9450943 Essick The Reed College Physics Department will implement a major improvement of its upper-division instructional laboratory course (Physics 331/332 Advanced Laboratory). This course is a major component of the curriculum for junior-level physics majors and is of vital importance in outfitting them with the ideas, tools and experiences necessary to competently execute their Senior Theses, the year-long independent research projects undertaken by all fourth-year Reed students. Improvement of the Advanced Laboratory will be realized through the development of eight modern physics experimental stations and an updated presentation of computer-assisted data acquisition and analysis (facilitated by three new LabView systems). The eight stations will be constructed from building-block components including a monochromatic light source, digitizing oscilloscope, high resolution spectrometer, temperature-controlled cryostat, tunable laser diode, multi-channel analyzer and lock-in amplifier. A guided experiment will be developed for each new station. Each of these experiments will illustrate a physical concept of contemporary scientific importance via research-style measurement methods and will provide experience with generic data analysis techniques. The component-type nature of these stations also will allow students to easily alter the experimental parameters in search of new effects and to modify the setups for independent projects. With the addition of these flexible component-type stations, the Advanced Laboratory will better fulfill its dual purpose of exposing junior-level physics majors to the concerns and techniques of modern experimental physics research and developing their skills as autonomous researchers. Additionally, these stations will serve as a resource for physics Thesis students.
