9451196 Kapteyn Washington State University will introduce computer data acquisition into its scientific electronics laboratory course. This course is required of physics majors and is also popular with students from other academic departments who need to know how to use electronics in their work. Currently, the laboratory teaches basic analog electronics, operational amplifiers, digital electronics, and analog to digital interfacing. However, the equipment now used for the course is not current, and methods of computer data acquisition and control need to be taught in order to prepare students for the way experimental physics is now done. As well as its use in teaching computer techniques, the equipment will be used as a diagnostic tool which the students can use to elucidate aspects of circuit behavior. This will allow the students to have a better understanding of how the lecture and laboratory parts of the course relate to each other. Each station will be equipped with a Macintosh computer, LABVIEW data acquisition software, and a computer-controlled multimeter, digital oscilloscope, and function generator.
