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Lab I, Fall Semester 2009
Simple Harmonic Motion is Observed through Webcam (General Physics)
| Students Manual | Webcams are easily available and cheap every-day use items. This innovative experiment uses a webcam to monitor the oscillations of a body attached to a spring, negotiating simple harmonic motion. The effect of the viscous force of a liquid on the damping of the harmonic motion is also investigated. |  |
| Matlab Codes | Image Processing Save Data Webcam Mass Center |
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| Sample Results | Free Oscillations in Air Damped Oscillations in Water |
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| Further Readings and References |
"Webcam as a measuring tool in the undergraduate physics laboratory", S. Nedev and V. C. Ivanova, European Journal of Physics 27, 1213 (2006). |
Rotational Dynamics, Moment of Inertia, Torque and Rotational Friction (Mechanics)
| Students Manual | The experiment investigates the principle of conservation of angular momentum. The experiment will also involve several measurements of angular momentum and moment of inertia and make comparisons with theoretical predictions. Students will also learn the art of extracting useful information from experimental data. |  |
| Matlab Codes | Rotational Mechanics Moment of Inertia |
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| Lab View Code | Rotational Dynamics |
Heat Transfer and Newton’s Law of Cooling (Heat and Thermodynamics)
| Students Manual | In the present experiment, the students will heat a metallic rod in a temperature-regulated furnace or on a hot plate and place it inside a cavity approximating a blackbody cavity. The temperature on the surface of the heated object as well as inside the cavity will be monitored with time. The rate of cooling will be determined and the impact of forced convection currents will also be investigated. The students will learn how to interface temperature sensors with the computer. In the course of the measurements, the students will also verify Newton’s law of cooling as a special case. |  |
| Matlab Codes | Thermal Convection |
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| Lab View Code | Thermal | |
| Sample Results | Cooling in the Presence of Forced Convection | |
| Further Readings and References |
"Heating Water: Rate Correction Due to Newtonian Cooling", James O' Connell, The Physics Teacher 37, 551-552 (1999). |
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Magnetic Phase Transitions of a Ferromagnetic Alloy (Electricity and Magnetism, EMT)
| Students Manual | This innovative experiment entails the determination of the Curie point of a ferromagnetic alloy. An alternating current is passed through the alloy, (also used as a heating element in industrial furnaces). The alloy, at room temperature, is attracted towards a strong permanent magnet while the voltage, current and time are constantly monitored. As the alloy heats up, a point reaches where the alloy loses its magnetism and snaps away from the magnet. The Curie temperature is then determined from the current, voltage, time, surface area, length of the alloy and its emissivity. This experiment will be performed in the close supervision of the instructor, who will guide the students through the appropriate safety protocols. |  |
| Further Readings and References |
"Determining the Cuire Temperature for Iron and Nickel", S. Velasco and F.L. Roman, The Physics Teacher 45, 387-389 (2007). |
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| Supporting Literature for the Hardware |
Resistance Heating Alloys and Systems for Industrial Furnaces |
Optical Activity of the Chiral Solutions (Optics)
| Students Manual | This highly interdisciplinary experiment will expose the students to the wave nature of light and the concept of polarization. The experimenters will use a tabletop laser as a light source and will use polarizers to control the generation and transmission of polarized light. Furthermore, students will determine the optical activity of a chiral molecule. The experiment will also engage the students in an exercise whereby they will be asked to describe what is meant by “optimum” measurements. |  |
| Sample Results | Verification of Malus's Principle | |
| Further Readings and References |
"Using guided inquiry to study optical activity and optical rotary dispersion in a cross disciplinary chemistry lab", M.A. Vaksman and J.W Lane , Journal of Chemical Education78, 1507 (2001). |
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| Supporting Literature for the Hardware |
Laser: He-Ne 632 nm, 2 mW, continuous wave, random polrized light(Laser specifications) Commonly used circuits with photodiodes and phototransistors |
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Filtering Noise in Electrical Circuits (Electronics)
| Students Manual | This is a veiled introduction to data acquisition. Furthermore, students will be exposed to the ideas of filtering, noise, sampling and autocorrelation.Students will be required to analyze the autocorrelation of the noise signal, generated from a pseudorandom binary signal. This will be followed by low-pass filtering using a simple RC circuit and calculating the autocorrelation of the filtered signal. |  |
| Matlab Codes | Nyquist Noise |
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| Lab View Code | Filter Composite XOR Nyquist Noise |
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| Sample Results | Gain of a low pass filter as a function of frequency | |
| Circuit Diagram | Circuit for pseudo-random noise generation based on shift registers | |
| Further Readings and References | "Two student experiments on electrical fluctuations", Y. Kraftmakher, American Journal of Physics 63, 932, (1995). "A course in computer based data acquisition", W.N. Hubin, American Journal of Physics 70, 80, (2002). |
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| Supporting Literature for the Hardware |
8-bit serial in, parallel-out shift register 74164 |
Latent Heat of Vaporization of Liquid Nitrogen and Specific Heats of Metals (Cryogenics)
| Students Manual | In this experiment, we have used a simple and intuitive setup to measure the latent heat of vaporization of liquid nitrogen and the specific heat capacity of a material. We will learn about the thermal properties of materials including solids, liquids and gases. Furthermore, we will be exposed to the safe handling of cryogens that are routinely used in low temperature physics. |  |
| Sample Results | Latent Heat for Liquid Nitrogen Extrapolated Curves |
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| Further Readings and References |
"A simple method of determining Debye temperatures", C. G. Deacon, J. R. de Bruyn, J. P. Whitehead |  |
Electromagnetic Induction and Working of Read-Write Operations in Magnetic Media (Hard Disk)
| Students Manual | The experimental objective is to use a Hall sensor and to find the field and magnetization of a magnet. We will also gain practical knowledge of magnetic field transducers, hard disk operation and data storage, visually and analytically determining the relationship between induced EMF and magnetic flux, and indirectly measure the speed of a motor. |  |
| Matlab Codes | Letter Read Magnetic Field |
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| Lab View Code | Hall Probe Solenoid |
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| Sample Results | Hall Probe Solenoid |
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| Further Readings and References |
"Apparatus for teaching Physics - Measurement and Analysis of the Field of Disk Magnets", M. Connors, The Physics Teacher 40, 308-311 (2002). |
