This week we ran our samples from our experiments over the past few weeks through the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The SEM is located in the basement floor of the Brockman Hall for physics were we have been having the past few OURI meetings.

An interesting aspect of the room where the microscope is kept is that the walls are covered in Acoustic Foam (like a recording studio); the reason behind this is because the microscope is so sensitive that vibrations and acoustic noises can cause disturbances in its performance, so noise attenuation is critical for accurate imaging.

We looked at different samples that had differences in mass of salts in their original solutions. Unfortunately, we saw just one salt crystal in just one of six samples. It felt like a let down at the moment, but that’s the whole point of this research – we are looking for multiple aspects of what makes (or breaks) our module.

Although we did not get results we were hoping for, I did get to play around with the microscope and took some pretty groovy pictures. These are not salt crystals, but they are artifacts in our samples that could be due to other contaminants in the water.

I particularly liked this picture because of the ~perfectly~ round ball in the center.

Next week, I start the ‘virtual’ part of my internship, so I am preparing myself for data analysis and acquiring as much information as I can to start the poster.