A New Uniform Calibration Method for Double-Sided Silicon Strip Detectors
We proposed and implemented a new uniform calibration approach for double-sided silicon strip detector, named the self-calibration method (SCM). This method uses the strips on one side of the detector as references, to calibrate the strips on the other side, and vice versa. This calibration method has the inherent advantages that it can be run during the experiment corresponding exactly to the required particle type and energy range, and provides good statistics based on flexible selection of the event samples. Two strategies based on the same working principle but with deferent complexities, named simple SCM and overall SCM, were introduced and examined experimentally. The simple SCM requires less computation but a large number of events, while the overall SCM exhibits excellent performance even with a relatively small number of events.
Cluster decay of the high-lying excited states in 14 C
A cluster-transfer experiment of 9Be(9Be,14C → α+10Be)α at an incident energy of 45 MeV was carried out in order to investigate the molecular structure in high-lying resonant states in 14C. This reaction is of extremely large Q-value, making it an excellent case to select the reaction mechanism and the final states in outgoing nuclei. The high-lying resonances in 14C are reconstructed for three sets of well discriminated final states in 10Be. The results confirm the previous decay measurements with clearly improved decay-channel selections and also show a new state at 23.5(1) MeV. The resonant states at 22.4(3) and 24.0(3) MeV decay primarily into the typical molecular states at about 6 MeV in 10Be, indicating a well developed cluster structure in these high-lying states in 14C. Further measurements of more states of this kind are suggested.
The Politics of Truth: Power in Nietzsche’s Epistemology
This article concerns first a curiosity found in Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Antichrist. In the midst of a heated attack on Christianity, Nietzsche detours into a discussion of epistemology. I argue that this turn indicates the importance of epistemology, and illustrates its political and moral character. The weak, who cannot tolerate uncertainty and shades of gray, seek to impose an epistemology of clarity and certainty. At the same time, the strong, who revel in ambiguity, seek to enjoy the richness and subtlety of a non-dichotomous view of the world. This is a political struggle because the weak cannot allow the strong’s epistemology to exist, let alone prevail. It is not surprising, then, that Nietzsche talks about epistemology in the midst of attacking Christianity: its view of truth is essential to its mission of taming the nobles. Here, I consider Nietzsche as a political thinker in a different light. Political battles are fought far beyond the halls of government. Nietzsche is a political thinker; one, however, who looks at politics in an uncommon way.