, and in our game, God is our only friend.


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Nature’s Blessings As we open our eyes

Till life goes to a halt

To see the morning light

The world would go ahead

And the blue of the skies

And last like works of art.

Amidst eagles in fight

God’ s grace is all around

Cover the land with warm breath

He gave us intellect

From vast space above head

To know how vague all was

Surround the world like wreath

How intricate He made

Should we take care ‘till end

All of the things we’re blessed

Till time we go to bed

-JOHN PATRICK L. PORCADILLA

Lik nayi smo Unang bulas sa Iluminasyon Piring sa gamundong tradisyon Kuyom ng basag na Nasyon Nang taong pinid sa Impormasyon.

Bayan, mundo, nagkadunong at natuto Umunlad, sumiwang ang talino Tapak ng tagumpay sa siyentipiko.

Sa konsepto ng paglalang Isang moog na karunungan Impit ng kanyang pagsilang Ang pag-unga ng liknayan.

Sinukob ng natural na ideolohiya Hinawi, at kumalag ang mga teorya Batas na dumalong sa siyensiya Sa aplikasyong umanak ng teknolohiya.

Dinarang ng paghuhusga Siniil ng mura at kontrobersiya Sa lumping lupong na katanikala Ng agham ay hindi makalaya. Ngunit ng magbukas-isip ang tao

Sa modernong anyo ng panahon Sa liwanag ng bawat nasyon Sa pantas ng henerasyon, Liknayan ang pundasyon.

Tulang ginawa upang ika’y hikayatin Na maisakatuparan ang pangarap natin Ibig kong ito’y iyong bigkasin At hindi lamang basta baliwalain. Sa liknakayan, ang mukhang imposible, Ay di maaring hindi na bale. Mga bagay-bagay ay importante, Kaya kadalasa’y maraming kadebate.

Literary

ALDRIN S. BENDAL

Inaaral ay di basta-basta Kadalasan ay nagkukwenta Mahalaga rin ang bawat salita, Magbasa ng maigi ng makita.

Ang bayan sa atin nakasalalay Kaya pag-aaral ay gawing tunay, Diyos ang gawing gabay Puso dito’y nararapat ialay.

Kursong sa iba ay angat, Kaya’t dapat maging maingat Siguradong wala silang binatbat, Kapag ikaw na ang bumanat.

Pangarap na makatapos, Ay di dapat maupos. Payo ko, mag-aral ng puspos Upang kinabukasa’y di makapos.

-LOUIE JANE R. RICO

YUTA LOUIE ROLA The man who carries a book That looks like a bible. The man who loves to read But not to memorize. The man who sleeps late But comes early in the class The man who erases the board By the aid of wet cloth. The man who attracts everything But in a gravitational way. The man who can treat you special Not more special than relativity. The man who can relates all By the use of their principles. And that man is called The Physicist – Revealing Fables


January—June 2011

Research

Quantum

24 Fabrication and Characterization of Extremely Thick Macroporous Silicon Layer Synthesized via Electrochemical Etching Roma S. Lopez, Jobelle J. Gimeno, Ryan T. Diocampo Abstract Extremely thick macroporous silicon layers were fabricated from n-type silicon (100) wafers by electrochemical etching in ethanoic solution of hydrofluoric acid. At constant anodization time and electrolytic concentration the effects of current density variation on porous silicon formation were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL). 1.

Introduction Active research in porous silicon (pSi) began in 1990 when Leigh Canham showed visible photoluminescence for pSi at room temperature [1]. From then on, properties of pSi were investigated using various techniques such as x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, current-voltage photoacoustic characterizations are among others [2-5]. Its distinctive property from that of bulk silicon makes it potentially useful for a wide range of applications in optoelectronics, microelectronics, sensors and actuators, chemical sensors and biological applications [12]. However, most researches used boron-doped (ptype) silicon substrates. Literatures regarding porous structures formed in phosphorousdoped (n-type) substrates were not as vast as that of p-type silicon. Electrochemical etching in Teflon beaker is the simplest cell to fabricate pSi [6]. The crystalline silicon substrate acts as the anode while a nonreactive metal as the cathode and an aqueous hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution serves as the electrolyte. The hydrophobic nature of silicon requires the addition of ethanol in the electrolyte solution to promote deeper penetration on the silicon layers. It also improves lateral homogeneity and uniformity of pSi as well as remedies hydrogen evolution during the reaction [7]. Either voltage or anodic current can be supplied to the cell although, the latter is preferred because it allows better control on porosity and thickness [6,7]. Researches on extremely thick macroporous silicon have not been exhausted up to this date since its novel applications are not yet realized. This paper presents the fabrication and characteristics of extremely longmacroporous silicon layers formed from n-type silicon substrate via electrochemical etching. Characteristic properties were analyzed through X-ray diffraction and Photoluminescence spectroscopy.

In Figure 1, SEM cross sectional images of the 2. Experimental Details An n-type Si (100) substrate having a etched pores at different anodic current denresistivity of 0.04-0.08 ohm-cm was used in sities are shown. this study. The samples were cleaned using standard degreasing method. The cleaned silicon substrates were then etched using 24% HF concentration in absolute ethanol (1:1) for 40 minutes at fixed anodic current with corresponding current densities, 10 mA/ cm2, 50 mA/cm2, and 100 mA/cm2. The etched silicon samples were then characterized using Philips XL-30 FESEM for the determination of the pore diFigure 1 (b) mension, crystallinity and crystal quality determination using Bede D3 HRXRD. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spec- Figure 1: SEM cross-sectional micrographs showing the (a) pore width and (b) thickness of pSi troscopy was also performed. Excitation was fabricated using different anodic current. provided by a 488 nm Ar+ laser operating at 30 mW. PL from the sample was dispersed by a SPEX 500m single-grating monochromator and was detected by Hamamatsu R636 GaAs photomultiplier tube. An optical filter with cutoff of <620 nm was used to protect the detector from scattered laser lines. 3. Results and Discussion Porous silicon is a sponge-like structure made up of Si skeleton in nanometric dimensions [13]. These dimensions are determined by different parameters such as curFigure 2: XRD spectra of crystalline porous silicon rent density, electrolyte concentration, dop- anodized for 40 minutes at 10 mA/cm 50 mA/cm2, ing concentration and etching time. By conand 100 mA/cm2. trolling the anodic current itself, different SEM analysis, it was observed that sizes of pores can be produced [8]. the pore width and thickness are 3rd sample which was anodized for 100mA. Thus, extremely long high porosity . crystalline porous silicon anodized for 40 minutes at 10 mA/cm 50 mA/cm2, and 100 mA/cm2. Pore width and thickness of the pSi layers were then measured from the images and were summarized in 2. The thickness of the samples ranged nm to 160 nm. As given by IUPAC classification of pore size, a pore width greater than 50 nm is classified under Figure 1 (a) the “macro” type of pore [7]. X-ray diffraction is a versatile, non-


January—June 2011 Quantum

Research

25 destructive technique in determining crystallographic structure of crystalline materials. It allows the determination of the degree of crystallinity, lattice mismatch, expansion and strain, as well as the chemical composition. Peak broadening and decrease in intensity was observed in the XRD spectra. As the current density increases, the greater offset of the XRD spectra from ideal spectra whereas, the more perfect the crystal, the sharper the peaks. A possible implication of this is the breakdown of the crystal structure of silicon during formation of pSi at higher current density. Furthermore, because of the interconnected branches of pSi, holes are depleted from the silicon surface into a preferential transport of holes resulting to surface irregularities [9]. Irregularities in crystal structures are also indicated by PL measurements, low PL efficiency was also observed in collapsed sample as reported in earlier studies [14]. This is due to the increase in non-radiated recombination probability. Figure 3 shows the PL peak positions of the most optically active region in the samples. The sudden drop seen in the PL spectra is due to the filter cutoff used in the set-up. In the PL spectra, peak positions are observed at round 1.7 eV, which corresponds to red photoluminescence. Here, a slight blue shifting of the PL peak positions are evident. The pSi etched at 10 mA had its PL peak position at 1.73 eV. This shifted to about 1.77 eV for the samples etched at 50 and 100 mA. This blue shifting may be explained by quantum confinement as a consequence of an increase in apparent energy gap [16]. It was observed that as the supplied current is increased from 10 mA to 50 mA, the PL intensity also increased. This was due to the increase of mount of pSi formed during etching as the supplied current is increased. On the other hand, the PL intensity decreased for the samples etched using anodic current of 100 mA. This may be due to the degradation of the topmost pSi layer, which can be observed in Figure 1b. For this set of samples, optimum PL efficiency is therefore achieved for the sample with anodic current of 50 mA. In any case, it was observed that the FWHM narrows as the etching current is increased.

Figure 3. Normalized PL spectra of PSi formed at room temperature of 10 mA/cm2, 50 mA/cm2 and 100 mA/cm2 at 24% HF for 40 minutes. 100mA 50mA 10mA 36.642 80.94 165.8

4. Conclusion We have successfully fabricated extremely long macroporous having a thickness up to 130 µm with pore width of 160 nm for the sample etched at 50 to 100mA. XRD spectra showed that the pSi formed at 10 mA which measures to a thickness of 80 µm exhibit almost no deformation on silicon structure. PL measurements showed the expected trend where high porosity pSi have greater blue shift for samples that did not collapse.

Acknowledgement We acknowledge financial support from UP-OVCRD, DOST-PCASTRD and OSTSEI.

References [1] L. T. Canham, “Silicon quantum wire array fabrication by electrochemical and chemical dissolution of wafers”, Appl. Phys. Lett., 57, 1046 (1990). [2] Jia, S.L. Zang, S.P. Wong, I.H. Wilson, S.K. Hardk, Z.F. Liu and S.M. Cai, “Further evidence for the quantum confined electrochemisty model of the formation of p-type porous silicon”,Appl. Phys.Lett. 69 (1996) 339. [3] M. Jayachandran, M. Paramasivam, K.R. Murali, D.C. Trivedi and M. Raghavan, “Synthesis of porous silicon nanostructures for photoluminescent devices”, Mater. Phys. Mech., 4, 143-147 (2001). [4] Q. Shen, T. Takahashi and T. Toyoda, “Characterization of optical and thermal properties of porous silicon using photoacoustic technique”, Anal. Sci., 17, 281 (2001). [5] P. Pirasteh, J. Charrier, A. Soltani, S. Haesaert, L. Haji, C. Godon, and N. Errien, “The effects of oxidation on physical properties of porous silicon

layers for optical applications”, App. Surf. Sci., 253, 1999-2002 [6] A. Halimaoui in: L.T. Canham (Ed.), “Properties of Porous Silicon,” IEE INSPEC, the Institution of Electrical Engineers, London, 12 (1997). [7] O. Bisi, S. Ossicini and L. Pavesi, “Porous silicon: a quantum sponge structure for silicon based optoelectronics”, Surf. Sci. Rep., 38, 6 (2000). [8] E.X. Perez, “Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Porous Silicon Multilayer Optical Devices,” 2007. [9] C. Vinegoni, M. Cazzanelli, L. Pavesi, “Porous Silicon Microcavities”, Dept.of Physics, 2000. [10] K. Fukami, H. Kamakura, T. Sakka, Y.H. Ogata, “Formation Mechanism of Porous Silicon with Medium Pores: the Role of KMnO4”, Institute of Advance Energy, Kyoto University Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan. [11] A. Saha, S.H. Dutta, S.M. Hossain, S. Chakraborty, A. Saha, “Mechanism and control of formation of porous silicon on p-type Si”, Dept of Physics, revised March 7, 1998. [12] V. Parkhutik, ”Porous silicon--mechanisms of growth and applications,” Solid-State Electronics 43 (1999) pp 1121-1141. [13] R.J. Martin-Palma, L. Pascual, A.R. LandaCanovas, P. Herrero, J.M. Martinez-Duart, “HRTEM analysis of the nanostructure of porous silicon,” Materials Science and Engineering C 26 (2006) pp.830 – 834. [14] G. Le´rondel, G. Amato, A. Parisini, L. Boarino, ”Porous silicon nanocracking,” Materials Science and Engineering B 69–70 (2000) 161– 166. [15] A. Janshoff, K.P.S. Dancil, C. Steinem, D.P. Greiner, V.S-Y. Lin, C. Gurtner, K. Motesharei, M.J. Sailor, and M.R. Ghadiri, "Macroporous pType Silicon Fabry-Perot Layers. Fabrication, Characterization, and Applications in Biosensing," J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1998 120, pp 1210812116. [16] S.S. Iyer and Y-H. Xie, “Light Emission From Silicon in Porous Silicon” Zhe Chuan Feng and Rafael Tsu(ed). World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., Singapore, 1994.

“Science, technology, production— what are they without PEOPLE?” -Joan Hinton (1921—2010)


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PENDULUM ANNALIZA M. AMO and JOSEPH A. DE MESA KEVIN P. DOMINGO

People living where snow occurs use hot waters to remove the ices that are gathered. This is because hot water melts ice faster compared to cold water. As many anticipate cold water freeze faster than hot water --- because compared to cold water, hot water needs to cool down first before starting to freeze while cold water will just start to freeze. Mpemba effect is a phenomenon which occurs mostly in water, in which the hot water, under some circumstances freezes faster than the cold water in any controlled environment. This phenomenon has been described by a Tanzanian student named Erasto Mpemba observing his freezing hot ice cream mix and noticed that it freezes faster than the cold ice cream mixes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect) We conducted an experiment that would ratify this effect in other types of liquid like --- fish sauce, vinegar, soy sauce and evaporated milk -- liquids that had other chemicals. We set a 5ml of each of a kind in a test tube. Next, we boiled each liquid to reach its boiling point ----- we set that it would be at 100o Celsius. Then, as the testing product reach it; we put it on the ice bath which had a rubber stopper to trap the temperature in the vicinity and a thermometer to see the variation of the time of freezing. We waited and then recorded the interval of each liquid as they reached at 0o Celsius. As it happened, we observed and studied. We did again the process but in another temperature --- room temperature. continued on page 27

Shattered Glass Door Probe at NALLRC PUP Manila JONIEL F. RUMBAWA and LORENZO P. LOPEZ JR.

On March 8, 2009 an unexplainable incident happened at the NALRC ICT, Center PUP Sta. Mesa Manila. Based from the witnesses of the incident only the left side of the pair of the glass door was shattered violently without any intentional physical means such as smashing, lightning, thunder, and wind current from the outside. The only activity on the site was the drilling activity on a wall opposite the glass door. The strong sound waves emitted by the drilling activity produced a single specific frequency that reflected on the wall and focused on the left side of the glass door that matched the natural frequency of the glass itself so that was why the left side of the glass door was only shattered. The phenomenon in which the increase in amplitude of oscillation of a mechanical system when it is subjected to vibration from another source near its own natural frequency or the resonant frequency is that The pair of the glass door shattered (upper energy is being transferred to the system unphoto). Fragment from the shattered door der the most favorable condition is known as (above). resonance. continued on page 27

A child who used to play on a rocking chair can explain the physics of a pendulum. Children know how hard they have to push off to keep going and how firm their feet on the ground should be. They will experience a brief moment of floating where they sat motionless in mid-air as the swing changes its direction. A pendulum is a mechanical device which is composed of a string and a bob that is able to swing freely when force is applied. Galileo is often credited for having the discovery of pendulum principles when he observed the swinging chandeliers in Pisa cathedral. The story may be no more than a myth today but rather the great scientific discovery contributed to the world's knowledge and understandings of pendulums. There are a lot of types of pendulum, simple and conical pendulum is given a focus here. It is about on how the period of a simple pendulum and conical pendulum varies with the length of the pendulum, and the magnitude of the bob’s displacement from the equilibrium position. A simple pendulum is one in which the mass of the pendulum is concentrated at a point. It is obvious that the mass of a simple pendulum cannot be located at a point, since a point is defined as position without dimensions. However, the length of the string or wire supporting the mass (called the bob) can be large in comparison with the diameter of the bob. A conical pendulum is a weight (or bob) fixed on the end of a string (or rod) suspended from a pivot. Its construction is similar to an ordinary pendulum; however, instead of rocking back and forth, the bob of a conical pendulum moves at a constant speed in a circle with the string (or rod) tracing out a cone. (http:// www.lopezlink.com/Labs/Pendulum_Lab/ pendulum_lab.html) This investigation aimed to know the factors affecting the period of simple and conical pendulum. Using corks, string and force frame as the major materials, we recorded the time it takes the cork for one complete cycle. By varying the possible variables present, we’ve concluded that the period of simple and conical pendulum is dependent on the length of the string, the mass of the cork and the angle of


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Freezing... ARIANNE GAIL S. RIVERA Furnace is an equipment that can generate heat, a temperature as high as 1100oC. With this, heat treatments like brazing, sintering and annealing of materials would be possible. Therefore, new material from raw can be fabricated accordingly as well as substance modifications. Thin films and nanostructures like ceramic superconductors are examples of the products produced by the use of a furnace. Research in these topics is currently active and continually expanding. To be competitive in such research, L. Gianan, R. Maquinad and V. Sayson, and I supervised by our NIP-CMPL-Superconductor advisers constructed a box furnace to develop our potentials especially in the field of Material Science. These are all achievable for the following reasons: 1. Furnace is already available in the PUP- College of Science Laboratory 2. Chemicals in making samples are obtainable 3. There are accessible instructors who specializes the line of work stated.

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Why did we use this type of experiment? It would be easy for us to identify which of which were valid. All of them actually froze faster as they were hot and those that were cold took a long time to reach their freezing points. The result shown in the table --- milk has the shortest time to reach its boiling point and the soy sauce has the longest period. Now, we can wholly say that the Milk has the great potential to exhibit Mpemba effect. In a relative manner, soy sauce, vinegar and fish sauce also validated the said effect but it is too quite. For the good outcome of the study, it is convenient to perform it in a laboratory What are the possible causes of this effect? This behaviour exhibited by certain liquids is thought to have violated the laws of thermodynamics but they actually do not. Even if there is no conclusive explanation about this, several physical factors are considered why this behaviour of certain liquids occurs. These include the concepts of evaporation. Although this does not account for the whole effect, it does contribute because it reduces the volume of the boiling sample. Convection is another factor. Higher convection in the warmer water may spread the ice crystals faster. Frost also has its contribution on the effect. It has insulating Some liquid samples that have effects. The warmer water will tend to freeze from the the Mpemba property. bottom while the lower-temperature water tend to freeze from atop. Super cooling is also considered. It is thought that lower-temperature water when placed in a cold environment cools faster than warm water but solidifies slower at the same time. It depends also on the set-up of the experiment and the materials used may also affect the variation of the outcome of the study. In fact, as we will see, there are multiple papers confirming the existence of the Mpemba effect and we just opened it again for you to know a phenomenon that is not taught nowadays. It is also clear that scientists’ theoretical views influence what experiments they choose to do, to trust and to think about.

In conclusion; furnace is built, new Shattered Glass Door Probe... materials can be fabricated, and unstoppable continued from page 26 Resonance is a very interesting and very powerful phenomenon. In a related research has just started in PUP, henceforth, we, students of science will be proficient as relation for another vivid dramatic demonstration of resonance is when a singer broke a glass by just singing in high pitch note. The singer creates sound wave with a frequency we move to different industries. equal to the natural frequency of the glass, causing the glass to vibrate at its natural or resonant frequency so energetically that causes to glass itself to shatter. According to Mr. Rogelio G. Dizon who is the first investigator on this incidence, the possible cause for this incidence is resonance. Based on our further reinvestigation we found out also that resonance is only the possible cause why the glass door shattered in the said area. (R. Dizon, PUP Manila, 2009) PENDULUM continued from page 26

Nowadays, pendulums have many real-world uses in science and other fields. The most commonly recognized use of pendulums is in keeping time observed in clocks. It is also widely used in music, also in presentation of magic tricks, it can also used in accelerometers the devices that measure acceleration. The furnace.


Notes

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My hymn My discipline In cooperation with the PUP Physics Society theme, an introduction of its first ever hymn was composed by Debinya B. Buenafe, a BS Physics junior student. It was presented during the 13th General Assembly marking a new face Assem for the society. Truly, Tru it is the golden era for the Physics students. The Physics Hymn harmonically states the life of every physics students now and then. Most of them find it a stressor, a curse rather than a course. Staring, at his own notes, trying to understand each of their concepts. Some thought that physics is boldly written in the language of mathematics: integration, exponential functions, different logarithmic properties , trigonometry and algebra...Man! My brain may pop at any moment. Getting a failing grade is not always an option. It is an absurd action for every physics-competitor. Thinking of much for the future is a literal stupidity. By way, things must go on, since, in every challenge, there’s a

helping hand that always backs-up. Physics is not only a subject of knowledge. It is a subject of imagination together with hard work. The reality of each combined dimensional space is purely its secret. It is a collection of factional data of any man of the history. Remember, Mohammad even uttered, “split an atom and in its heart you’ll find a sun.” PUP Physics Society visions every student to appreciate and to have an acclivity of awareness of all physics behind. Life is full of surprises and still, these are logically arranged to any physics concepts. If it can’t be explained by Newton, try Einstein. If it does not work, go on to Quantum YET if still it doesn’t work, make a research, make a study. Who knows you’ll be a Nobel prize awardee. Things are part of the growing knowledge. It is how we accede every momentum, where PhySoc always have an open-hand for every interested body. -DEBBIE V. VELASQUEZ


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