Follow your spirit; and, upon this charge...

A laser bouncing around in a tube. This demonstrates
the same properties used in fiber-optic cable

Shakespeare was talking about a different kind of charge in Henry V. The focus of the day was on electricity. In class this morning, we first finished up the lab from Friday. In this lab, we measured the width of a slit that we shined a laser through, based on the distance between the laser and the screen and the pattern we observed. We had error of about 5 to 10%. This is rather amazing, because we were calculating things on the order of microns based on measurements taken in centimeters with regular metersticks. I am glad that today we have tools with amazing accuracies. Not very long ago, it was nearly impossible to get high-precision measurements. The advance of technology is a wonderful thing for science. Quite recently, we were able to capture images of molecules. The first commercial scanning electron microscope was only sold in 1965.

After wrapping up optics, we moved on to charge. Shakespeare also said, in Midsummer Night's Dream, "I charge thee, hence, and do not haunt me thus." Demetrius must have had the same charge as Helena, as like charges repel. We learned about this, among other properties during a series of lectures. Our teacher also wheeled out a Van de Graaff generator. It was used to talk about how charge and voltage works. Our teacher also talked about voltage in comparison to rock climbing. I particularly enjoyed this metaphor, as I rock climb. He showed some topographical maps, then some diagrams of electric field. The parallel was clear.

We then did a lab about Ohm's law. Macbeth said, "My soul is too much charged with blood of thine already." We used a wire, not a soul, and a current generator, not blood of thine. We made a circuit, placing in a resistor. We then made a graph of current versus voltage. "And we must take current when it serves [to illustrate Ohm's law]" (Julius Caesar). After this lab, I returned to my room to do a bit more programming. I then had dinner, and then I programmed some more. I would end with a final Shakespeare quote, but you would probably say the same as Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night: "Enough; no more."