Fall Semester 2009
Monday - Wednesday
11:00 - 12:50 in OCNPS 224
This is the first part of an experimental physics laboratory course for scientists and engineers. The course introduces instrumentation and techniques used in modern laboratories. The emphasis will be on electronics, optics and lasers, and the analysis of data.
Pre-requisite is PHYS 232N/227N.
Course Organization
Instructor
Dr. Stephen Bueltmann
Office
OCNPS 2100F
Contact
Telephone (757) 683-6401
E-mail sbueltma@odu.edu
Office Hours
Wednesday 14:00 - 15:00
and by appointment
Learning Center Hours
Monday 17:00 - 18:00
News
Last lab reports are due on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 17:00 in my department mailbox
(posted 12/9/2009)
Laboratory sessions are held twice a week on Monday and Wednesday from 11:00 until 12:50 in Room 224 of the Oceanography and Physics Building (OCNPS).
The schedule can be found on the Experimental Modules page.
Students will work in groups, usually pairs, and every student is required to keep a bound laboratory notebook up to date, containing experimental data.
Experiments can extend over several sessions with a laboratory report containing an analysis of the collected data due one week after the last session of a given experimental module. The front page should contain the title of the experiments, name of the author and the names of the lab partners, together with the ODU Honor Code statement signed.
Homework assignments will consist of reading assignments and solving of experiment related problems.
This information is also contained in the course syllabus.
Attendance is mandatory.
Textbooks
The required textbook is
The Electronics Companion
by A.C. Fischer-Cripps, Institute of Physics Publishing 2005.
Suggested textbooks are
Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences
by P.R. Bevington and D.K. Robinson, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill 2002
(older editions suitable).
Practical Physics
by G.L. Squires, Cambridge University Press 2001.
Hands-On Introduction to LabVIEW for Scientists and Engineers
by J. Essick, Oxford University Press 2009.
Further Reading:
The Art of Electronics
by P. Horowitz and W. Hill, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press 1989.
Experiments in Modern Physics
by A.C. Melissinos and J. Napolitano, 2nd edition, Academic Press 2003.
Call # 12098
Grading
The grade will be composed of the laboratory reports, homework, review of the laboratory notebook and a research presentation.
