


\section{General Instructions }

In preparing for the first laboratory meeting for each experiment, you
should carefully read the instructions for a scheduled experiment
before reporting to the laboratory meeting. In many cases, you will
also find it useful to do some background reading on the subject, in
your Physics 52 textbook, in various sources found in the library, or
on the internet. (Beware of material on the internet. Some of it is
very good, but there is no guarantee that the information is relevant,
useful, or correct!) You are encouraged to take notes on your reading
and attach these notes in your lab book. Be sure to include references
to your sources. While you may find some details of the instructions
will have been changed in the lab (as we are constantly tweaking the
equipment), complete familiarity with the objectives and general
procedures of the experiment before the laboratory period will help
you in working efficiently in lab.

Please observe the precautions emphasized in the laboratory
instructions and appendices and accord the research-type equipment the
respect it deserves. Note that much of the equipment in this
laboratory is one-of-a-kind, delicate, difficult to repair, and
expensive! Much of it can be damaged if used incorrectly. If you have
any questions about how to use the equipment, be sure to ask the
instructor before turning it on or starting a new procedure. Report
any damaged equipment to your instructor immediately.

\begin{itemize}
  \item Always bring your lab manual, a calculator, a (non-erasable)
    pen, and a laboratory notebook (brown-cover National 43-648
    ``Computation Notebook'') with you to lab. 
\end{itemize}

\subsection*{Laboratory Notebook}

You will follow the same general rules for your laboratory notebook
that were used in Physics 53. The notebook will be an essential part
of your laboratory work this year, and it should contain a running
account of the work you do.  \emph{Entries should be made while the
experiment is in progress}, and you should use a standard format. Your
notebook should:

\begin{enumerate}
\item provide the reader with a table of contents at the beginning,
  page 1, listing the number and title of the experiment, the date or
  dates when it was done, the page numbers in the notebook, and the
  name of your partner (see below);

\item contain all pertinent information, schematic diagrams,
  observations, data, rough calculations, results, and
  conclusions. Think of your entries as being those in an informal
  diary or journal relating daily experiences.

  In the laboratory, each experiment will be performed by a team of
  two investigators. Each person is responsible for the complete
  documentation of the work performed and its analysis. That is, while
  you may discuss the experimental results with your lab partner,
  \emph{your analysis of the experiment should be done individually.}
    Remember, you will write a technical report based on one of the
    experiments, and therefore a complete record of your observations
    and conclusions is essential.

    Computers are available for data gathering, plotting, and
    analysis. Do not alter the computer operating system or programs
    in any way. Any such tampering, even if intended to be harmless,
    is considered a serious offense. 
\end{enumerate}

There are some general rules for making entries in your laboratory notebook:

\begin{enumerate}
  \item	Use permanent ink, not pencil or erasable ink. 

\item Do not use scratch paper---all records must be made directly in
  the notebook. (Left-hand pages may be used for scratch work.)

\item Do not erase or use ``white out''---draw a single line through an incorrect entry and write the correct value nearby. Apparent errors sometimes later prove to be important. 

\item Record data in tabular form when possible with uncertainties and give units in the heading of each column. 

\item Define all symbols used in diagrams, graphs, and equations. 

\item Determine the uncertainties in your data and results as you go, and let the calculations determine the number of measurements needed. 

\item Record qualitative observations as well as numbers and diagrams. 

\item Take care in drawing graphs---a sloppy graph or one drawn to an
  inadequate scale is next to useless. Graphs often dictate what you
  should do next. Try to determine the probable range of your data
  before starting your graph. Draw graphs in your notebook as the
  experiment proceeds to help record and understand the experiment in
  real time. You will often find it useful to use the computer to
  generate graphs while you are taking data as well as when you are
  doing final analysis or fitting.

  Append \emph{clearly and fully labelled} computer-generated or
  hand-drawn  graphs securely to the notebook pages. Describe these
  graphs in your narrative. Place the graphs in your lab books as
  close as possible to the relevant data, preferably on left-hand
  pages facing the corresponding data tables. Include error bars and
  properly weighted fits to the data wherever possible. Also include
  plots of residuals (with appropriate error bars) where applicable.

\item Do not fall into the habit of recording only your data in lab, leaving blank pages or spaces for description and calculation to be finished later. Entries should be made in order corresponding to the work you are doing, much like a diary report, although complicated computations and analyses are usually undertaken after the data taking procedures have been completed. 

\item While not everyone can produce a showcase-type notebook, your work should be as neat and orderly as possible. Sloppiness and carelessness cannot be overlooked even when the results are good. 
\item Your notebook will be a success if you or a colleague could use it as a guide in repeating or expanding upon the particular experiment at a much later date. 

\end{enumerate}

\begin{center}
  \rule{4in}{.5pt}
\end{center}

Because your success in the laboratory will depend to a large extent
upon your notebook and the write-up you produce from it, the following
specific instructions for your notebook are provided.

\begin{description}
\item[Notebook] The physics laboratory books (National 43-648
  ``Computation Notebook'') are bound notebooks ruled horizontally and
  vertically into squares. Leave two pages at the beginning of the
  notebook for a table of contents. Pages are numbered in the upper
  right-hand corner, beginning with the first page in the book. Put
  your table of contents on the last page of the notebook, but start
  your lab entries on the first page. When the table of contents meets
  the actual contents, somewhere in the middle, the notebook is
  complete.  The table of contents should contain the following column
  headings:

\begin{center}  \begin{tabular}{lclccc}
    \toprule
    \textbf{Expt.\ \#} & \textbf{Title} & \textbf{Partner} &
    \textbf{Dates} & \textbf{Pages} & \textbf{Grade} \\
    \midrule
    Expt.\ 1 & Delta Radiation & Marge Innovera & 1/19--1/26/10 &
    3--13 & \\
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
\end{center}

You should date each page of your notebook. Also date any entry added after lab. 

\item[Description of Intent and Proposed Procedure] Head each
  experiment with the material used in the Table of Contents. Begin
  with a brief statement of the purpose of the experiment and a brief
  outline of the procedure your intended procedure. Two or three
  sentences should be enough. There is no need to copy that contained
  in the laboratory manual.

  Please note that you do not always have at the beginning all the
  information you need to prepare a full description of purpose or
  procedure. The objectives may be poorly defined at the start and
  become crystallized only in the final stages of the experiment. Your
  notion about how to proceed may change after you have proved
  something else. For these reasons we are reluctant to prescribe very
  definite.rules about laboratory work and laboratory records

\item[Sketch of Apparatus] Whenever practical, include a large, clear
  drawing, sketch, and/or block diagram of your experimental
  arrangement, to scale when necessary. Indicate clearly on the sketch
  critical quantities such as dimensions, volumes, masses, etc. Avoid
  excessive detail; include only essential features.  Record the
  manufacturer, model name or number, and HMC identification number
  and, if appropriate, the accuracy of all apparatus you use, as it
  may be essential that you get the \emph{same} apparatus later, or someone
  else may wish to compare their results with yours.

\item[Preliminary Data] Frequently there are certain preliminary data
that must be measured or looked up in the tables and recorded, such as
switch settings on equipment. Collect such information in a single
table in your notebook and devote a separate line to each
quantity. Include units and uncertainty where relevant.

\item[Tabulation of Data] Put data in tabular form where
  practical. The easiest and most frequently used procedure is to
  organize the data in clear tabular form, leaving empty columns if
  necessary for calculated results that will be made later.  This
  requires advanced planning. At the head of each column should appear
  a symbol or notation for the quantity that is to be recorded in that
  column, with the units in which this quantity is measured in
  parentheses, thus or T~(K) or E~(mV). This avoids the necessity of
  writing the unit after each entry. Always use one self-consistent
  system of units. Uncertainties must be included for all measurements
  (unless you're told otherwise). If the uncertainties vary from datum
  to datum, each should be followed by its own
  uncertainty. Uncertainties should also be listed at the top of each
  column if possible. Thus, $T$~(\degC{}) ($\pm\degC{0.1}$), $E$ (mV)
  ($\pm 0.2$ mV), wt~(g) (\val{\pm 0.2}{mg})

\item[Computation and Results] After the data are recorded, there will
  generally be some calculations to be made. Make calculations as you
  go along to verify that your data is giving reasonable results; do
  not postpone all calculations until the final week of the
  experiment. If the data are all treated by some standard procedure,
  describe the procedure briefly for each calculation, giving any
  formulas that are to be used. (Define any quantities appearing in
  the formula that have not previously been defined.) Always give a
  sample calculation, starting with the formula, substituting
  experimental numbers, and carry the numerical work down to the
  result. \textsc{Do not submit} a computer program in lieu of a
  sample calculation. Your results should be compared with accepted
  values if possible. Information from a handbook or any reference
  source must be identified by book and page.

\item[Summary of the Experiment] At the end of an experiment you
  should type a summary of one to two pages containing a concise
  discussion of important points of the experiment, including the
  purpose, theoretical predictions you are testing (if appropriate), a
  brief outline of experimental methods, results, analysis, and
  conclusions. There is no need to put in detailed procedural
  discussions unless they bear directly on understanding some aspect
  of the data. In discussing results, you can make references (with
  page numbers) to specific entries---such as tables, figures, and
  calculations---in your lab notebook. Be sure to refer to or include
  in your summary well-documented graphs of important
  findings. Discuss the major sources of random and systematic errors,
  including possible methods of reducing them. If you have a hunch
  about the source of a discrepancy, make some order of magnitude
  estimates, make some approximations, and check quantitatively to see
  if hunch could reasonably explain the discrepancy. If relevant,
  compare your results with theoretical predictions. Your results
  should be as quantitative and precise as possible. Your conclusions
  should also be as specific as possible, given your experimental
  results and analysis. This summary should be attached to the end of
  your lab notebook write-up; it is a significant part of the record
  of your experiment.

\item[Honor System] All work that is handed in for credit in this
course, including laboratory reports, is regulated by the Harvey Mudd
Honor Code, which is described in general terms in the student
handbook. In application, this Code means simply that all work
submitted for credit shall be your own. You should not hesitate to
consult texts, the instructor, or other students for general aid in
the preparation of laboratory reports. However, you must not
transcribe another student's work without direct credit to him or her,
and you must give proper credit for any substantial aid from outside
your partnership. Again remember that while you may discuss the
experiment with your lab partner, your analysis of the experiment
should be done individually.
\end{description} 

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