Re: Design an upper level lab

["Paul Zitzewitz" <pzitzewi@sb-f1.umd.umich.edu>]

We have a general upper-division lab course offered each winter term
(called spring in the rest of the country) that students must take 
twice.  

We do a mixture of historical experiments (Franck-Hertz, 
photoelectric effect, etc), technique-based experiments 
(inteferometry to find wavlengths, n of glass, Na doublet splitting, 
etc; force between current-carrying wires, microwave optics, fibre 
optics, hall effect), and a series of nuclear physics (counting 
statistics, gamma spectroscopy, alpha spectroscope, alpha scattering 
in gases, Rutherford scattering, gamma gamma angular correlation, 
etc).  We have others.

The selection is based on the collection of apparatus, which in turn 
is based on the interests of faculty who have taught the course over 
20 years.  We have a separate electronics course, and I really doubt 
that electronics could be integrated into this course easily or well.



> I have been asked to provide, on very short notice, specification for 
> a lab to be used for teaching upper division physics courses. No 
> specific course, just courses in general. Primarily, these will be 
> electronics, optics, thermodynamics, nuclear and modern physics. I 
> have a number of ideas for various things but I thought I would ask 
> around and see if anyone out there has a brilliant brainwave that I 
> could use. If you were designing a lab to teach upper division 
> physics courses, what would you desparately want to put in it in the 
> way of specific lab equipment or remodelling?
>
> Paul J. Camp                   "The Beauty of the Universe
> Assistant Professor of Physics  consists not only of unity
> Coastal Carolina University     in variety but also of 
> Conway, SC   29528              variety in unity.
> pjcamp@coastal.edu                    --Umberto Eco
> pjcamp@postoffice.worldnet.att.net    The Name of the Rose
> (803)349-2227                         
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