• Question: Do you use high tech machinery

    Asked by anon-240028 to Struan, Douglas, David on 6 Mar 2020.
    • Photo: Struan Simpson

      Struan Simpson answered on 6 Mar 2020:

      Sometimes! For my PhD, I’m really interested in understanding the structure of the materials I make, in particular the 3D layout of the atoms and how they interact with each other. To do this, I get to visit scientific facilities such as nuclear reactors, which can produce subatomic particles that can tell us this information. We use high-tech machinery to pass these particles through my materials and catch them on the other side, which is what lets us figure out their structure.

    • Photo: Douglas Bray

      Douglas Bray answered on 17 Mar 2020:

      I do use some high tech equipment. I have used an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma with Optical Emission Spectroscopy which determines the elemental composition of a material.

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