Physicists work to understand the universe from its most fundamental levels to its grandest, from the nucleus of the atom to galaxies. Physics at Union is a unique learning environment. The combination of four full-time professors with PhDs, our strong physics major and minor programs, and our collegial interaction with engineering, mathematics and other science faculties give us a synergy rarely found at a Christ-centered university.
Einstein's belief that "the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it can be comprehended" is one shared especially by those physicists who recognize the Creator's artistry in the universe's origins and sustenance. At Union University, a Christian institution of higher learning, we stress a holistic approach to the training of physicists by extolling the Creator God as well as the creation itself. We mentor students who tackle our challenging curriculum in specially designed classrooms.
"The 'unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics' in uncovering the structure of the physical world (to use Eugene Wigner's pregnant phrase) is a hint of the presence of the Creator, given to us creatures who are made in the divine image." — Reverend Dr. John Polkinghorne, Belief in God in an Age of Science
The Science Guys column ran in The Jackson Sun from May 2000 – October 2004.
Random number generators are readily available online for extremely cheap, but do they produce truly random numbers? The purpose of this research was to explore randomness and ways to test for it, to build the simplest quantum random number generator (QRnG) given the resources at hand, and prove its intrinsic randomness using a logical and mathematical analysis. The components of the experiment were radioactive compounds [Ba – 133, Co – 60, Ra – 226], Geiger Tube, and a ST – 360 Radiation Counter. By collecting one batch of decay counts as a result of gamma ray detection from each of the radioactive compounds, respectively, the average of the decay values was used to assemble a logic gate. This logic gate was constructed such that when the decay count was greater than the average, a value of 1 was given, below the average, 0. This yielded a binary sequence that, according to the principles of nuclear and quantum physics, should be perfectly random. Using the defined process, three separate strands of sixty perfectly random binary values were attained. Using a mathematical analysis, the data from the aforementioned system was tested to see if it was truly random.