Introduction to the Modern Physics Laboratory

PHYS 272L

Fall 2025

Lab Instructor: Dr. Greg Severn, severn@sandiego.edu, X6845, ST282
Lab Time & Place: 9:15 am-12:05 pm & ST33
current office hours: 12:20-2:20, T 2:00-4:00 F 12:20-1:20 and by appointment. These may change during the semester so stay tuned.

item description
Notes on Lab NotebooksDescriptions of the use lab notebooks in PHYS272L and rubrics
Notes on experimental uncertaintystats & error propagation
Notes on making plotsmore on lab records
Goldilocks Analysis with FitteiaA conversation about the Goldilocks analysis
ScheduleChart of current really tentative dates of experiments for Spring 2025 (showing coordination with the lecture course)
lab #1 FITTEIA (goal: introduce the notion of a computational model, as distinguished from a physical model, as an aid to produce modeling curves that may be compared with actual experimental data, with experimental data subject to quantifiable uncertainty. Subsequent labs in PHYS 272L will involve computational models compared to experimental data, and where `goodness of fit' depends on the size of error bars. For the rest of the semester, terms such as 'explore, exhibit, illustrate, have-fun-with, etc.' all refer to experimental measurements that researchers make, compared with a computational model derived by those researchers from elementary physical theory using steps captured, explained, and justified in their lab notebooks. )
lab #2 A SIMPLE HARMONIC OSCILLATOR, SHO (goal: exhibit extremely simple minded measurements (and uncertainty) that permit comparison to a fairly sophisticated model)
lab #3 STANDING WAVES (goal: explore the phenomena of a 'classic' classical system that exhibits discrete `eigenvalues', something shared with quantum systems.)
lab #4 Interference & Diffraction (goal: exhibit the phenomena of interference and diffraction using coherent electromagnetic radiation, AND, the technical building blocks of spectroscopic measurements )
lab #5ATOMIC SPECTROSCOPY I (goal: illustrate the connections between atomic partial energy level diagrams (a.k.a Grotrian diagrams) and experimentally captured intensity vs. wavelength plots (plots of atomic spectra), for the latter were first understood physically only after the advent of quantum physics. Also, the calibration of the spectrometer is examined. )
lab #6 ATOMIC SPECTROSCOPY II (goal: illustrate the effect of the spin of the electron upon spectra; also, the wavelength resolution of the spectrometer is examined. )
lab #7$N_2$ MOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY (goal: illustrate, play-with, the quantum characteristics one of the universe's smallest simple harmonic oscillators (well, almost simple harmonic oscillator!:), the nitrogen molecule. These involve quantum mechanically bound states of two identical nuclei. )
lab #8 RADIOACTIVITY and NUCLEAR COUNTING STATISTICS (goal: introduce new experimental techniques, the Geiger Muller counter, and to (safely) have-fun-with various samples of radioactive substances, to measure intensity of radioactivity and lifetimes (a lab in which NO Nuclei are split, but in which infinitives are.... ))
Anciliary Course Materialsreadings, notes, data, and stuff

readings, notes, data, manuals, and stuff



File translated from TEX by (well some of it anyway... MathJaX is more convenient....) TTH, version 3.64.
Jan 2025 (and during the semester, constant revisions will take place.....apologies in advance)