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Methods of Experimental Physics (PHYS 4051/4052W)
Welcome to the home page for the Methods of Experimental Physics classes at the University of Minnesota. These courses are a two-semester sequence on the techniques used in a modern experimental physics laboratory. Because of the importance of electronic instrumentation in today's physics experiments, the first semester of the laboratory covers the use of analog and digital techniques for processing electronic signals and with the use of computer instrumentation. The second semester laboratory consists primarily of a single experimental project taken by the student through the stages of design, proposal, construction, data acquisition, analysis, oral presentation, and written report.
Phys 4051
This course is the first part of the Methods of Experimental Physics sequence. In this semester, students gain experience using analog and digital electronics by building various circuits that are in widespread use. They also learn how to use FPGAs, Verilog, LabVIEW, and signal processing.
Phys 4052W
This course is the second part of the Methods of Experimental Physics sequence. Students put into practice the techniques studied during the first semester by carrying out pre-designed laboratories, and by designing, planning, and executing an experimental project of their choice.
MXP Student Projects
Each semester, Phys 4052W students design and complete an experimental project of their own. In addition to submitting a research paper, students are also asked to create a public web page documenting their work. Cataloged in the Student Projects page are the project web pages created by these students.
Advanced Labs
In addition to various experimental projects, staff and students perform more advanced experiments at the University. Experiments of this nature are found in the Advanced Labs page. Included in these pages are comprehensive setup schemes and results of the experiment.