Photo by Mateo Rocha

Thomas Jefferson Students can now receive college credits from Arapahoe Community College if they are enrolled in and passing any of the six Concurrent Enrollment CTE classes offered at TJ.

TJ’s Computer Magnet and Business Departments have one of the highest number of Career Technology Education (CTE) courses offered among DPS high schools, so it is no wonder that Arapahoe Community College was impressed with the high quality of the curriculum. The college took a look at the syllabi for the courses offered by the TJ Computer and Business Departments and determined that they coordinated with at least six of the courses that ACC offers. Courses offered at TJ include: Photo Journalism 2 with Jeff Coleman, Web Design 1&2 and 3&4 with Jerry Esparza, Marketing with Matt Nicolo, Software Engineering with Stacey Fornstrom, and Intro to Computer Magnet with Eileen Adair and Grant Laman.

This opportunity will begin this semester for interested Spartans who are already members of the Computer Magnet or the Business Department. These students also have to take the Acuplacer test, which is a college entrance exam. TJ students who wish to pursue careers in a wide variety of pathways can take advantage of this opportunity by taking one of the many computer magnet classes, receive three credits per class, and have DPS pay for the tuition.

“I’m really excited about this partnership with Arapahoe Community College because our students in the Magnet are so advanced that they deserve the recognition and college credit for the hard work they do,” said CCT Director Matt Spampinato.  “It’s cool, because our students are actually now enrolled at ACC and are receiving these credits free of charge.  Even if they choose not to attend ACC, many of the credits may be transferable to other colleges and universities.”

Spampinato isn’t the only teacher excited about this new prospect for TJ CTE students. “I think it’s new, therefore there are a lot of questions, but at the same time it’s a tremendous opportunity for students that are taking these courses and are able to receive college credits,” said Grant Laman.

Spartans planning on a career in broadcasting, journalism, marketing, programing, web design,or many others in the communication field can learn more about this worthy opportunity from Spampinato or any of the CTE teachers.

Artwork By: Hayden Johnson

The new addition to TJ’s math department last year, Nick Tussing, is not only performing his duties as a teacher but this semester he will also begin and advise the new TJ Robotics Club. “I love math, science, and technology, and I strongly believe that this club and the competition is a good intersection between all of them,” said Tussing.

In January 2011 Thomas Jefferson students will be able to join the Robotics Club sponsored by the National F.I.R.S.T. Foundation (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) , an organized competition for elementary, middle, high school, and college students. Tussing, a math and science major, and also a technology lover, says, “Robots are used in most productions and they are important in developing our future.”

The club will be open to any student who is interested in design, programming, building, and even marketing. “Students don’t need to just be interested in design or building; students who are in the marketing class and are interested in joining can also be a part of the group. Marketing students’ jobs will be to find sponsors for the team,” said Tussing.

The competition will allow the group of students to design and build a robot with the materials given, and the team must also have the robot perform the tasks assigned. “There are several roles for students to play, so not everyone has to know how to construct a design,” adds Tussing.

The competition will begin by the end of March when all the robots built will play games assigned, and the best robots will move on to the next competition. Like many other scholastic contests, the best teams can go on to regional and national levels. “I can’t wait until the competition begins. I’m ready to see what the finished products will look like and the joy on Mr. Tussing’s face when he sees the finished robot,” said Senior and Third Year Programming Student Aaryn Bradley. Tussing will be there to guide students through the process;  he will also play a major role in helping students make connections with actual engineers and designers who can answer any of their questions.

Although the club is brand new, many students have already signed up. “I’m proud to be one of the members of the club. I’m really excited for this club and I hope it continues to grow and expand throughout the years,” said Bradley.

To become a part of the new Robotics Club, TJ students can find Tussing in room 128.

Photo by Mia Nogueira

Prompted by state law mandating that 20% of DPS energy comes from renewable resources, and thanks to a public-private partnership between DPS and three local energy companies, funding was secured for the installation of several hundred solar panels on the roof of TJ that began on August 31, 2010.

Beginning the third week of the new school year, crews at TJ began to mount several hundred solar panels on the roof here at TJ near the south-west teachers’ parking lot. “The response to the solar panels has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Assistant Principal Scott Lessard.

Joining five other DPS schools so far in the project, TJ became part a public-private partnership between DPS, Boulder-based Namaste Solar, Denver-based Oak Leaf Energy Partners, and MP2 Capital. Working at the Convention Center and at DIA, Namaste Solar has sponsored many green projects in the Denver metro area. “Namaste leased DPS the equipment for 25 years and has been responsible for the installation,” said Lessard.

The partnership will affect an estimated 17 to 20 schools district-wide, and has helped obtain over three million dollars in grants from Excel Energy and 2.5 million dollars worth of federal funding, allowing certain Denver Public Schools to be partially powered by the sun. “The grants are to help support green energy,” said Lessard.

Installation of these panels took about three weeks to complete before they were activated for use by TJ on September 10. “During the peak production, the 440 panels will add 90 kilowatts to the grid. It will not be enough to completely cover our use, but it will be substantial,” said Lessard.

Although TJ will not see any direct financial benefits, DPS, paying nothing for the panels, will begin saving money on energy costs as soon as the panels become active. MP2 Capital’s CEO Mark Lerdal predicts that DPS will save 1.1 million dollars over the course of the program. “Denver Public Schools had savings on day one,” said Lerdal in a 9 News interview. “They don’t pay anything. They paid less for their electricity the second that we turned the project on. For Denver Public Schools, it’s a win right away.”

Lessard feels that TJ will benefit from the panels, not financially, but in its conscience and in the classroom. “TJ will benefit by the feeling of good will that comes from making less of a carbon footprint. Not only are we diminishing our dependence on fossil fuels, we are adding a learning opportunity for our students,” said Lessard.

Students will be learning in the classroom about the solar farm on TJ’s roof in the brand-new Green Club, sponsored by Brett Butera and Scott Thomas. The new club, inspired in part by the panels, is focused on informing the students involved in the club how the solar panels work by collaborating closely with Namaste Solar. “The Green Club is also geared toward educating TJ’s student population as a whole as well as TJ’s community about how to live responsibly and sustainably with the environment,” says Thomas.

The club hopes to open the eyes of the TJ community through several projects, including maintaining a website and through meeting once per month. If any student would like to join, contact Butera or Thomas via email or just stop by one of the meetings. Thomas says that anyone is welcome to drop by the meetings, held in Butera’s room number 119, and see what they’re about.

Photo by Rebecca Holt

Every year, TJ Physics Teacher Nelson Vore, assigns his physics classes design projects where they use their physics knowledge to build something that will out-do the rest of their classmates.

Usually this project is a scrambler or a catapult; but this is the first year that an AP physics class has been in the picture at TJ, so Vore had to discover a newer, more challenging project for his advanced students. After much contemplation, Vore decided to have his students build canoes entirely out of cardboard and then physically get inside the boats and race them around the pool. “I was at a summer camp for AP teachers last summer when I met a teacher from Dougherty High School in Colorado Springs who has been doing the cardboard canoes for several years.  I had been looking for some really different unique project for the AP course.  I knew I would have to push the AP students pretty hard all year to adequately prepare them for the AP exam, and I wanted something that would just be pure fun – a way to let go a little of the studying stress.  As soon as I heard about the cardboard canoes I knew that that was the project I had been looking for,” exclaimed Vore.

There were three groups that participated in this extra credit project, and each group built its own canoe. This reporter was actually a part of one of the three groups along with Alexandra Kaufhold and Akaxia Cruz. The second group consisted of Andrea Shacklock and Stephanie Warren, and the third group was comprised of Gilbert Carino and Jordan Shelton.

The task at hand was for the students to build a canoe while following strict guidelines, then row their canoes the full 25 meter-length pool and then back to the starting point, while being timed. Each group performed this timed race individually. This reporter’s group was randomly chosen to sail its boat first. Kaufhold watched from the sidelines as Akaxia and I climbed in the boat to test what we had built. With the two of us in the boat, it successfully floated. However, the design of the boat was not stable, and it tipped as soon as we started to paddle. Therefore, this group did not complete the race successfully, and received third place. “Since the project was simply for extra credit, we were mostly just focused on the fun of it, and not on the points we would earn. We were in if for the experience, and even though we went down right away, I had an awesome time and I’m glad we decided to participate,” said Akaxia.

Carino and Shelton successfully floated in their boats, and were able row their boats to the end of the pool and back in about a minute and a half.  “We were happy to have our boat succeed. We worked really hard on it, but it is just really nerve racking when you have to enter a competition without being able to test anything. So even if we didn’t win we were still excited to be able to finish the race,” said Carino.

The two other groups were most intimidated by Shacklock and Warren’s sturdy and professional–looking canoe. Just as everyone had expected, the two girls were also able to propel their boats the required distance with the exact same time as Carino and Shelton. With this unlikely outcome, Vore made the decision to have the two boats race side by side in an intense tiebreaker. Both groups’ boats survived this race but the girls finished the race first, as Carino and Shelton had trouble steering their boats. “I was worried because our boat was so heavy we didn’t think it would even float,” said Shacklock.

After the victory, our previous opponents allowed Akaxia and I, along with whomever else we could pack into their canoe, to play around and navigate in the pool to test their boat’s limits. Eventually, after having six of us in there, the boat collapsed. “Being able to fit six people in our boat was possibly the greatest moment of my life when we didn’t even think with two of us it would float,” said Warren.

The project was generally a success, aside from this reporter’s failure. “Whenever you do something like this for the first time there are usually all sorts of things that can go wrong.  Fortunately, I was lucky to have the complete Dougherty rules, which turned out to have been very well thought out – so no major mess-ups occurred – it all went very smoothly.  It was amazing watching Gilbert and Jordan’s wide, flat-bottomed boat concept in action – I was thinking it might not be stable and might capsize, but it swam like a duck.  And Andrea’s and Stephanie’s cardboard ‘battleship’ was awesome – at the end it actually held six passengers (for a short while).  Alex, Rachel and Akaxia’s overnight wonder didn’t make it very far, but it was a lot of fun watching them make the attempt.   I am already thinking about how the event could be improved for next year,” said Vore.

Artwork by Rachel Wilson

The popularity of 3-D movies in theaters has grown tremendously over the past year. In 2010, it seems as if every big-time production can also be seen in 3-D.  Polar Express seemed to jumpstart people’s interest in 3-D entertainment as well as this year’s box office thrills, James Cameron’s Avatar and Tim Burton’s Alice and Wonderland. Now, this thrill that swept the movie theaters is headed for America’s living rooms.

Panasonic, Sony, and Samsung are all releasing home-theaters that can display high definition, full-length movies in 3-D. It is even probable that within a few years, live television will be broadcasted in high-def 3-D.

America has already become familiar with the Blu-Ray player, the DVD player that reads its discs with a blue laser, rather than a red one. This allows the disc to store a significantly larger amount of information than the regular DVD player. We see depth when images from our left and right eyes merge into one. The reason that a blu–ray player is needed for 3D movies is the fact that blu-ray discs have enough room to store separate signals for each eye, as well as the coding necessary to specify which image is meant for the left and ride sides. For the TV to be 3D capable, a converter chip and software is needed to break down the signal and separate the left and right images. Then, the polarization of the glasses allows the viewer to see the final effects of his or her favorite movies in eye-popping action.

One way of seeing images in 3D is through an active glass system. This is the system being used to create 3D TVs for people’s homes. In this system, the glasses work because the polarization of the lenses blocks one eye at a time so that each eye sees the frame meant for it. The glasses know when to change polarization when a radio or infrared wave pulses from the TV, signaling that the image on the TV is changing.

Another method is through a passive glass system. This system requires the red and blue lens paper glasses that come by the binful at theme park 3D theaters. The concept is simple and cheap: the screen projects both the left eye and the right eye simultaneously into the same space, and then use a special set of glasses, which shows each image to its intended eye while blocking out the unintended image from that eye. In these glasses every other line carries a clockwise or a counterclockwise polarization. Thus, each eye gets half of the visual information on the screen, but the brain puts it together to create one picture with the 3-D effect.

Philips has created a technology that allows viewers to see 3D without the need of any goofy glasses. Instead, the monitor incorporates a special lens that sends different signals to each eye, as long as the viewer is sitting in the right spot. The 3D effect is similar to that produced by those novelty postcards with a grooved plastic layer on top. However, this method, called lenticular viewing, is extremely limiting for home viewing because of the fact that the 3D effects can only be seen from one spot in front of the TV.

These revolutionary 3-D televisions can be purchased at any local Best Buy with prices ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 as well as the battery – operated glasses required, costing anywhere between $100 and $400.

Sport Science, the Emmy Award-winning TV series, hosted by John Brenkus, uncovers sports’ biggest myths and mysteries by using cutting-edge technology to measure momentum, friction and the laws of gravity.

One episode asks the question: which generates more power, an NFL running back or a diesel truck? The Sport Science crew recruited Buffalo Bills running back, Marshawn Lynch and a 6,700 lb truck to test the problem.

First, the crew strapped Marshawn Lynch with a breakthrough technology that uses wireless sensors to monitor the subject’s every move. Then, they put him in a harness attached to a 135 lb metal sheet topped with two 235 lb tires; a total of 585 lbs, about 2.6 times Lynch’s body weight. The Bills running back was able to pull the heavy load for five yards, but not without struggle. The technological equipment used calculated Lynch’s power-to-weight ratio as 573 watts per kilogram.

In order to match Lynch’s power-to-weight ratio, the 6,700 lbs and 325 horse power truck needs to pull about 17,000 lbs. They attached this weight in cement blocks to the truck, and Marshawn Lynch, himself, hopped into the truck and put the pedal to the metal. However, the truck didn’t budge. Instead, it just burned rubber. The truck maxed out at a power-to-weight ratio of 86 watts per kilogram. This means that Marshawn is almost seven times more powerful than the diesel truck.

It is astonishing that a man has been proven to be more powerful than a huge diesel truck. The Sport Science crew proved this using measurements from cutting edge technology, but how does this make sense in the realm of physics? The truth is, almost any high school student who has taken physics could prove that Marshawn Lynch is more powerful than the truck without using any expensive technology. However, the same answers are not reached using high school physics equations.

The definition of power is how much work is done in a certain amount of time (P=W/t). The definition of work is how much force is exerted over a certain distance (W=Fd). Lynch exerted some force over a distance of 5 yards. The force cannot be calculated without some sort of technology, because we don’t know Lynch’s acceleration, and force equals mass times acceleration (F=ma). Since Lynch did move the weight 5 yards, he did some amount of work. The truck however, exerted a force on the weight it was pulling, but since the weight didn’t move an inch, no work was done (W=F(0)=0). Since Lynch did some work on the weight he was pulling, he generated some amount of power, based on how long it took him to pull the weight 5 yards. Based on these basic laws of physics, the truck didn’t do any work, so it didn’t generate any power. Additional calculations could be made regarding friction forces, but it will still not be as accurate as the results generated by the Sport Science crew.

This result is based on physics laws that date back to Isaac Newton, and his laws of motion, which is primarily what high school physics students study. Since then, the study of physics has expanded tremendously, and there are tools to measure power generated even if no work is done. This is similar to the idea that a horse and an ant can do the same amount of work. A horse can move a thousand pounds of sand ten feet, and so can an ant. The only thing is the horse will do the work considerably faster; therefore the horse is more powerful. Even though the inner workings of this technology is unknown to most high school physics students, they could easily come to the conclusion that an NFL running back is more powerful than a diesel truck, simply by observing the experiment in action.

Artwork by Rachel Wilson.

Dark matter is believed to account for about 80 percent of the mass of the universe; however, since it does not emit any light, the only proof it exists is the effects it has on objects around it. Physicists strongly believe that the amount of visible mass in our galaxy, the Milky Way, is not enough to keep it in the spiral formation that it sits in. There must be dark matter there, otherwise the galaxy would fly off in all directions out to infinity.

Astronomer, Fritz Zwicky first proposed the existence of dark matter in the 1930s when he calculated that the amount of ordinary matter in the Coma cluster of galaxies wasn’t enough to keep the cluster from flying apart. Additional, unseen material could provide the extra gravitational tug, he suggested. Since the 1970s, astronomers have accumulated further evidence that the Milky Way and other galaxies are bathed in dark matter.

“Many different measurements in astronomy now indicate that we really only understand 5% of what the universe is made of.  Of the other 95% of the mass/energy that comprises the universe we know almost nothing.  Of this 95% about 20% is dark matter and the other 75% is dark energy.  About dark energy we don’t have a clue – except that it is there.  We DO have ideas what the dark matter could be.  Some people think it could be made of MACHOS – massive compact halo objects – things like dark burnt out stars that we can’t see.  Other people think it could be made of WIMPS – weakly interacting massive particles that are extremely difficult to detect in any kind of physical experiment,” said TJ Physics Teacher, Nelson Vore.

Analyzing results of the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment in the northern Minnesota Soudan mine, physicists report the possible detection of particles of dark matter. The experiment relies on thirty detectors made of germanium and silicon crystals cooled to just above absolute zero. The detectors record tiny vibrations imparted by a proposed type of dark matter called weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs, which are among the most popular candidates for dark matter. Recently, the detectors in the mine recorded two hits with characteristics consistent with those expected from WIMPs.

WIMPs streaming in from space would very rarely jostle the germanium nuclei, some 800 meters underground in the Soudan mine, generating a tiny amount of heat and slightly altering the charge on the detectors in a characteristic pattern. When such an interaction happens, a WIMP careens like a billiard ball off an atom, the theory goes. But the collision leaves behind a unique signature in the form of a small amount of heat, which can be detected, and also creates charged atoms, or ions, that are detectable.

The team behind the experiment cautions that there is a one-in-four chance that the particles detected are not dark matter but ordinary subatomic particles such as neutrons. Lauren Hsu, one of the members of the team said, “Physicists typically require a much lower chance that a signal is false before regarding a result as conclusive.”

Astronomer, Fritz Zwicky first proposed the existence of dark matter in the 1930s when he calculated that the amount of ordinary matter in the Coma cluster of galaxies wasn’t enough to keep the cluster from flying apart. Additional, unseen material could provide the extra gravitational tug, he suggested. Since the 1970s, astronomers have accumulated further evidence that the Milky Way and other galaxies are bathed in dark matter.

While astronomers need dark matter to explain the growth and motions of galaxies, particle physicists who subscribe to a theory called supersymmetry have proposed that every subatomic particle has an as yet undetected heavier partner. The least massive, electrically neutral of those partners might be the WIMP.

The Large Hadron Collider could also present further evidence of the existence of dark matter, ideally in the first half of 2010. “One reason the LHC in Switzerland is such a big deal is that it might answer the question of ‘what is dark matter?’” said Vore.

According to theorist, Craig Hogan, three or four more WIMP-like interactions recorded over the next few years by the experiment, now being upgraded with detectors containing three times as much germanium, would constitute proof of dark matter. This would give scientists an entire new form of matter to study. Vore said, “Whenever you get the first look at something, for the first time, often all sorts of huge revolutionary discoveries are made.”

Artwork by Rachel Wilson

Most like stability in their lives, especially when it comes to planet-wide phenomena, such as the daily appearance of the sun or the periodic change of season. So, it can be unsettling to learn of global phenomena that are inherently unpredictable, such as the Earth’s magnetic field. Every so often, our planet’s magnetic poles reverse polarity. Compass needles have always pointed to geographic north, or magnetic south; in a reversal, they will point to geographic south.

These reversals happen very infrequently, on average every 250,000 years. However, it’s been over 700,000 years since the last reversal, and the next one may be currently underway. TJ Science Teacher, Sharon Colbath, said, “The Earth’s magnetic pole is moving a few inches every year.  The current theory is the ‘convection cells’ in our planet are moving and transferring heat.  This movement is what is creating the magnetic field.  Since the material in the Earth is changing, the magnetic field is changing also.  I think the current theory is that the reversals are slow and not abrupt. “

In the Earth, the liquid metal that makes up the outer core passes through a magnetic field, which causes an electric current to flow within the liquid metal. The electric current, in turn, creates its own magnetic field—one that is stronger than the field that created the current in the first place. As liquid metal passes through the stronger field, more current flows, which increases the field still further. This self-sustaining loop is known as the geomagnetic dynamo. Earth’s magnetic field protects the planet from deadly radiation and “space weather,” which deals with phenomena involving ambient plasma, magnetic fields, radiation and other matter in space.

Every time the Earth’s magnetic poles go through a reversal, the magnetic field weakens. Today, the field is about 10 percent weaker than it was when German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss first began measuring it in 1845. Scientists are still unsure about what exactly drives the poles to reverse, but are studying it extremely in depth, as it is suspected that we are currently undergoing one of these mysterious reversals.

Some radicals with less of a science background believe that this reversal will happen in 2012, when it is predicted by the Mayans that the world will end. These people say that the reversal will cause Earth’s magnetic field to disappear and end the world. Although this probably will happen eventually, it is extremely unlikely – based on scientific studies – that this will happen anytime in the near future. “The reversal will not lead to the end of the world since it has occurred hundreds of times already,” said Colbath.

Artwork by Rachel Wilson

The LHC is the world’s largest atom smasher. It is located inside a 17-mile tunnel under the Swiss-French border and cost about $10 billion to construct. Last year, however, the LHC endured a spectacular collapse and was undergoing repairs until just recently. The collider was started with great demonstration September 10, 2008, only to be heavily damaged by an electrical fault nine days later. It took 14 months to repair and add protection systems to the machine before it was restarted. The overall price of repairs and improvements is expected to cost $40 million.

However, what many people don’t understand is why the world needs such a large and expensive machine that just smashes atoms together. Ultimately, the goal of this machine is to recreate conditions like they were 1 trillionth to 2 trillionths of a second after the Big Bang (a theory of how the universe was created billions of years ago). After all, who doesn’t want to know how the ground they walk on got there? Physicists also hope that the collider will help them see and understand other suspected phenomena, such as dark matter, anti-matter, and super symmetry. TJ Physics teacher, Nelson Vore, said, “The LHC will allow physicists to see parts of the universe never seen before.  Whenever you get the first look at something for the first time often all sorts of huge revolutionary discoveries are made.  It is comparable to Galileo being the first human to ever look at the night sky with a good telescope.”

On Monday, November 30^th, the LHC became the world’s highest energy particle accelerator, accelerating its twin beams of protons to an energy level of 1.18TeV (trillion electron volts). This breaks the previous record held by the Tevatron Collider, which operates at 0.98TeV and is located in the Fermilab near Chicago. One TeV is about the energy of the motion of a flying mosquito, but it becomes extremely significant in the submicroscopic collisions of the collider. Also, the LHC operates at nearly absolute zero temperature, colder than outer space, which allows the superconducting magnets in the machine to guide the protons more efficiently.

The LHC was restarted only ten days before breaking the record. The first beams were injected into the machine on Friday, November 20^th, and two beams were circulated together for the first time on Monday, November 23^rd. The organization hopes the next major step will be to collide the proton beams at about 1.2 TeV before Christmas for an initial look at the tiny particles and what forces might be created.

Even though breaking this record is an important step for the LHC, the level reached Monday isn’t significantly higher than what Fermilab has been doing, and real advances are not expected until the LHC raises each beam to 3.5 TeV during the first half of next year.

This could mean huge things for the scientific community of the world. Since the universe is so inconceivably massive, it is impossible for us Earthlings to explore it physically. However, one of the collider’s many expected accomplishments is to create tiny black holes that scientists can study up close. Even the most ingenius physicists have a hard time describing a black hole, but pretty much it is a “thing” in space that has no mass, but infinite density and infinite gravitational pull, so anything that goes near one gets sucked in and can never come out, and no one knows where black holes lead. This is an amazing start for the LHC and means that discovering the mysteries of the universe may be upon us in the near future.

Photo by Rachel Wilson

October 27, 2009, seniors from TJ’s AP Calculus and AP Physics classes visited the United Launch Alliance (ULA), formerly known as Lockheed Martin, to kick off their fall break with a bang.

“This was a perfect time to visit ULA for my physics students because at the time we were studying pressure,” said AP Physics teacher, Nelson Vore. “Launch vehicles are all about pressure because if they are not built correctly, they will collapse on themselves when sent into space.”

The classes visited the headquarters in Denver, and just in time, too. Tour guide, Beth, informed  the group that the engineering of ULA was moving to Alabama in the near future and that they were in the process of moving their rockets there. Even though some of the pieces were already packaged up on trucks, the group was not cheated out of an experience. “Even though not all the rockets were there, what I saw was absolutely spectacular,” said TJ Senior Akaxia Cruz. ULA uses two types of rockets: Atlas and Delta. The students were able to see the parts that form the Atlas V rocket, as the Delta rockets were located in Alabama. Each Atlas V rocket uses a Russian-built RD-180 engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen to power its first stage, the Common Core Booster (CCB), or the copper colored part of the rocket, and an RL10 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to power its Centaur upper stage, or the white cap at the top of the rocket.

AP Calculus Teacher, Aimee Witulski, said, “I enjoyed taking my students to ULA; it was a chance for them to get out of the classroom and see some serious math in action. Plus, I learned a lot too!”

This huge engine used to power the first stage of the Atlas V rocket has a total dry weight of 11,889 lbs and was developed in 42 months at a small fraction of the cost of a typical U.S. new engine development, Beth informed the group. She also told them that there was about an eight-year supply of these engines located in the building.
Right next to the engine was the CCB, which simply looked like a massive copper tube. The CCB is 12.5 ft (3.8 m) in diameter by 106.6 ft (32.5 m) long and uses 627,105 lb (284,450 kg) of liquid oxygen and RP-1 rocket fuel propellants. Beth passed one of the bolts used to keep this piece in place around the group, which weighed about 2 lbs.
Then the students were taken upstairs to the “clean room” where the Centaurs are located.  The clean room is as sterile as a hospital’s operating room and every person who enters this room must wear a hair net and men with beards must wear a beard net. The reason for this is because the Centaur contains a camera lens, so that scientists can see what the rocket sees, and if one tiny hair gets on the lens, every picture is completely ruined and millions of dollars are wasted.

On the wall of the clean room was a 50ft by 30ft American flag. Before the flag was put into the clean room, it had to be cleaned. Beth shared a small fun fact with the students about the flag: “At the time a nearby cleaners company was offering on Flag Day to clean any flag for one dollar, and despite the massive size of this particular flag, the company gladly cleaned it for one measly dollar,” she said.

The experience even sparked a special interest in one senior, Alexandra Kaufhold, from the physics and calculus class. She asked Beth about internships and learned that students need to have one year of college experience to intern with ULA. Kaufhold said with extreme confidence, “I’m coming back; I want to have an internship here.”

“Overall the field trip was an extremely interesting experience,” one of the AP calculus students, Paige Wilson, said. “It was a lot of fun; I just couldn’t believe how huge everything was!”