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Facilities Updates

Elementary Physics Laboratory Upgrades

Elementary physics laboratory work station.

The intermediate and advanced physics labs have also seen many improvements. New optical tables and breadboards as well as equipment for experiments in interference and single mode fiber optics have been purchased. Upgraded multi-channel analyzers for nuclear and atomic physics experiments are now used. Other existing experiments have been refurbished with the addition of several new NIM modules, desktop instruments, programmable power supplies, and LabView interfaces. Intermediate and advanced labs have also seen the addition of a complete research-grade Mössbauer experiment set-up.

Hands-on experimentation is emphasized in the lab while the computerized data acquisition systems used allow the students to collect large amounts of data.

Funds from the University have also made it possible for every laboratory station for freshman, sophomore, and intermediate/advanced labs to be fully computerized. The departmental web site also has links to pages for lab schedules and homework assignments.

In the elementary physics labs, computerized data acquisition is used extensively. Several innovative freshman/sophomore experiments using video capture and analysis have been developed and incorporated into the new lab manual. The UI Physics and Astronomy department is among the first to employ modern video-capture techniques in the lab.

Video capture from the "Collisions in Two Dimensions" experiment. Thousands of dollars are saved every semester because no film or associated stroboscopic hardware is needed to collect data.

Student, faculty, and teaching assistant reaction to the labs has been very positive. In September, President Mary Sue Coleman and Iowa Board of Regents David Neil and Ellengray Kennedy toured the elementary teaching labs. They had the opportunity to personally handle some of the instructional equipment. In addition, they learned how the department has been able to upgrade lab equipment by using the instructional monies provided by the University. Other visitors during the past year included UISG student leaders, Vice President Doug True, Assistant Provost Don Szeszycki, and Student Services Assistant Vice President Belinda Marner.

In a recent address at the University of Iowa Convocation, "Bridges to the Next Horizon: A View of The University of Iowa's Potential," Pres. Coleman had great praise for the department's laboratory upgrades. "... the department has given priority to multi-purpose labs serving general education courses with large enrollments. Some of the new labs are used concurrently in up to four different courses, and some equipment can be used in more than one laboratory. The new labs serve all engineering majors, all pre-medical students, selected science majors, and majors in speech pathology, nursing, and education. Now 1,600 students are gaining experience with modern equipment that allows them to make precise measurements and conduct sophisticated simulations, giving them insight into the beauty of nature's fundamental laws. For the first time in many years, The University of Iowa is ahead of the competition; in fact, some of the equipment is so advanced, so novel, that it is being written up for publication and presentation. As a result of this strategic investment, faculty and teaching assistants have been reenergized, instruction in physics has been transformed, and our labs ... have become a point of pride in our recruiting efforts."

Data from experiment on conservation of angular momentum processed with video capturing and video analysis techniques.

To demonstrate the new laboratory techniques, Charles Williamson, Ramon Torres-Isea, and Craig Kletzing have submitted an article for publication in the American Journal of Physics entitled, "Analyzing Linear and Angular Momentum Conservation in Digital Movies," which describes the usefulness of video-capture techniques and video analysis in an experiment using air table puck collisions.

In the future, students will be able to access lecture demonstration videos from their lab stations to supplement work on experiments they are currently working on. Use of these videos in the laboratory will give students other avenues to understand and compare their lab results and thus further enhance their learning experience in the laboratory.

Thanks to the commitment from the University and the hard work of staff, faculty and students, the departmental teaching labs are becoming some of the best in the nation.

If you'd like more information on physics laboratories, contact Ramon Torres-Isea (319-335-1754, email Ramon-Torres-Isea@uiowa.edu).