PHYSICS 116L

LABORATORY FOR ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM

(Companion to Physics 316, the corequisite)

      The laboratory course is designed to acquaint you with the experimental basis of the laws of electricity and magnetism and
to introduce you to the techniques of electrical measurement, which are universal in experimental physics.
     To avoid lengthy and time-consuming laboratory reports, most experiments will be completed and the report turned in
at the end of the laboratory session.  This is possible only if you arrive prepared to do the experiment.  Preparation includes
careful reading of the experiment and related material and completion of the Pre-lab, found at the end of each experiment in the
Laboratory Manual.  The Pre-labs must be turned in at the beginning of each session, and you may not be admitted to the laboratory
without having turned in your Pre-lab.

Spring 2013

Using the computers in the laboratory, RLM7.322:
       Username:  116l-7322      (note lower case l)
       Password:  116l

The computers run Macintosh OSX.  It is an easy operating system to use, but if you need practice, computers running the same
operating system are available in the computer lab down the hall from the laboratory.

Note that the laboratory begins on the second full week of classes.  You should obtain the Laboratory Manual at the University Coop,
read the Introduction and Experiment 0, complete both Pre-Labs, and arrive ready to perform the experiment at the first meeting. 
The schedule provides little opportunitiy for make-ups.  You must do each of the experiments at your scheduled time.

List of Experiments

Week                Experiment 
 

28 Jan.             0.  An Introduction to the Equipment                                                     

4 Feb.              1.  Electric charge                                                                                   

11 Feb.            2.  Gauss's and Coulomb's laws; Charge Distribution              

18 Feb.            3.  Capacitance                                                                       

25 Feb.             4.  DC circuits                                                                                               

4 Mar.               5.  Wheatstone Bridge and Meters                                                                                   

18 Mar.            6.  Exponential Decay and Deviations from Ohm's Law                                               

25 Mar.            7.  Magnetic Fields           

1 April             8.  The Electron e/m Ratio                                                                       

8 April              9.  Introduction to the Oscilloscope                                                           

15 April            10.  AC Circuits:  RC and RL Combinations                              

22 April            11.  Resonant and Oscillating RLC Circuits