Chris Conniff, a 2006 graduate of Manchester Township High School, came back to Manchester to speak to students about an undergraduate project he worked on with Princeton Plasma Physics Lab and NASA.  Conniff and his project teammates, Michael Baker, Darrick Jones, and Aliya Merali participated in research on dusty plasma, which led to them being chosen to be among a select few undergraduates to perform their research in NASA’s zero gravity plane.

“I’m sure you’re wondering, just what the heck is dusty plasma?” said Darrick.  First, he explained that plasma is the fourth state of matter.  The first state is solid and if you heat a solid it will melt into a liquid.  If more heat is applied that liquid will become a gas.  When more heat is applied to a gas, atoms begin to collide with each other resulting in a combination of ions, electrons and neutrals which constitute the fourth state of matter called plasma. 

Chris explained that dusty plasmas are plasmas with tiny particles (dust) floating around in them.  Michael said that dusty plasmas make up 90% of the visible universe and are evident in lightning, stars, nebulae, neon and fluorescent lights, and plasma screen TV’s.

The team’s experiment involved developing a new imaging technique to observe dusty plasmas.  They used electromagnetic force to counteract the force of gravity on the dust, but wanted to perform their experiment in zero gravity so that a smaller electromagnetic force could be used, said Aliya.  They submitted a proposal to NASA’s Microgravity University and were accepted to perform their experiment on a special plane that creates microgravity for brief moments by flying in an arc.  Michael explained that, much like on a roller coaster, when you get to the top of the arc, you experience weightlessness for about 30 seconds and then suddenly drop to the floor and are pinned down by strong g-forces.

They showed a video of their NASA experience, where they floated weightless while trying to conduct their experiment during each 30-second window.  They all agreed it was an amazing experience.

Aliya said their results were not exactly what they expected but over the summer they were able to figure out what the problem was and they have been accepted to fly again this June.  Now they are also working on creating zero gravity with heat in order to perform their research on the ground.

For more information and photos visit the team’s website at www.tcnj.edu/~teamdpx .