The project entails the coordinated introduction of modern spectroscopy laboratories into the Wellesley physics curriculum. The instrumentation will be used in the sequence of student work that includes the modern physics course, a new advanced laboratory course and student research projects. The requested system includes a nitrogen laser and high resolution dye laser, a boxcar integrator a broadband light source, a spectrometer and lock-in amplifier, detectors and data handling electronics. It is designed to be flexible enough to handle the range of spectroscopic topics that will be covered in the associated courses. The pulsed dye laser will be used to study atomic structure, and the broadband light source will enable students to look at simple quantum structure in solids. In the subsequent advanced course, the lasers, spectrometer and boxcar will be employed for more sophisticated studies of structure and decay in atomic and condensed matter systems and of non-linear effects. Detailed investigations of excitons and the band structure of solids will be made with the spectrometer and lock-in amplifier. This work will correspond closely to the material covered in the Applications of Quantum Mechanics course. Students will then be able to use the same system and the skills they have acquired in their research and honors projects while working with professors who taught them earlier courses. This instrumentation represents a major step in the upgrading of the physics major at Wellesley. The overlap of skills and interest on the part of the participating faculty make it particularly appropriate and assure continuity in its implementation.
