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Department of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy301 Herty Hall | Campus Box 82 | Georgia College| Milledgeville, GA 31061     |
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Upcoming EventsNational Chemistry Week October 16-22This year's theme is "Chemistry—Our Health, Our Future!"Research Mixer, October 31 5:00pmFirst-year students have a unique opportunity to question students about research that they are conducting in chemistry and/or in physics. Refreshments will be provided. - Attendance is REQUIRED for Dr. Metzker's 1211L students.What's new at the Natural History Museum?To see what's new and to schedule a tour, visit the museum website.Chemistry Club MeetingsTuesday, November 1 at 2:00PM at the Student Activities Center-Maple A and BMonday, November 14 at 1:00PM either in 313 or at the SAC - signs will be posted Physics & Astronomy Club MeetingsEvery Friday at 2pm in Herty 313Planetarium now open to the publicFor details about shows and tours of GCSU's new planetarium, visit the planetarium website.Department NewsDiscovery of Two New Pulsating White Dwarfs Defies Odds
Its name: Kepler DBV. And Kim is the only expert on the globe to gather and analyze the conditions inside this star. Like most white dwarfs, Kepler DBV is a faint, blue star the size of Earth in volume and so dense it is like compressing a trans-Atlantic cruise liner into the volume of a sugar cube. But what makes this particular white dwarf unique is that it is hot. Its surface temperature is 29,000 kelvin — five times the temperature of the sun. “It’s hard to imagine how the dense interior of these stars might look, which is why white dwarfs are so fascinating,” said Kim. “Kepler DBV has a helium atmosphere, and it also pulsates, which is rare. It’s astoundingly lucky that we found one.” Kim’s findings will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Kim also anticipates the discovery will help rejuvenate the field of white dwarf asteroseismology. “White dwarf research helps determine the age of our galaxy and distance of faraway galaxies,” she said. “Being the only person on Earth doing fast asteroseismology of pulsating white dwarfs is special but also unsettling. The task is too great and important for a single person. Hopefully, this discovery will draw young scientists into the field." |
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