A couple of days ago we just finished out metal-oxide surface experiments and picked up to go to a different experimental station to study platinum nanoparticles under electrochemical control. This experiment has actually started fairly quickly. It's with a system we've used many times before, indeed the cell predates me here at the lab), which means most of the bugs have already been worked out of it. So even on our first night we're actually taking useful (we hope) data. After our last experience this is a welcome change. If things go well enough, we may even have some time left for one of my ideas. But for the moment I'm happy we're just taking data early on in the run.

The official wildlife report, at least thus far today, is one skunk out in the midnight hours happily scavenging in the grass. Was it the same guy I saw before...? I don't know. I don't get close enough to them to tell.

All in all it's been a pretty easy day for the start of a beam run. I'm already giving thought as to how to automate certain portions of the experiment so it can run without constant attention. It's also been a good day as I've gotten to learn a little more about this kind of experiment. I set up some of the conventional analysis software for XAFS and got some very preliminary plots of the behavior of the nano-particles. A proper analysis, with full modeling fitting and bells and whistles, will do better and be needed. But it's at least enough to tell us roughly what's going on. And to think that yesterday I didn't know how to do it!

It's about 6:30 in the morning here. You can always tell when you're working on a weekday/night as the coffee cart comes blasting music around the storage ring. That and there will be a few cars in the parking lot, not just mine.