Modern Physics Laboratory (Phys 321)
Instructor: Dr. Zhigang Chen (Office: TH526 Office hours: M F
Meeting time and Place: Wed 1310-1655, Th231
Course Description:
PHYS 321 is a laboratory course focusing on important experiments in modern
physics. The term “modern physics” is outdated. There is really nothing “modern”
about the experiments you will perform since many of them were originally
completed some 100 years ago. The lab course is really a sequence of
experiments designed to study the properties of electrons, photons, atoms and their
interactions. It is the hope that these experiments will enhance your classroom
learning about modern physics and quantum mechanics.
During this course, you will have the opportunity to
1. repeat some very important
experiments and gain experience with a variety of
experimental techniques,
2. analyze and synthesize non-trivial
experimental data, and
3. gain experience in writing a lab report on
the experimental work you have performed.
Experiments Available and Schedule:
Week Lab# Experiment
Aug 29 Lab
1 Registration; Data
Analysis
Sep 5 & 12 Lab
3 Spectral Lines, Balmer Series
Sep 19 Lab
2 Radioactive Decay,
Counting Statistics
Sep 26 & Oct 3 Lab 4 Michelson-Morley
Oct 10 Lab 5 e/m of electron
Oct 17 & Oct 24 Lab 6 Photoelectric
effect, Planck’s
Constant
Oct 31 &
Nov 7 Lab 7 Frank-Hertz
Nov 14 Lab
8 Charge of electron (Millikan)
Nov 21 No
Lab Thanksgiving
Nov 28, Dec 5 & Dec 12 Lab 8 Charge
of electron (Millikan)
Note:
Lab reports (lab
notebooks) need to be completed and turned in by the end of each lab. If you
cannot complete in lab, you need to turn in no later than
There is no
make-up of lab, and lab attendance is considered towards the total credit.
Please refer to
your lab manual for more detailed course information and grading policy.
We may not have
exclusive use of room Th231, so that setups may be taken down between labs.
All lab notebooks and final reports (on Millikan) are due by December 15 for final grading.