Statistically Determining the Shape of a Glowing Object

Preliminary experiments have shown that is possible to determine the shape of a glowing object with polarimetric measurements. Introducing a new quantitative method of interpreting our data, we have expanded upon our proof of concept by implementing statistical analysis to differentiate between regular polygons of n sides. By refining our experiment and creating a well-calibrated system, we have identified a method for extracting the best possible measurements from our setup so that we may compare them against a control signal. Improving upon the data acquisition process, we use an improved optical setup to focus the contour of the glowing object on the light sensor. Combined with calibration data suggesting an ideal measurement window, we expect a reduction in error for the experiment stemming from issues with equipment. Based on trends in the distribution of spreading, we now believe that we can construct unique profiles for each shape and use them to characterize the signals that we collect. From this result, we can relate the shape of the object to the theoretically predicted ratio of the area of luminosity between a probe signal and the control signal.