physics

Lynn Cominsky

Lynn Cominsky is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lynn Cominsky rather than just read about it. In short: Lynn Ruth Cominsky is an American astrophysicist and science educator. She served as Chair of the Department of Astronomy and Physics at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, from August 2004 to August 2019.

Key takeaways

Lynn Cominsky belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lynn Cominsky to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lynn Cominsky from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lynn Ruth Cominsky is an American astrophysicist and science educator. She served as Chair of the Department of Astronomy and Physics at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, from August 2004 to August 2019. Cominsky is director emerita of EdEon STEM Learning (formerly the NASA Education and Public Outreach Group at Sonoma State University), which was renamed in 2018.

Early career Cominsky began her undergraduate studies at Brandeis University in 1971, where she originally majored in psychology. After being asked to dissect a cat's brain in her first college course, she changed majors and began studying physical sciences. Cominsky obtained a B.A. in physics with honors in chemistry, and graduated magna cum laude. She researched with Irving Epstein on the Belusov oscillating reaction. After graduating, she worked at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, where she began analyzing data from X-ray astronomy satellites beginning with the UHURU satellite (and helping to compile the 4U catalog), prior to attending graduate school. While a graduate student at M. I. T., and using data from the SAS-3 satellite, she discovered X-ray pulsations from 4U0115+63 (together with George Clark); these pulsations were then used to show that transient X-ray. sources were in binary systems. Her thesis work with Walter Lewin and Paul Joss, was entitled "X-ray Burst Sources" and consisted of extensive analysis of the SAS-3 timing and spectral data, as well as theoretical thermonuclear flash modeling. During a post-doctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, and using a combination of SAS-3 and HEAO A-1 data, she (and Kent Wood) discovered the 7.1 h X-ray binary period and the first eclipses from an X-ray burst source, MXB1659-29. Another highlight of Cominsky's research career was the discovery of X-ray emission from the first radio pulsar found to be in a binary orbit with a Be star, PSR 1259–63. For two years following her post-doctoral work at UC Berkeley, Cominsky managed various aspects of Stuart Bowyer's Extreme UltraViolet Explorer Satellite project, including the design of the science operations and ground data analysis system.

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lynn Cominsky

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lynn Cominsky claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lynn Cominsky before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lynn Cominsky ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lynn Cominsky

In research: Lynn Cominsky appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lynn Cominsky in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lynn Cominsky is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century American physicists, 21st-century American women physicists, American women physicists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lynn Cominsky outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lynn Cominsky in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lynn Cominsky means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lynn Cominsky out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lynn Cominsky in simple terms?

Why does Lynn Cominsky matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lynn Cominsky?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lynn Cominsky.