Much has changed since the implimentation of the first edition and a major overhaul was very much in need. In particular, the rapid introduction of the computer into the educational arena has drastically and irreversibly changed the way in which information is acquired, analyzed and deseminated. To reflect these changes in the introductory laboratory we have endeavdored to create a educational tool which utilizes this technology to its fullest extent; hopefully while enhancing the learning process and the understanding of physics principles. Thus, when fully deployed, this new edition will be available not only in hard copy but also as a fully integrated web document so that the manual itself has become an interactive tool in the laboratory environment.
The introductory student will find a wealth of learning resources to be
available while the laborary is being performed. Too many times students have
questions during these lab sessions which could be answered if the student could
access additional information. In the past the teaching assistant has been the
only source of this additional information and, if already occupied, too often
these questions went unanswered. There are also instances in which a student
may inadvertently stumble and produce a lab write-up containing a major error.
Too often this mistake is only seen at a latter time when the instructor is
correcting the lab reports. Students do not always have the opportunity to go
back and make it right and so the misunderstanding is never satistisfactorily
resolved. By making an interactive lab manual we hope to provide students with
immediate feedback so that if they do stray from the straight and narrow, a
timely course correction is provided.
M.J. Winokur
M. Thompson
The experiments in this manual evolved from many years of use at the University of Wisconsin. Past manuals have included ``cookbooks" with directions so complete and detailed that you can perform an experiment without knowing what you are doing or why, and manuals in which theory is so complete that no reference to text or lecture was necessary.
This manual avoids the``cookbook" approach and assumes that correlation between lecture and lab is sufficiently close that explanations (and theory) can be brief: in many cases merely a list of suggestions and precautions. Generally you will need at least an elementary understanding of the material in order to perform the experiment expeditiously and well. We hope that by the time you have completed an experiment, your understanding will have deepened in a manner not achievable by reading books or by working "paper problems". If the lab should get ahead of the lecture, please read the pertinent material, as recommended by the instructor, before doing the experiment.
The manual does not describe equipment in detail. We find it more efficient to have the apparatus out on a table and take a few minutes at the start to name the pieces and give suggestions for use. Also in this way changes in equipment, (sometimes necessary), need not cause confusion.
Many faculty members have contributed to this manual. Professors Barschall, Blanchard, Camerini, Erwin, Haeberli, Miller, Olsson, Visiting Professor Wickliffe and former Professor Moran have been especially helpful. However, any deficiencies or errors are our responsibility. We welcome suggestions for improvements.
Our lab support staff, Joe Sylvester and Harley Nelson, have made important contributions not only in maintaining the equipment in good working order, but also in improving the mechanical and aesthetic design of the apparatus.
Likewise our electronic support staff (Mike Murrary, Jerry Glowacki, and Art
Webb) not only maintain the electronic equipment, but also have contributed
excellent original circuits and component design for many of the experiments.
R. Rollefson
H. T. Richards