Papers by Dahl Winters
Sustainability
High-density, high-permanence forms of carbon storage are in demand to save storage space on land... more High-density, high-permanence forms of carbon storage are in demand to save storage space on land or at sea while allowing the world to reach its climate targets. Biochar and calcium carbonate are two such forms that have been considered largely separately in the literature for carbon storage. In this paper, we consider how biochar and calcium carbonate might interact when they are used together with cement as part of a carbon storage system, ideally to form a carbon-neutral concrete. The carbon storage system stores atmospherically absorbed CO2 within concrete, thereby reducing carbon in the atmosphere. In addition, such a system will help in reducing cement usage, thus reducing the need for clinker in cement manufacturing and directly reducing CO2 emissions that result from limestone calcination during clinker manufacturing. Another benefit of such a composite storage system is its use in building structures, a use that has positive environmental and social impact. Thus, further r...
For Mentorship this year, I worked with Dr. Behringer and Dan Howell at the Duke University Cente... more For Mentorship this year, I worked with Dr. Behringer and Dan Howell at the Duke University Center for Nonlinear and Complex Systems. I began Mentorship with a purpose in mind--to explore an area of physics that was still a bit unfamiliar to me compared to other areas I've touched upon in high school. That area was nonlinear dynamics, and how it is applied to studying the physics of granular materials. To describe my research experience more fully, the first half of this paper will define granular materials and give some background on what my research was about. The second half of this paper will concentrate on my role in the lab, and importantly, what I learned as a result of my experiences there. Background behind the physics of granular materials
Nowhere are the consequences of climate change greater than in the Arctic. The
Arctic Climate Imp... more Nowhere are the consequences of climate change greater than in the Arctic. The
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA, 2004) synthesized the potential impacts of
climate change to Arctic ecosystems, including vegetation changes projected for 2100
using the BIOME4 dynamic vegetation model. In my research I synthesized empirical
data from 30 studies of Arctic vegetation responses to climate change, and compared
these data to the ACIA projected vegetation distribution for 2100. A general agreement
between observed and projected changes was found, with exceptions due to regional
variability and geographic clustering of the empirical data. There exist large areas of
Siberia east of the Taymyr Peninsula and the Arctic Peninsula without empirical data, but
are projected to undergo expansive change. Likewise, geographically limited empirical
data have been published for large areas with no projected change in central Siberia and
in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada.
Remote sensing confers several advantages over ground-based measurements that make it an importan... more Remote sensing confers several advantages over ground-based measurements that make it an important tool for developing CO2 emissions inventories. Anthropogenic CO2 monitoring requires a high degree of accuracy in order to detect changes against the natural background variations of CO2. While studies indicate that some satellites already have this level of CO2 measurement accuracy, it is unclear what instrument properties might be responsible. Satellite instruments have been designed with a wide variety of spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions depending on their original mission objectives, and any one or more of these properties might allow for a high CO2 measurement accuracy. The goal of this work was to determine whether any instrument properties might be good predictors of CO2 measurement accuracy, since this information would be useful for the design of future satellite instruments for monitoring CO2 emissions. The instrument properties of 25 current and planned satellite missions up to 2020 were compiled, alongside studies demonstrating the CO2 measurement accuracy of these instruments. Using multiple linear regression models, the combination of spatial resolution and swath width was found to be a significant predictor of CO2 measurement accuracy. The most accurate satellite instruments are also described, as well as suggestions for improving existing CO2 emissions inventories by combining their data with ground measurements.
This paper describes 24 units-tested relationships found by a genetic algorithm-based program wri... more This paper describes 24 units-tested relationships found by a genetic algorithm-based program written to automatically explore and report relationships between physical constants and their ratios. These relationships tend to involve the fine structure constant and gravitational coupling constant. The resulting equations are offered in the hope that they may be of some utility to physics.
This paper describes 8 units-tested relationships between physical constants, the result of a pro... more This paper describes 8 units-tested relationships between physical constants, the result of a program written to automatically explore and report relationships between these constants, their powers, and their ratios. These relationships appear to be valid equations as their units match and their values are equal within the defined margin of error. Such programs could have great utility within computational physics in helping to seek out potential new physical relationships.
This reference paper describes 184 potential relationships between physical constants, organized ... more This reference paper describes 184 potential relationships between physical constants, organized into tables by the highest exponent appearing in the equation and secondarily by the value of the equation result. These relationships were the result of a program written to automatically explore and report relationships between these constants, their powers, and their ratios.
Ideas and Investigations by Dahl Winters
This paper describes theoretical work done in an attempt to find a physical mechanism for the gra... more This paper describes theoretical work done in an attempt to find a physical mechanism for the gravitational and electric forces. This work demonstrates how both forces can be described as acoustic radiation forces (Bjerknes forces) which exist in a vacuum with fluid properties. Vacuum parameters are derived for use in both Bjerknes force equations to demonstrate the equivalency of these equations to Newton’s gravitational force law and Coulomb’s law.
This paper describes theoretical work done in an attempt to find a common physical mechanism for ... more This paper describes theoretical work done in an attempt to find a common physical mechanism for the gravitational, electric, and magnetic forces, thus allowing further investigation into a theory of quantum gravity. Starting from known physical constants, we re-interpret these constants in the context of acoustic radiation forces (Bjerknes forces). These forces operate within a vacuum that can be interpreted as having properties of a high-pressure ideal gas with fluid properties. Vacuum parameters are derived for use in both the primary and secondary acoustic radiation force equations to demonstrate the equivalency of these equations to Coulomb's law and Newton's gravitational force law, respectively. In particular, this paper will demonstrate the following: 1) spacetime can be modeled as an ideal gas under high pressure, giving it fluid qualities 2) the electric and gravitational forces are acoustic radiation forces operating within this fluid 3) the magnetic force is linked to the presence of a small nonzero viscosity within the fluid.
The ratio of the electron Compton radius to the Planck length appears to be a fairly important ra... more The ratio of the electron Compton radius to the Planck length appears to be a fairly important ratio. It equals 1.50122E+23 and we will label it as N. This ratio N is also the ratio of the Planck length to the Schwarzschild radius of the electron multiplied by 4π, uniting these three length scales with a common ratio. N = r c /r pl = r pl /r se · 4π (1) However, these length scales are not the only units of measurement in which N appears. It also equals the ratio of the Planck mass to the electron mass multiplied by 2π. N = m pl /m e · 2π (2) Given that length and mass have this ratio of N = 1.50122E+23, charge was investigated next. It does not seem to follow this ratio, as the ratio of the Planck charge to the electron charge is much smaller at 11.7062. Instead, charge has a close relationship with angular momentum, vacuum permeability, and the speed of light. Indeed, the vacuum permeability constant can be expressed as follows: µ o = 4π · hbar/q 2 pl /c (3) Lastly, the vacuum pressure and density parameters developed in our previous paper can be easily converted to Planck pressure and density parameters. The ratio of the Planck density to the vacuum density equals the ratio of the Planck pressure to the vacuum pressure, which is simply equal to N 4 .
Physical units are shown to be related by simple powers in this table, which uncovers this patter... more Physical units are shown to be related by simple powers in this table, which uncovers this pattern by normalizing mass, charge, and time to units of distance.
In this paper, a simple relationship is shown between the electron, muon, and tau masses that inv... more In this paper, a simple relationship is shown between the electron, muon, and tau masses that involves the natural log of phi. This relationship allows the NIST CODATA masses of the muon and tau particles to be replicated to high precision given only the electron mass and our two constants A and B.
Discussions by Dahl Winters
[English and French available] This paper describes theoretical work done in an attempt to find a... more [English and French available] This paper describes theoretical work done in an attempt to find a common physical mechanism for the gravitational, electric, and magnetic forces, thus allowing further investigation into a theory of quantum gravity. Starting from known physical constants, we re-interpret these constants in the context of acoustic radiation forces (Bjerknes forces). These forces operate within a vacuum that can be interpreted as having properties of both a high-pressure ideal gas and a slightly compressible fluid. Vacuum parameters are derived for use in both the primary and secondary acoustic radiation force equations to demonstrate the equivalency of these equations to Coulomb's law and Newton's gravitational force law, respectively. In particular, this paper will demonstrate the following: 1) spacetime can be modeled as an ideal gas under high pressure, giving it fluid qualities, 2) the electric and gravitational forces can be modeled as acoustic radiation forces within this fluid, 3) the magnetic force is linked to the presence of a nonzero viscosity within the fluid.
This article represents a segmented study of the 'substance' of space through magnetism and fluid... more This article represents a segmented study of the 'substance' of space through magnetism and fluidics and how it relates to the stable existence of the basic particles of ponderous matter… the proton and the electron. In this article, we present the derivation of the important magnetic properties of space, the balanced forces which allow the infinite lifespan of the proton and the existence of dilatating electromagnetic forces which provide for the charges of the proton and electron in a universe of four spatial dimensions.
Older Versions by Dahl Winters
By setting mass, charge and time to have the same units as distance, all equal to the value of th... more By setting mass, charge and time to have the same units as distance, all equal to the value of the Compton wavelength of the electron, all units fall into groups related by simple powers of the base value.
In this brief paper, equations are offered that lend support for the view that: 1) spacetime can ... more In this brief paper, equations are offered that lend support for the view that: 1) spacetime can be modeled as an ideal gas under high pressure and that 2) the electric and gravitational forces are due to acoustic radiation forces operating within this ideal gas.
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Papers by Dahl Winters
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA, 2004) synthesized the potential impacts of
climate change to Arctic ecosystems, including vegetation changes projected for 2100
using the BIOME4 dynamic vegetation model. In my research I synthesized empirical
data from 30 studies of Arctic vegetation responses to climate change, and compared
these data to the ACIA projected vegetation distribution for 2100. A general agreement
between observed and projected changes was found, with exceptions due to regional
variability and geographic clustering of the empirical data. There exist large areas of
Siberia east of the Taymyr Peninsula and the Arctic Peninsula without empirical data, but
are projected to undergo expansive change. Likewise, geographically limited empirical
data have been published for large areas with no projected change in central Siberia and
in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada.
Ideas and Investigations by Dahl Winters
Discussions by Dahl Winters
Older Versions by Dahl Winters
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA, 2004) synthesized the potential impacts of
climate change to Arctic ecosystems, including vegetation changes projected for 2100
using the BIOME4 dynamic vegetation model. In my research I synthesized empirical
data from 30 studies of Arctic vegetation responses to climate change, and compared
these data to the ACIA projected vegetation distribution for 2100. A general agreement
between observed and projected changes was found, with exceptions due to regional
variability and geographic clustering of the empirical data. There exist large areas of
Siberia east of the Taymyr Peninsula and the Arctic Peninsula without empirical data, but
are projected to undergo expansive change. Likewise, geographically limited empirical
data have been published for large areas with no projected change in central Siberia and
in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, Canada.