Work in Lab C

Lab opening hours

• The lab is opened on Sundays and Wednesdays from 9:00 till 16:00.

• The main lab rooms in Shenkar are usually opened on other weekdays during working hours but any visit should be coordinated with the experiment instructor or the lab technical manager.

Experiment schedule

• The students are to make contact with the experiment’s instructor at the beginning of the first, preparation week, when they will be given all the relevant information concerning the required preparation and experiment schedule.

• The second week will begin with a short written exam, the purpose of which is to test whether the students are fully prepared to do the experiment. The grade of this exam will be part of the final grade.

During the experiment

• After the initial discussion with the instructor and being provided with the general instructions for the experiment, the students are expected to work independently. The instructor will be present in the lab for only a small fraction of the time. However, given the limited time frame for each experiment, if the students feel they are unable to make progress, they should contact the instructor, who will be available during lab hours via phone or e-mail. Performance during the measurement period will be evaluated and constitutes part of the final grade.

• The laboratory equipment should not be operated before obtaining all the safety and operation instructions from the instructor! The students are requested to follow strictly all safety instructions (here (link to safety page)) and handle the equipment with care.

• The students are required to keep a logbook for each experiment, where the steps of their work are logged on a daily basis. The logbook should be attached to the report.

• The experiment should be performed in the best and most accurate way, without compromise. The students should use all the available time at the lab to make the best out of the measuring equipment!

• Only the two weeks assigned for lab work on each experiment are available. The lab schedule does not allow for extensions or repetition of the measurement period during or after the semester.

Software

There are many programs that can be used for fitting functions to data points. You can use any software you like, as long as the following requirements are met:

1. The software is robust enough to be used in a scientific analysis.

2. The fit performed is a numerical χ² fit. If you want to use a different method, consult your instructor first.

One good option is MATLAB, a complete environment used for complex numerical calculations. MATLAB can be accessed via citrix, using the university computer account.