Phys 490
AVAILABLE EXPERIMENTS
Faraday Rotation. Observe the rotation of polarization of light produced by applying a magnetic field as
the light propagates through glass. Interesting effect; good use of lock-in amplifier.
Difficulty: Low – Moderate Time: Short Computer Data Acq.: No Data Acq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites: Lock-in amp tutorial; knowledge of optical polarization. Notes:
Lifetime of Cosmic Ray Muons. Capture cosmic ray muons in a scintillator detector and build up a
distribution of decay times from which muon lifetime is determined. Learn high energy physics techniques.
Difficulty: Low-Moderate Time: Short Computer Data Acq.: Yes Data Acq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites: Basic nuclear counting experience
Notes:
Adiabatic and Isothermal Compressions of Gases. Use computer data acquisition to track pressure,
temperature, and volume during compressions. Determine "degrees of freedom' for monatomic and
diatomic gas molecules.
Difficulty: Low Time: Short Computer Data Acq: Yes Data Acq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites: Phys 370 or equiv. Notes:
Interference Patterns. Use computer data acquisition with a laser to plot out two-slit interference patterns
and compare them with theoretical predictions.
Difficulty: Low Time: Medium Computer Data Acq: Yes Data Acq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites: Knowledge of optical interference/diffraction
Notes:
Electron Diffraction. View an electron waves diffracting from a thin crystal and find the dependence of
electron wavelength on its energy.
Difficulty: Low Time: Short
Computer Data Acq: No
Data Acq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites:
Notes:
Speed of Light. Measure time of flight of a modulated laser beam.
Difficulty: Low-moderate Time: Short Computer Data Acq: No
Data Acq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites:
Notes:
Resonant Circuit Impedance Vs. Frequency: Construct a capacitor-inductor resonant circuit with
variable damping (resistance); use computer-controlled data acquisition to plot impedance response.
Difficulty: Low-Moderate Time: Short Computer Data Acq: Yes
Data Acq. Programming: Yes
Pre-requisites: AC circuit theory, GPIB programming (MATLAB) Notes:
Gamma Spectroscopy. Use computer pulse height analyzer to study the energy spectrum of gamma
decays of Co60 and other isotopes; observe evidence for creation and annihilation of antimatter.
Difficulty: Moderate Time: Medium Computer Data Acq: Yes Data A cq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites: Radiation Safety; Basic nuclear counting Notes:
Specific Heat of Copper: Fit prediction of Debye theory of heat capacity dependence on temperature;
computer collects data using GPIB MATLAB program which you write.
Difficulty: Low Time: Short
Computer Data Acq: Yes
Data Acq. Programming: Yes
Pre-requisites: GPIB programming;
Notes:
Capacitance of a Ferroelectric: Use computerized capacitance meter to study ferroelectric phase
transition as a function of temperature.
Difficulty: Low-moderate Time: Short Computer Data Acq: Yes Data Acq. Programming. Yes
Pre-requisites: GPIB Programming
Notes:
Transmission Lines and Speed of Light in Dielectrics: Study propagation of voltage pulses on an
electromagnetic transmission line (coaxial cable); determine the speed of EM waves in a dielectric material
Difficulty: Low Time: Medium Computer Data Acq: No
Data Acq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites: Phys 360 or equiv.
Notes.
Bragg Diffraction of X-Rays: Use computer controlled motor to automate the scanning; determine lattice
spacing in two crystals.
Difficulty: Low Time: Short/med Computer Data Acq: Yes Data Acq. Programming: Opt.
Pre-requisites: Basic knowledge of crystal structure
Notes:
Power Spectrum of Speech: Digitally record and spectrum analyze speech to determine formant structure
(resonances in the vocal tract). Build electronic anti-alias filter.
Difficulty: Low- Mod Time: Short Computer Data Acq: Yes
Data Acq. Programming. No
Pre-requisites: Knowledge of FFT methods
Notes:
Thermionic Emission of Electrons: Study emission of electrons from heated metal; Stefan-Boltzmann T4
law, etc.
Difficulty: Low/med. Time: Short Computer Data Acq: No DataAcq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites:
Notes:
High Temperature Superconducting Quantum Interference Device (SQUID). Observe flux
quantization in superconductor and produce quantum state transitions using microwave photons.
Difficulty: Med Time: Short Computer Data Acq: No Data Acq. Programming. No
Pre-requisites:
Notes:
Hall Effect in p-Germanium. Observe the magnitude and sign of the Hall effect in p-doped Germanium as
the sample temperature is varied. Interesting combination of electric, magnetic, and thermal measurements.
Difficulty: Expt – low; Analyze- Med Time: Short Computer Data Acq: No Data Acq. Programming. No
Pre-requisites: Knowledge of semiconductor physics
Notes:
Earth-Field Nuclear Magnetic Induction. Observe precession of nuclei in the Earth’s magnetic field as
their magnetic moments are polarized and depolarized.
Difficulty: Med Time: Medium Computer Data Acq: Yes
Data Acq. Programming. No
Pre-requisites: Physics 370 or equiv. Notes:
Beta-Particle Magnetic Spectrometer. Determine energy spectrum of beta particles from a radioactive
source by observing magnetic deflection of particles.
Difficulty: Low Time: Short Computer Data Acq: No Data Acq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites: Some knowledge of beta decay
Notes:
Electron Spin Resonance. Use radio-frequency signals to interact with electron spins polarized by a dc
magnetic field and achieve resonance with the electron spin precession.
Difficulty: Low-Medium Time: Short/Med Computer Data Acq: Yes Data Acq. Programming: No
Prereq: Knowledge of spin angular momentum and lock-in methods
Johnson Noise in Resistors: Study dependence of noise on resistance, resistor material, and current.
Difficulty: Expt-Low; Analyze-Mod. Time: Med. Computer Data Acq: Yes Data Acq. Programming: No
Pre-requisites: Knowledge of filters, bandwidth, FFT
Notes :