MSE 510
Electrical, Optical & Dielectric Materials
Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering
Spring 2015/Bill Knowlton
Project 1
This objective of this project is three-fold: first, to familiarize you with projects in this course, second, to
familiarize you with Mathematica or a mathematical program of your choice, and third, to encourage you to
review chapter 1 in the textbook. Although you may work with others on this project, this project is an
individual-based project.
Project 1:
• Due Friday, 1/16:
o Choose one of the topics listed below
o Find a peer reviewed journal article, conference paper, or web site (must be peer
reviewed) that presents experimental data on the chosen topic. Be sure to reference your
journal article in your project.
• Due Thursday, 1/22
o Extract the data from the journal article and place in a .csv file (cvs = comma separated
value; Excel can create this type of file)
o Import the data into Mathematica or a mathematical program (not Excel or Excel-like
programs such as OpenOffice) of choice (e.g, Matlab, Maple, JMP, Origin, Mathcad,
etc.)
o Plot the data and discuss trends
o Fit the data using:
 For Mathematica:
• Manipulate[ ] and extract fitting parameters
• NonLinearFitModel[ ], evaluate the goodness of fit, and extract useful
physical parameters
 Other mathematical program – must fit data, evaluate the goodness of fit, and
extract useful physical parameters
o Perform an statistical error analysis on the fit – must define the statistical error analysis
approach you use (provide a paragraph description and reference)
o Perform mathematical operations on the fit (e.g., integration, differentiation, etc) and plot
the results to extract a physical parameter
 Examples:
• By differentiating Arrhenius data, the activation energy of the thermally
activated process can be extracted.
• By integrating stress-strain data, the energy absorbed by the material can
be extracted.
 Comment on the physical validity of the physical parameter you extracted. That is,
what is the accuracy of your extracted physical parameter (e.g., relative error).
o Your report should include the following sections:
I. Title, authors, affiliations
II. Abstract
III. Introduction - with motivation: Brief Introduction of the paper(s), what
they are attempting to demonstrate, & reasons for which you have interest
in the work.
IV. Approach & Analysis – should frame the problem, provide a schematic of
the problem, and contain part a.
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MSE 510
Electrical, Optical & Dielectric Materials
Dept. of Materials Science & Engineering
Spring 2015/Bill Knowlton
V. Results & Discussion
a. Your results findings
b. Assumptions made in the paper(s) you are analyzing
c. Your assumptions you have made
d. Why your analysis is similar or differs from the outcome of the
paper(s) you are analyzing
VI. Conclusion
VII. Applications that includes at least 1 reference
VIII. References: should include at least 2 if not more
o Be sure to show depth, rigor, and creative and critical thinking in your analysis
o For assistance in writing, see “Anatomy of a Journal Article”
Topics Covered in Chapter 1:
• Van der Waals bonding – the Lennard-Jones 6-12 potential energy relation (Examples 1.4-1.5 &
•
•
Problems 1.6-1.7)
o Find data (not in our textbook) that the Lennard-Jones potential describes well
Molecular velocity and energy distribution (Figure 1.22)
o Find data (not in our textbook) of molecular velocity of gases at various temperatures
Thermally activated processes – vacancy concentration (Examples 1.15 & 1.16); diffusion
(Example 1.12)
o Find data (not in our textbook) of vacancy concentrations in metals or semiconductors
o Find data (not in our textbook) of diffusion of a certain type of atom in another type of
solid.
Note: When dealing with units of energy in this course, use units of eV only.
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