After one month at JPL...
Time is flying by! I can hardly believe I’m almost halfway through this experience, which continues to be one of the best of my life. I’m quite certain it is going to be hard to leave this place at the end of the summer…
My appreciation for spectroscopy continues to grow with each day at work. The tremendous wealth of information that these techniques can provide about our universe is simply stunning. As I’ve described in previous posts, it is the quantum mechanical nature of the universe that allows us to glean information about sources of radiation simply by ‘looking at’ at them, regardless of how far away they are. Every element and molecule built out of those elements carries a unique signature of sorts which can be deciphered in the laboratory. This signature changes in subtle ways as a function of the nearby environment (temperature, pressure, etc.), but the fundamental structure of the signature is unchanged. In this sense, methane, for example, ‘looks the same’ in the laboratory as it does in the Earth’s atmosphere, or in the atmosphere of Titan, or even on an exoplanet 63 light years away.
It’s interesting to consider that the universe didn’t need to be this way. We can argue on the metaphysical nuances of a statement like that (indeed, I would very much enjoy that! This isn’t the place though…), but I think the point still stands. I can certainly imagine a universe in which the radiation coming from a source carries much more limited information about the source itself and its environment. Our universe, in contrast, broadcasts information left and right, far and wide. With some committed theoretical and experimental work, we can understand that information and read the secrets of far off places in the universe that we may never get the chance to experience up close. We can even apply spectroscopy to other galaxies that are hundreds of millions if not billions of light years away. It is very fortunate, in my opinion, that we live in a universe that lends itself to being understood in this way, and I believe that pursuit of this understanding leads to progress.
“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”
Rachel Carson - Marine Biologist
I had a particularly interesting and rewarding interaction with my mentor this week. I was inspecting the spectral data that he had collected for the molecule I am studying, n-butane, and came across an interesting looking feature. Recall that a spectrum looks something like the following:
When we talk about ‘features’ of a spectrum, we’re talking about places where the spectrum is not simply flat, like the large downward spikes you see in the CO2 spectrum above, indicating the frequencies of light that CO2 ‘likes’ to absorb and emit. Anyway, the feature that I was looking at resembled something called a “hotband”. These are associated with transitions between excited states of an atom/molecule, as opposed to transitions between the ground (lowest energy) state and an excited state. Because these features become more active at higher temperatures (hence the name hot band), you can detect them by observing multiple spectra of the same molecule at different temperatures. If a feature is present in warmer spectra and absent in colder spectra, you might be looking at a hotband.
I called my mentor over to confirm this observation, as the concept was still fairly new to me at the time, and I wanted to check my understanding. He inspected the feature that I had plotted for about ten seconds before saying (I paraphrase) ‘Yes, that is a hotband! Now, recognize and appreciate that you are the first human being to see this particular feature of butane.’
He wasn’t exaggerating at all in that statement. These data were collected using a state-of-the-art instrument at extremely high resolution. Every day that I work with this data, I have the privilege of being the first person on the planet to read the geometric and quantum mechanical details of this molecule, the first agent of the universe with access to these impressively fine details. It is for reasons like this that science is so inherently rewarding to me. Every experiment, every observation, every analysis carries with it the possibility of discovery. We can pursue those discoveries purely for the sake of discovery itself, but it is also worth recognizing the benefits (technologies, medicine, etc.) that come along with a refined understanding of the universe.
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
-Carl Sagan
That’s enough science for now! Here are some lighter thoughts concerning JPL and my experience.
The 9/80 schedule at JPL: Full time employees at JPL have the option of what is called a 9/80 schedule. This means that while you still work 80 hours across a two week pay period, you have one Friday off during that time. So, every other Friday is an RDO (regular day off) Friday, allowing for a three day weekend with each paycheck. You make up these hours by working an extra ninth hour on Monday-Thursday of those two weeks. Friday work days are eight hours long. So, every first week of the pay period, you get to go home and start the weekend one hour early, and every second week, you get a three day weekend! I really like this schedule myself, but I can certainly imagine scenarios where the more conventional 8 hours a day, 5 days a week schedule might be more appropriate.
The nearby riding club: JPL is surrounded by a large horseback riding club. I work in the southernmost building of JPL near some of the stables, so, every day, I get to see riders going out on the trails or practicing dressage. As methane gas is a focal point of the study that takes place in my building, proximity to all of these horses is…..rather interesting.
Cyclists at JPL: JPL loves cyclists, it seems. There are incentives in place to bike to work, and there are even several tune up stations located around the lab with tools and air pumps. As someone who is very mindful of environmental impact, it is really nice to be acknowledged and taken care of in these ways.
Getting some air into my bike tires at JPL. It was difficult to pry that coffee thermos out of my hands to be able to take this photo.
Still loving the commute: I’ve commuted by bicycle every day for the past two weeks, and I absolutely love it. It’s about 8 miles of riding, all together. It’s a great way to start the morning and a nice way to finish the work day. It’s a pretty scenic ride, and I’ve only had trash thrown out of a car at me once so far. That’s a pretty good record…
Weather: I absolutely love the weather in this area. We had a bit of a heat wave recently that lasted two days, with temperatures above 100F. With practically no humidity in the air, though, this feels cooler to me than a typical 80 degree summer day in Florida. Comparing the forecasts for this area and for Florida makes me want to never leave this place. I mean, do I have to?
That’s it for now! Thanks for tuning in. :)