Physics (Electricity and Magnetism) Labs from 8.02X
WARNING NOTICE
The experiments described in these materials are potentially hazardous and require a high level of safety training, special facilities and equipment, and supervision by appropriate individuals. You bear the sole responsibility, liability, and risk for the implementation of such safety procedures and measures. MIT shall have no responsibility, liability, or risk for the content or implementation of any of the material presented.
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Goal: Our world is filled with devices that contain electrical circuits in which various voltage sources cause currents to flow. Electrical currents generate heat, light, and magnetic fields, and produce chemical effects. Any of these phenomena can be used to measure current. One of the simplest ways is to let the current flow through a coil of wire that is in a magnetic field and to measure the resulting torque on the coil by observing the deflection of a torsion spring. This is how your multimeter, the focus of this experiement, works.
Instructors: Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, Prof. Gunther Roland
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Goal: In this experiment you will use meters, power supplies, resistors and lamps in various circuits. You will make measurements to get some intuition and knowledge of circuit behavior.
Instructors: Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, Prof. Gunther Roland
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Goal: In this experiment you’ll investigate aspects of the electrostatic force. This force has such varied roles as making currents flow in wires, holding atoms and molecules together, making clothes cling, glue stick, etc. The strength of the electrostatic force is proportional to the product of a charge (measured in coulombs) and the electric field (measured in volts/meter) produced by the other charges.
Instructors: Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, Prof. Gunther Roland
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Goal: In this experiment you will study the breakdown of air using your HVPS and a simple adjustable spark gap made from a clothespin, two tungsten rods, and a screw and wingnut to adjust the gap width.
Instructors: Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, Prof. Gunther Roland
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Goal: In this experiment, you will investigate the magnetic force between two current carrying wire coils. One coil has 10 turns and the other has 38 turns.
Instructors: Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, Prof. Gunther Roland
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Goal: You will construct a non-inverting dc amplifier with the integrated circuit op-amp, LF411. It has an amplification A of more than 105, which means that it can amplify voltages so that tens of microvolt differences between the two inputs can become volts at the output. We will use the LF411 op-amp in a negative-feedback circuit to give a gain, G, of about 90.
Instructors: Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, Prof. Gunther Roland
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Goal: In this experiment you’ll generate microwaves with a simple spark transmitter powered by your HVPS. Two pieces of wire will serve as a transmitting dipole antenna. You'll use another piece of wire as a receiving dipole antenna connected to your amplifier through a diode to detect the microwaves and to investigate their properties.
Instructors: Dr. Peter Dourmashkin, Prof. Gunther Roland
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