PHYSICS 3650 --- Spring 2024

Modern Physics Lab -

If you need any accommodation to access the information please inform me and I will approach UDSS to arrange for services.




Lecture Material:

Group Photo before Advanced Lab

Group Photo during Advanced Lab

  • S18 Comprehensive Lab Manual, first update 2/18/18 short lab descriptions added it is a work in progress; consult lectures for additional information

  • S20 New Order Comprehensive Lab Manual, last significant update 3/3/20 11am this manuals tells you which experiments to actually do and it differentiates between part 1 and part 2 sections of labs
  • Seminar Schedule
  • On plagiarism
    Origin HowTo Files and Origin License



    Lab Material:

    Photos of Lab Equipment:
  • Lab Equipment Photos

    I made short videos about the equipment of each lab. Although the videos are short (~ 5 minutes) they put my website above its storage limit, so I am not sure how long I can leave it up. The videos fall short of demonstrating how to do the experiment, but it is a first step.

    The videos are MTS files and to play them you will need a free player that accepts this format.

  • Magnetic Brake/ Chaos Lab Video
  • Photomultiplier Video
  • Speed of Light Lab Video
  • Millikan Lab Video
  • Alpha-Beta Lab Video
  • Gamma Lab Video
  • Radioactive samples info and metal spacer data
  • FH1 (argon) Lab Video
  • Franck-Hertz 2 (neon) Video
  • Blackbody Lab Video
  • Chaos Lab Video
  • Photoelectric Effect Lab Video
  • E over M Lab Video
  • Michelson Interferometer Lab Video
  • Chaos Lab Video
  • Franck-Hertz Lab Video
  • Franck-Hertz 2 Lab Video
    Now for all remaining experiments (including chaos and FH).
    A list of videos showing how to do the labs with some mention of systematic error, independent repetitions, anddata statistics:
  • E over M Lab Demo Video
  • Michelson Lab Demo Video
  • Millikan Lab Demo Video
  • Speed of Light Lab Demo Video
  • Photoelectric Lab Demo Video
  • Photoelectric Lab Demo Video pt.2
  • Blackbody Lab Demo Video
  • Gamma Lab Demo Video
  • Alpha Beta Lab Demo Video


  • Manufacturer Lab Manuals, Gravitational torsional balance
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Speed of Light
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Blackbody
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Blackbody Light
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Blackbody Leslie's Cube
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Thomson e over m
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual Chaos 3/25/21
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Chaos 3/25/21
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Driven Damped Oscillation
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Gamma
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Gamma 2
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Millikan
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Photoelectric
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Michelson
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Franck Hertz Argon
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Franck Hertz Argon model 2
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, FH Neon
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, AlphaBeta Radiation (excerpt)
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Leslie's Cube
    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Projects
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Two-Slit Experiment
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual pt.2, Two-Slit Experiment
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Noise pt.1
  • Manufacturer Lab Manual, Noise pt.2 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Other Helpful Info and Background:

  • Compton Distribution, rel. part starts at page 13 new 3/21/21
  • How to subtract background noise for different data distributions new 3/21/21
  • Gamma absorption coefficients new 3/21/21
  • Nuclear - Radiocarbon Dating & Half Life"
  • World of the Atom: Einstein - Blackbody Radiation
  • World of the Atom: Franck-Hertz
  • World of the Atom: Einstein - Photoelectric Effect
  • World of the Atom: Planck
  • Millikan "The Electron": pt.1
  • Millikan: pt.2
  • Cathode Tube info
  • Noise info
  • More Noise info
  • Electronic Noise
  • Chaos info
  • About photometers gamma

    More Experiment Background Info - not activated yet:

  • Low Pass Filters info
  • Fluctuation Noise info Noise 2
  • Another Noise Source info
  • EM Horns info
  • Radiation detector info
  • Millikan 2
  • x-ray background info
  • Thomson electron background info
  • Navier Stokes background info
  • Stokes Law 2nd Order Correction
  • includes Gamma Alpha/Beta Detector info
  • Photo Electrons info
  • XRay Filter info Bragg and Filter seminars
  • More Horns info
  • Light Coherence info Lasers
  • Gamma Background Noise info gamma; Noise 1
  • Geometry & Radioactivity info Alpha/Beta
  • Franck Hertz Tube info
  • Michelson & Laser info
  • Magnetic Brake info
  • Magn. Brake Theory info
  • Bragg Diffraction
  • First Lcture with Noise Summary info Noise 1; Noise 2
  • How monchr. are Lasers
  • Laser Evolution
  • Laser Fluctuation
  • Michelson alignment info
  • Geiger ctr limitg current
  • Geiger ctr electron transit times
  • Geiger ctr End Effects
  • Aperture multiple diffraction
  • Arbitrary apertures
  • Photocathodes -1980
  • Scintillator info
  • microwave zone plates



  • On Data Distributions
  • Lecture 1: Reports and Literature


    Seminar Talks/ppt:
  • Oscilloscopes
  • another Oscilloscopes


    Old Lecture Powerpoints:

  • Chaos & Gravitational Constant
  • Speed of Light/Polarization & Michelson Interferometer
  • Alpha/Beta & Gamma Radioactivity
  • Theory Franck-Hertz & Photoelectric, review atomic/quantum physics
  • Blackbody Radiation & Bragg Diffraction/microwaves
  • Theory E over M & Millikan
  • Hall Effect And Coulomb's Law


    New Lecture Supplements (some posted material still to be updated)
  • Thomson e/m, Millikan, Photoelectric Effect
  • Nuclear Lectures
  • Michelson Interferometer And Light
  • Semiconductors and Electronic Devices
  • Also Semicond/Electronics but more general intro (to be continued)

  • L 1 About Basic Measurement Devices


    General Course Information:


  • Draft Syllabus S21 updated 01/21/2021;look periodically for updates
  • Addendum General Requirements updated 01/21/2021;look periodically for updates
  • Addendum COM3 updated 01/21/2021;look periodically for updates
  • Addendum Standard Grades updated 01/21/2021;look periodically for updates