2023 BFY4 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: |
W21: Disappearing Slides |
| Abstract: |
Since 2012, NC State physics has developed a mini-lab approach which enables physics courses without laboratories to add an experimental component: a single lab innately associated with the course content which students perform on research-grade equipment in a shared user facility. Each experiment and associated analyses replace a traditional homework assignment for one week of the course; mini-labs are mostly unchanged from year to year and are taught by a graduate student instructor. This scheme provides an enriched undergraduate experience with minimal financial or faculty time cost. In this workshop, I will demonstrate a mini-lab associated with intermediate Electricity & Magnetism II course, which was inspired by the textbook "Introduction to Electrodynamics," by David Griffiths. The only specialized equipment required is a UV-Vis spectrometer and transparent slides: glass, sapphire, lithium niobate, and polymethylmethacrylate (plexiglass). An engaging approach to measure the index of refraction is via index matching: when a transparent object is placed into a liquid with the same index of refraction such as mineral oil, glycerol, or water, it becomes invisible. Students use three detectors to determine index matching: their eyes, a camera, and a spectrometer. Participants of the workshop will have qualitative and quantitative data after index matching various slides in liquids. As part of the lab/post-analysis, students will consider the physical mechanisms that contribute to the dielectric constant, the relationship between dielectric constant and index of refraction, how those quantities vary with frequency, how to measure dielectric constant at different frequencies, the wave equation inside a linear isotropic dielectric, scattering of ~7% from the interface between two transparent materials with different indices, and the interaction of UV-light with materials. |
| Abstract Type: |
Workshop
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Author/Organizer Information |
| Primary Contact: |
Samanvitha Sridhar
NC State University
|
Co-Author(s)
and Co-Presenter(s) |
Dr. Laura Clarke, NC State University
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