We plan to use chemical reaction-diffusion waves propagating in a channel to visualize the drift velocities of electrons in a conductor. The drift velocity is surprisingly small, just tenth of a millimeter per second. This is in the velocity range of BZ fronts.
Using the formula for the current I = nAvQ, we can use this equation to explore different variables. Depending on the configuration of the setup, we could visualize the electron drift velocity in, for example, different conductors/semiconductors or for different currents.
Research Experiences during the academic year
- Gus Thomas ’25 (2022FA – today)
NSF-REU Summer research experience (click for more info)
- Gus Thomas – College of Wooster (2023): One-Dimensional BZ Chemical Wave System as an Electron Drift Analog
- Mahala Wanner – Ohio University (2022): Table-top Analogues Using Chemical Waves: Electron Drift Velocity
Oral presentations (click for more info)
- Mahala Wanner: “Visualizing electron drift velocity“, 2023 APS March meeting, Las Vegas, NV, 2023 March 5-10
- Mahala Wanner: “Table-top Analogues Using Chemical Waves: Electron Drift Velocity”, 2022 Fall Meeting of the APS Eastern Great Lakes Section, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Mi, 2022 October 21-22 (Wooster News article for winning the Undergraduate Oral Presentation Award)