Physics 321/322: Experimental Physics

Westminster College

Fall 2010/Spring 2011

• Instructor
  • Dr. Douglas Armstead
  • Hoyt 124
  • 724-946-7201 or x7201
  • armstedn@westminster.edu
  
  
• Meeting
  • Hoyt 124
  • Day: Tuesday and Thursday
  • Time: 11-12:30
  • Course Syllabus
  
  Additional Potential Experiments
  • Holography
  • Physical Pendulum
  • Observation of the motion of Titan for Kepler's laws(Saturn's big moon)
  • Fourier Analysis and Synthsis
  
  Writing Papers
  • Style Guide: The American Institute of Physics style sheet gives good advice about writing paper of the sort that you write for this class.
  • Typsetting software: You may find it helpful to use LaTeX a free and commonly used typsetting software. It is particularly helpful when a paper will have a significant number of equations, and helps to keep a paper well organized. It is installed on all of the computers in the Electronics lab and most of the computers in the Waves lab.
  • LaTeX reference material: If you choose to use LaTeX you will want the standard reference for using LaTeX. You will find more guidance regarding the use of LaTeX is in scientific writing from the American Physical Society (APS). General information is located here but the most directly useful guide to LaTeX is here.
  • Examples: An example to get started with is as follows, template for a paper written using LaTeX, the file containing the figure, and the final product created from the source files.
  The Physics Literature
  For an exhaustive list of resources available on campus please consult the library but for some highlights see below.
  • Browsing journals:
    Most journals are available online from the library's Online Indexes and Journals page.
    • The prime physics specific journal is Physical Review Letters (PRL) which is composed of 4 page letters that are selected based on their importance and broad appeal in the physics community. Generally more detailed papers will also be published on the same topic in the more detailed Physical Review Journals (PRA, PRB, PRC, etc.). These are all available at the PROLA link on the library website.
  • Searching the physics literature:
    The best resource for searching for an article that is relevant to what you are interested in is the references section of a paper that you already have on the topic. Barring that or if you want a paper that is newer than the one you already have, the Web of Science is an excellent source for new articles that allows you to search by topic, author, etc.
  • Journals available on campus:
    To find which Jounals are available on campus you can
    • search The Library Catalog
    • Look directly at Physical Review On Line Archive (PROLA)
    • Look at the other main publisher of Journals available on campus: Science Direct.
    • What if the journal or book you want isn't available on campus?
  • Interlibrary loan:
    Books and journals can be borrowed from other academic librarys using Interlibrary Loan.