New experiments will be added to our upper division, modern physics laboratory courses. The junior course serves as an introduction to quantum physics while the senior course is the culmination of the undergraduate training. In junior laboratory, we will add an experiment measuring the vibration levels of polar molecules as a function of temperature and a Compton scattering experiment. In senior lab, we will add experiments in surface science, including LEED, Auger spectroscopy, and a tunneling microscope capable of imaging individual atoms on surfaces. These instruments can be used to study surface disorder, structures of surfaces, electron screening, and the effects of adsorbates on surfaces. Magnetic flux measurements will be made using superconducting Josephson junctions at low temperatures. In addition to studying properties of superconductors, students will measure a precise value of e/m using a superconducting loop with a series junction. Finally, students will perform a nonlinear dynamics experiment demonstrating the new and beautiful ideas of chaos discovered in classical systems. These new experiments will provide the training for professional physicists expected by research laboratories in both industry and graduate school.
