Fun with Packing Peanuts

See, it is cold and dry here in the frigid northern wastes, which creates the interesting condition, for those of us with hair that is frizzy no matter what, of generating vast amounts of static electricity. Which induces thing like scraps of paper and, yes, packing peanuts, to stick. Everywhere. It took me several minutes to get them all off. Then I went and touched a ground plug.

What have I been up to the last few days?

Well, I learned how an electron gun works*. This particular one is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and it is lie this: the SEM shoots a beam of electrons at the sample. These electrons are not moving at normal electron speeds, which are actually quite small, on the order of tenths of millimeters per second**, normally. No, these electrons are moving at several hundred thousand kilometers per second. Even though they are quite small, they hit the sample with comparatively large force***. Some bounce back. Some go through several layers of atoms and the bounce back. Some displace the samples' own electrons, and those are the electrons that wander around. Some simply cause radiation. You look at the electrons that bounce back, and the electrons that drift around, and the radiation, and get a picture.

The smallest thing an electron microscope can see is about six nanometers across. That's the size of a hydrogen atom, and it's pretty much the smallest thing there is****. We only use it for a scale of microns, or micrometers, one thousandth of a millimeter, ie, Very Tiny. At that resolution, you can see all sorts of interesting things about steel.

After work, I took JJ to his violin lesson, which meant we went to the Borders opposite, and of course I spent far to much time there. On the plus side, I read Pratchett's new book, Making Money. Now I want a Cabinet.

Today I did sample prep, which will probably get old fast but right now it is bright and new and shiny and involves me cutting up large hunks of iron with Dangerous Machines. Or aluminum. Or plastic. Whatever, really. Also, I took some pictures with a microscope. A very powerful optical microscope that brings us into the lower resolution micron scale. That was fun.

I had Thai for lunch, as hot as it came. Which was pretty damn hot. There are leftovers :3

And then I read test methods. I hate reading test methods, but you have to do it, or you have no idea how to do the tests. At least this time around they have actual scheduled, programed, certification training.

So, work does not completely suck. Yay! \o/

*To be fair, there are lots of different types of electron gun, and I only learned this one. Still.

**If they are delocalized and drifting in an electric current.

***For an electron. I mean, you wouldn't feel it if it hit you.

****Except for quarks . . .