One of the best methods for studying the underlying mechanisms associated with the properties of a material is to make measurements of the temperature dependence of intrinsic properties of the material. This fact has been brought home forcefully in reviewing the work currently in progress on the new high Tc superconductors. Despite the importance of understanding the significance of such measurements and the techniques involved in making them, many students have had very little opportunity for laboratory exposure in this area. In this project two systems for the measurement of temperature dependent properties will be developed for use in the upper and lower level student laboratories. The systems will include two Hansen High-Tran Liquid Transfer Systems, for sample cooling and temperature control, and two Hewlett Packard 150 series personal computer systems for data acquisition and real-time analysis. The new equipment will be used in the sophomore-level modern physics laboratory to make measurements of transport properties that can be explained in terms of a simple free-electron model, in the senior-level advanced laboratory to investigate the properties of superconductors, quasi-low dimensional conductors and other novel materials, and also in individual student research projects.
