PHGN 326: Advanced Physics Laboratory II  Spring 2012

 contacts || LABS || Schedule ||  Grading || Lab Reports || Academic Integrity ||  Useful Links

Contacts

Prof.  Lawrence Wiencke    

Meyer Hall 338  (office hours Monday, Wednesday 3:00 -5:30 pm)

Phone: (303) 384 2234

Email: lwiencke@mines.edu

      TA:  Tuesday Section    

       TA:  Thursday Section   

             Caleb Speirs  jspeirs@mymail.mines.edu  Office hours:  MH 235  Mon 9-11 am

Recommended Text (Each group should have at least one copy)

 Introduction to Error analysis (Taylor) ISBN-10: 093570275X ISBN-13: 978-0935702750

LABS

This second semester of the advanced laboratory course deals predominantly with nuclear and particle physics. 8 cool experiments are offered.  To successfully complete this course, you will do 5 of them.

Instructions for the experiments are available in the links below:

1. Building and testing of a NaI detector

2. Gamma ray attenuation

3. Compton Scattering

4. Energy loss of alpha particles

5. Alpha – Gamma coincidences

6. Gamma – Gamma coincidences

7. Cosmic-ray angular distribution

8. Muon Lifetime measurement

9.  X-Ray Scattering

Schedule

The laboratory is conducted every second week. 

You are either in the Tuesday (PHGN326A) or the Thursday (PHGN326B) session.

We will work from 9:15am to 4pm with a lunch break from 12-1.  Lab will be open at 9:00 AM.

On lab dates, each student will take a short closed book quiz  from 9:15-9:30

 The labs will be done in groups of 3  students. You will have the same lab partners for the semester.

Both sections (Tues or Thurs) are split into 8 or 9 groups (A-I).
All groups have to attend the introductory session for their day
The experiments are numbered 1-9.

Grading

Grading:

5 lab reports                5/7 of the course grade.

Performance in Lab    1/7 of the course grade

Preparation for Lab     1/7 of the course grade  (includes in-lab mini-quiz)

Grading of Reports:

Reports will be graded on a scale of 0-35 divided as follows

    5  points – abstract

  10  writing - clarity, and mechanics (references, grammar, spelling

   10 data analysis/errors

   10 figures and tables

All authors are ultimately responsible for all material in the report. 

All authors will be assigned the same grade.

The number grades on reports translate to letter grades as follows: 30-35 A       25-29 B       20-24 C      15-20 D

Lab Reports:

Due Dates

Lab reports due 13 days by 6pm after lab date.  For first lab report only, a draft of report due 1 week after lab. 

Reports can be placed in my mail box in the physics office, or under my office door. Late reports are normally not accepted.

Reports are to be prepared with a word processor of your choosing (latex preferred, msword ok.)  All figures and tables are to be numbered and have captions.  Neatly produced handwritten diagrams of apparatus and sketches that illustrate oscilloscope signal properties are acceptable.  Quantitative plots including spectra are to be displayed in your report in computer generated figures, not hand drawn sketches.

Length should be 4-8 pages, not including appendices.  Reports must be stapled together securely.  Instructor not responsible for pages that are not securely stapled together.

Lab Report Sections read carefully!

Note:  No Procedure, No Table of Contents

Cover page including abstract  Cover page to follow format of  Example here

Abstract. 

Should be 4-8 sentences.  1-2 about the physics you are investigating, 1-2 about the apparatus and method. 1-2 about the results.  If results are quantitative, quote number and errors.  If your results are many numbers, show a few as examples.

Section: Apparatus

Figures (1-3 diagrams with labels and captions)
Clearly labeled diagram of the entire system including computer data acquisition system and detector.  In some cases a block diagram is best.
The caption should include a few sentences about key features.
Second diagram with showing just the detector and the source (s).
Writing

A detailed discussion of the apparatus is already in the lab handout.

You will write 1 paragraph explaining what the apparatus actually measures.  Think carefully here.

 
Do not write a section on procedure.  One is already written in the handout. If you try something extra because you are curious, describe this in one concise paragraph.

Section: Data Collected
This contains the raw data and the starting point of your data analysis

Section:  Data Analysis and estimation of uncertainties
This section explains your data analysis and how you calculated/estimated the experimental uncertainties. You may wish to put in key equations, and a sample calculation. 

Section:  Results and discussion of results
Present the qualitative results of the data and error analysis. This is typically one or more plots and a table, Write a few paragraph describing the results including errors.

Section:  Conclusion
What conclusions about the physics you investigated may or may not be drawn based on your results and why?  Think carefully about the physics, what the apparatus actually measured, and what the results, including errors actually show. This is an exercise in critical thinking demonstrated by clear writing.

Section: References
Each reference should start with a citation number that also appears at the appropriate location in the text.  When possible, reference the original material, ie journal articles or books.  For example do not reference material contained in a journal paper using a web link.  Reference the actual journal article.  Wiki references are not allowed.

Section: Appendix
Any other discussion or comments.
A copy of the lab notebook pages written during the lab from all members.  

Academic Integrity

“Plagiarism - presenting the work of another as one's own. This is usually accomplished through the failure to acknowledge the borrowing of ideas, data, or the words of others. Examples include submitting as one's own work the work of another student, a ghost writer, or a commercial writing service; quoting, either directly or paraphrased, a source without appropriate acknowledgment; and using figures, charts, graphs or facts without appropriate acknowledgment. Inadvertent or unintentional misuse or appropriation of another's work is nevertheless plagiarism.”

Quoted from Student Honor Code, Colorado School of Mines

Undergraduate Bulletin 

Lab reports must adhere to this standard.

Reports that contain plagiarized material, and in particular text copied from other sources, including the lab handout, without proper acknowledgement will be assigned a grade of zero. 
Write in your own words. Include plenty of references.  If you must quote a short piece of text from a source, the text must be in quotes and accompanied by a specific reference for the source. 

Acknowledgement
This course was extensively revised by Prof. Greife prior to 2007. Many of these the experiments are the result of his considerable effort, ingenuity, and equipment scrounging.