The Hanson Research Group’s first experiment—initiated my second day on the job—involved two strategically placed Brinno TLC200 time-lapse cameras programmed to take one photo per day. The video from our first camera that covered our less-trafficked support space was posted in March. Below is the video from our second camera, which was placed in the main lab and focused on one of our fume hoods.
In January the Hanson Research Group (@HansonFSU) introduced Photo Friday, a twitter-based ‘best picture of the week’ (#picpickoftheweek). Since then my students have created an amazing collection of photographs depicting our research, equipment, and chemicals. I’d like to highlight my six favorite photos so far (in no particular order).
In the first picture a reaction mixture, under UV light, is cooled to -78°C using a dry ice-acetone bath. Emission is usually more intense when molecules are cooled because it slows vibrational relaxation (non-radiative decay).
The second picture shows a fluorescent dye in dichloromethane being poured into an Erlenmeyer flask under UV-light (365 nm).
Picture three offers a glimpse inside the excitation monochromator of our fluorometer. The device is composed of a grating, to disperse the white light (xenon lamp source) into its components, and mirrors to direct the monochromatic light toward the sample.
Photo four is a very stylized look at one of our variable magnetic field cuvette holders. The knob you see in the bottom right is used to move the neodymium magnets closer or further away from the cuvette. With the magnets next to the cuvette we get a field of about 0.35 T at the point of emission. The dry ice adds an ethereal feel to the photo but more importantly allows us to see the laser beam.
Emission from molecules bound to semiconducting films depend on the energy of the chromophore, the conduction band of the semiconductor, the solvent, and other variables. Photo five demonstrates how the distance between the molecule and the semiconductor can affect emission intensity.
The concentration gradients that occur when a solid dissolves in solvent is easy to visualize using fluorescent molecules, as shown in picture six. Eventually the color will even out but the process is relatively slow without stirring.
Follow us on twitter (@HansonFSU) for more more of our #picpickoftheweek.
Eight months ago the Hanson Research Group announced our first experiment on twitter. We set out to capture, via pictures, the transition from an empty space to a fully functioning lab. This involved two Brinno TLC200 time-lapse cameras programmed to take one photo per day. Last week we stopped the camera located in the support lab. Here are the results:
The support lab is predominantly dedicated to solar cell assembly so—from the right side of the screen and moving towards the left—you can see the following: a glass cutting mat, the pressure-heat, cell sealing apparatus and the box furnace. Here are a few things to note:
We originally planned to let the support lab camera run for a full year but then decided to stop it early for two reasons. First, there is relatively low traffic in the area and most of the major changes were completed in the first 3 to 4 months. Second, we became impatient and decided that there were more interesting things in lab we could capture. Follow us on twitter (@HansonFSU, #picpickoftheweek) to keep up with our future time-lapse experiments – and let us know in the comments if you have any suggestions for other things to capture.
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