Browsing Department of Physics and Astronomy by Title
Now showing items 1-20 of 239
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Accelerating reionization simulations using machine learning
(University of the Western Cape, 2023)Epoch of Reionization (EoR) refers to the time in the history of the universe when the appearance of the first luminous sources reionized the intergalactic medium (IGM). The EoR carries a wealth of information regarding ... -
Aluminium induced crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films
(University of the Western Cape, 2005)This study was carried out to crystallize hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films using the aluminium induced crystallization (AIC) technique. This was done to investigate whether is there any lateral crystallization ... -
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, ... -
Anomaly Detection With Machine Learning In Astronomical Images
(University of the Western Cape, 2020)Observations that push the boundaries have historically fuelled scientific breakthroughs, and these observations frequently involve phenomena that were previously unseen and unidentified. Data sets have increased in size ... -
Antimicrobial activity of South African red algal secondary metabolites
(UWC, 2001)Infectious diseases, for example, measles, scarlet fever, malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera have claimed many lives. These infections are caused by pathogenic viruses, bacteria, or fungi that invade the body's tissues and ... -
Antimicrobial discovery from South African marine algae
(University of the Western Cape, 2018)Antimicrobials are chemical compounds that destroy or inhibit the growth of microorganisms. The majority of these antimicrobials are actually natural products or natural product derived with key examples being the pioneer ... -
Application of anomaly detection techniques to astrophysical transients
(University of Western Cape, 2021)We are fast moving into an era where data will be the primary driving factor for discovering new unknown astronomical objects and also improving our understanding of the current rare astronomical objects. Wide field ... -
Application of vertically aligned arrays of metal-oxide nanowires in heterojunction photovoltaics
(University of the Western Cape, 2020)The commercial need to improve the performance of low-cost organic solar cells has led to the idea for this research. The study discusses the synthesis of one dimensional TiO2 and ZnO nanowire arrays synthesised using a ... -
Calibration of a NaI (Tl) detector for low level counting of naturally occurring radionuclides in soil
(University of the Western Cape, 2011)The Physics Department at the University of the Western Cape and the Environmental Physics group at iThemba labs have been conducting radiometric studies on both land and water. In this study a 7.5 cm X 7.5 cm NaI (Tl) ... -
Calibration of germanium detectors for applications of radiometric methods in South Africa.
(University of the Western Cape, 2001)AII materials that are radioactive emit characteristic gamma-radiation. Natural radioactivity can be used in heavy minerals exploration and processing, as well as in understanding sediment transport. processes in coastal ... -
Carbon, magnesium implantation and proton irradiation on pulsed laser deposited thermochromic thin film of VO2
(University of Western Cape, 2020)When the spacecrafts orbit in space, it is subjected to significant thermal cycling variation. Thermal regulation of the spacecraft temperature is required to ensure a good operation of the small crafts such as CubeSats ... -
A case study of university students' experiences of introductory physics drawn from their approaches to problem solving
(University of the Western Cape, 2001)This thesis explores the experience of leaming physics through a particular medium: problem-solving, which is seen by many educators as the primary medium in which physics is learnt at university. Situating itself within ... -
Characterisation of natural radioactivity in Karoo Basin groundwater prior to shale gas exploration
(University of the Western Cape, 2017)The prospect of unconventional shale-gas development in the Karoo Basin (South Africa) has created the need to obtain baseline data on natural radioactivity in Karoo groundwaters. The Karoo Basin groundwater radiological ... -
Characterisation of the first 1/2+ excited state in 9B and isospin symmetry breaking studies in A = 9 nuclei
(University of the Western Cape, 2019)The 9Be - 9B isospin doublet carries fundamental significance for both nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics studies. The first excited 1/2+ state in 9Be is already well established. However, its isobaric analogue ... -
Charge transfer efficiency and optical properties of P3HT/PCBM spin coated thin films
(UWC, 2009)The efficiency of organic photovoltaics is influenced by the structure of the polymer, the morphology of the film, the interfaces between the layers, the choice of electron acceptor material and the ratio between the ... -
Chemical pressure-induced transition of the magnetic ground state from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic order in CeCuGe and DyCuIn alloys
(University of the Western Cape, 2023)Rare-earth intermetallic compounds continue to attract considerable attention, due to their fundamental importance in understanding physical properties and potential applications based on a variety of phenomena. The ternary ... -
Clustering studies of radio-selected galaxies
(University of the Western Cape, 2011)We investigate the clustering of HI-selected galaxies in the ALFALFA survey and compare results with those obtained for HIPASS. Measurements of the angular correlation function and the inferred 3D-clustering are compared ... -
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 ... -
Computational modelling of a hot-wire chemical vapour deposition reactor chamber
(University of Western Cape, 2020)In this thesis, I explore the subjects of fluid dynamics and the Hot-Wire Chemical Vapour Deposition (HWCVD) process. HWCVD, in its simplicity, is one of the more powerful and elegant deposition techniques available in ... -
Construction and analysis of exponential time differencing methods for the robust simulation of ecological models
(University of Western Cape, 2021)In this thesis, we consider some interesting mathematical models arising in ecology. Our focus is on the exploration of robust numerical solvers which are applicable to models arising in mathematical ecology. To begin ...
