Magister Scientiae - MSc (Physics): Recent submissions
Now showing items 101-120 of 171
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Laser drilling of metals and glass using zero-order bessel beams
(University of the Western Cape, 2013)This dissertation consists of two main sections. The first section focuses on generating zero order Bessel beams using axicons. An axicon with an opening angle y = 5⁰ was illuminated with a Gaussian beam of width ω₀ = 1.67 ... -
A theoretical study of stellar pulsations in young brown dwarfs
(University of the Western Cape, 2011)This thesis reports the results of a twofold study on the recently proposed phenomenon of 'stellar pulsations' in young brown dwarfs by the seminal study of Palla and Baraffe (2005) (PB05, thereafter). The PB05 study ... -
New bands in ¹⁹²Tl using gamma spectroscopy techniques
(University of the Western Cape, 2011)High spin excited stats in¹⁹²Tl were studied using gamma-ray spectroscopy. The study included taking an active part in performing the experiment, understanding the experimental procedure, electronics and data acquisition ... -
Nuclear level densities and gamma-ray strength functions in Ta isotopes and nucleo-synthesis of ¹⁸ᴼTa
(University of the Western Cape, 2016)Most stable and extremely low abundance neutron deficient nuclei with Z ≥ 34 are referred to as p-nuclei. Nearly all p-nuclei with A < 110 are most likely produced in the rp-process while almost all A > 110 are thought ... -
Analysis and simulations to obtain the weak magnetism term in ²²Na beta decay
(University of the Western Cape, 2016)The study of ²²Na beta decay offers an opportunity to test the Standard Model of Particle Physics via measurements of the β−γ angular correlation. A previous measurement of this correlation yielded a non-zero value, ... -
Hydrogen storage in Ti-based coatings and Ti6Al4V alloy
(University of the Western Cape, 2016)Hydrogen has been regarded as an ideal energy carrier for future, it can be stored as a liquid in cryogenic tanks, a gas in high pressure cylinders and as solid in metal hydrides. Hydrogen storage in metal hydrides is of ... -
The effects of environment on radio-loud AGN activity in Stripe 82
(University of the Western Cape, 2016)We investigate the link between environment and radiative accretion efficiency using a sample of 8946 radio-loud AGN detected at 1 − 2 GHz in the SDSS Stripe 82 region. We quantify their environments using the surface-density ... -
Plasma characterisation of an electron cyclotron resonance ion source by means of x-ray spectroscopy
(University of the Western Cape, 2012)The ultimate aim of any multiply-charged ion source, like the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source, ECRIS, is the production of multiply-charged ions, in sufficiently large quantities. These multiplycharged ions, in the ... -
The nature of the microjy source population
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)The study of the faint radio universe and of its properties has recently become a very active field of research not only because of the much improved capabilities of the SKA pathfinders but also because of the need to ... -
Magnetic substitution in CePt₂Si₂ and CeCu₅In Kondo lattice
(University of the Western Cape, 2013)In the past few decades, the studies of f-electron materials have revealed unusual physical properties such as Fermi-liquid, non-Fermi-liquid behaviour at low temperatures, heavy- Fermion behaviour, valence fluctuation, ... -
Measuring the quasar luminosity function below the detection threshold
(University of the Western Cape, 2016)The radio emission of radio-quiet active galactic nuclei (AGN) is thought to be from star formation and AGN related emission. I investigate these sources using 1.4 GHz radio data from FIRST and three optical quasars samples ... -
Vertically aligned silicon nanowires synthesised by metal assisted chemical etching for photovoltaic applications
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)One-dimensional silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are promising building blocks for solar cells as they provide a controlled, vectorial transport route for photo-generated charge carriers in the device as well as providing ... -
Developing a sorting code for Coulomb excitation data analysis
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)This thesis aims at developing a sorting code for Coulomb excitation studies at iThemba LABS. In Coulomb excitation reactions, the inelastic scattering of the projectile transfers energy to the partner nucleus (and ... -
Effect of the additional electron acceptor in hybrid ZnO: P3HT:PCBM spin-coated films for photovoltaic application
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)In a quest for low operational and maintenance cost solar cell devices, organic photovoltaics remain a potential source of energy worthy to be explored. In order to generate cost- effective electricity from solar energy, ... -
The impact of environment and mergers on the H I content of galaxies in hydrodynamic simulations
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)We quantitatively examine the effects of merger and environment within a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation. We show that our simulation model broadly reproduces the observed scatter in H I at a given stellar mass as ... -
Comparison of neutron fluence spectra measured with NE213 proton recoil spectrometer and NE230 deuteron recoil spectrometer
(University of the Western Cape, 2014)A (5 cm × 5 cm) cylindrical NE213 liquid organic scintillator and a (2.5 cm × 2.5 cm)cylindrical NE230 liquid organic scintillator were used as spectrometers. A series of measurements was made with both the NE213 and NE230 ... -
Nonlinear optical properties of natural dyes based on optical resonance
(University of the Western Cape, 2012)Recent research shows that the study of optical properties of organic material natural dyes has gained much consideration. The specific functional groups in several natural dyes remain essential for the large nonlinear ... -
Deposition of silicon nanostructures by thermal chemical vapour deposition
(University of the Western Cape, 2015)In this thesis we report on the deposition of silicon nanostructures using a 3-zone thermal chemical vapour deposition process at atmospheric pressure. Nickel and gold thin films, deposited by DC sputtering on crystalline ... -
Hydrogenisation of metals
(University of the Western Cape, 2013)Transition metals are a group of metals which are light in weight and have high hydrogen solubility. Their interaction with hydrogen is exorthermic and this phenomenon makes them “ideal” candidates for various applications ... -
Thermochromic properties of VO2 nano-coatings by inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering
(University of the Western Cape, 2012)Vanadium dioxide (VO2) films have been known as the most feasible thermochromic nano-coatings for smart windows which self control the solar radiation and heat transfer for energy saving and comfort in houses and automotives. ...