Experimental Definition and 527 Threads

Homework Statement Hello, Everyone! So I recently did an experiment in which I pressurised a vessel and then allowed some of the air to move into a smaller vessel and wait for the pressures to stabilise. I then calculated the Cp/Cv ratio and it was slightly lower than the expected 1.40. I am...

Hello Everyone. I'm pretty much a newb on the forum so please go easy :). My name is Mark, I'm from England, I'm in the late stages of my 15th age and I'm Home Educated. Now.. Where to start? I guess Primary School would be sufficient. Well, I started it as every other child does, however over...

In studying QM, it's been very abstract. I'll read things such as, we get an eigenvalue when we measure an observable. Or we prepare an ensemble of particles in the state \Psi . I understand this in an abstract way, but I don't understand what it actually means to get an eigenvalue when a...

Hi, The reason I'm posting this is because I'm trying to understand how to interpret the wave function of a particle. I'm trying to decide which interpretations of quantum mechanics are just speculation, and which ones are consistent with experimentation. I know that quantum objects such as...

Hey Everyone, I know that I enjoy physics and I enjoy research. My past research experiences have been in high energy theory and I worked on two different projects, and loved them! These experiences motivated me to pursue graduate studies in physics. I graduated from undergrad and I am...

Homework Statement I am writing a lab report for an X-ray diffraction. I have been attempting to come up with an equation for the error using formulas some people from college gave me and also some I found on wikipedia but I am quite sure I am doing it wrong. The only variable is the angle...

Homework Statement I am writing a lab report for an X-ray diffraction. I have been attempting to come up with an equation for the error using formulas some people from college gave me and also some I found on wikipedia but I am quite sure I am doing it wrong. The only variable is the angle...

Hello, I'm writing a paper for school about becoming an Experimental Physicist and have a few questions: 1. What degree or other credential is required to have this job? 2. What is the job outlook? (Upcoming retirements in the field, number of anticipated openings, any other...

Hi all It may sound rather silly, but I am a second year graduate student doing experimental condensed matter physics. Recently I've been thinking about the future like job aspects and salaries etc. One of my friend recently transferred to medical physics PhD and said its better in job...

I am trying to experimentally derive the drag equation. I have dropped coffee filters with varying masses and determined their resulting terminal velocity. I plotted the data and found that the mass of the coffee filter is proportional to the terminal velocity squared. I was now wondering how I...

Good morning, I request the guide of Physicists with experience in the experimental physics. I'm in my fifth year of bachelor in physics, because in my country (Colombia), most Bachelor degrees have a duration of five years. My plans are to perform a master's degree next year, and then continue...

So, here's the deal: I'm trying to complete the publishing of a paper dealing with my thesis from almost two years ago, and I finally wrote a program that I believe will tell me how different geometries will influence the outcome. Here's the setup, I am modeling the radiation that goes through...

Hello! :-) I' have a problem... I fitted experimental data with a second order exponential theoretical curve: y = A1*exp(-x/t1)+ A2*exp(-x/t2) + y0 and I have these data for 4 repetitions of the same experiment: first time: Reduced Chi-Sqr = 6,81066E-4 Adj. R-Square = 0,41005...

Do experiments like 1971's Hafele & Keating show that SR relativistic effects of time dilation are not mere products of measuring symmetry? Does such an experiment show that for the jets it is their clock that has kinematic time dilation in relation to the other clock that 'remains'...

Hello everyone, i return to complete the final year of my degree in the next 12 months and go on to do further studies ie masters and phd depending on how long they will put up with me and all of my questions. I have had quite a long break, and have been continuing to study pure mathematics...

Long story short: I have a B. Sc. in EE, and currently doing PhD in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics. I plan to go for industry. I found that it would not be difficult for me to pass the Electrical and Computer PE exam (both the "Computer Engineering" and the "Electrical and...

Hello Can someone, please, briefly describe or give a manual on how to use the spectrometer on the photo to measure an atomic spectrum. I tried to google that already, but failed. http://www.daviessports.co.uk/netalogue/600/A46395.jpg Deep thanks!

With automata replacing everything in this world, including a lot of laboratory functions, would experimental researchers be obsolete as well, with computational researchers as the only ones remaining? Or am I looking at it too simplistically? I prefer experimental work to computational, but...

I have some experimental data (not hypothetically, this is real data), which has a downward sloping shape. A sharp decrease initially, before settling to what looks almost like a downward linear slope. To investigate further, I decided to take the base 10 log of the y-axis data. The...

Hi All, I want to run some small nuclear transmutation experiments for a nuclear battery project. However, my knowledge of nuclear physics is very theoretical and I was looking to get mentored by a physicist or nuclear engineer who has experience with working with radiation sources. Here is...

I'm studying Physics and I'm currently on my 3rd year. My aim is to work with theories, so I find mechanics, electrodynamics, quantum mehcanics and so on pretty interesting. Also I have a good math background, so I know advanced linear algebra, analysis, topology and differential geometry. The...

Homework Statement I did a 'three point bend test' and a 'tensile test' on the material as-rolled Aluminium. I then messured and calculated the proepties of the metal and compared it with the literature values found on a CES software. Unfortunately, I can find significant differences for...

Hello all, I used the micrometer in my lab that has a resolution of 100 nm. so, my measurement looks something like, 0.2345 mm, with an uncertainty of 0.00005 mm. But I don't want to write, (0.2345 +/- 0.00005)mm in my data table because it just looks a little awkward to have so many...

Hello, I've been trying to learn physics recently with the long term goal of understanding GR and cosmology. As a result, I have many questions, so I'll just get started.. In the famous double slit experiment, there is a coherent light source aimed at a double slit which produces an...

So I am almost done with my physics degree and I am taking a physics lab class this semester. I hate it. I don't learn anything on it. 90% of the time we're just working to get the equipment to function correctly and the other 10% deciphering the lab instructions. I resorted to just making...

Hi guys, I am currently trying to figure out the best way to create a target of deuterated polyethylene for neutron detection. I have ~30g of this very expensive powder and need to determine the best way to create a thick target (thick as in ~5cm, not a thin film like is used for proton...

Before quantum mechanics hit the scene, I would expect most physicists (and people) would have answered the above question with the basic assumption: Two observers see the same result in an experiment because we live in the same universe. Today, most people (and some physicists)...

Hello, Grad school admissions are about over, and it looks like I will be choosing between UIUC, Cornell, or U Chicago for CME. I have research fellowships from Cornell and U Chicago, still waiting for financial details from UIUC. I'll visit UC and Cornell over spring break, but location...

Hello everyone, the forum looks great and I have been reading it for a long time, but I have only registered. I am writing this post because I have to analyse two flow fields in a wind tunnel. 1) The first flow is generated from a helicopter blade, with Re=2000000, Mach=0.92 and...

Apologies for the break from format, but I'm not sure how to make this fit! I'm designing an experiment to compare the insulation properties of several materials. I would like to find the Thermal Conductivity (K) or the U (or R) values of these materials. However essentially all I am after...

I'm working on an open-source textbook on special relativity. The text below is what I currently have on experimental searches for tachyons. There seems to have been quite a bit of work on this kind of thing in the 60's, but very little in more recent times. Does anyone know of any better...

Homework Statement 1. Take dimensions of the beam (B, D, web and flange thickness, L) – T- cross section 2. Take the beam span geometry and material properties from the instrument 3. Ensure the beam and load cell are properly aligned and apply a positive (downward) preload to the beam of...

Hi, I don't know if this is the proper part of the forum to ask this, but I'm trying to figure out how I can obtain a certain value from an equation that contains an integral if I want to use experimental data. To keep it simple, the equation looks like this: B= (∫G(f)df)2 / (∫G(f)2df) where...

A naive question from someone who knows nothing about the subject: I was wondering how much we can tell experimentally about what's going on inside a star. Can we determine, say, how the temperature or pressure vary as a function of the radius? Thanks in advance.

I've been toying around with an experimental idea for an efficient way to store hydrogen for use in hydrogen fuel cells, but recently I haven't been able to think of much more to add to it. I've thought of using cooling and pressure together to put the hydrogen to a liquid form for more...

Hi everyone I have a quick question in regards to an experimental report I'm writing for my year 11 Physics class. Basically we have to test different variables that could effect a bungee cord fiber in relation to stress and strain by increasing the weight force on the fiber until it snaps. For...

For an investigation, I have built a mousetrap car. The two variables in this investigation is the mass of the mousetrap car and the distance it travels. When there is no added mass on the cart, it does not travel far due to massive wheel slippage. As I increased the mass it carried, it traveled...

I'm in my last year of college as an undergraduate physics B.S. and have so far tried astronomy and materials science research internships and haven't liked either of them that much. I enjoy the theory behind astrophysics but don't enjoy programming all day. On the other hand, I like the...

I am trying to measure the relative permeability of a few materials, but the numbers I'm getting don't quite make sense. Maybe someone here can figure out what might be going wrong. My setup is as follows. I'm making solenoids using 30 AWG magnet wire wrapped around ferrite, steel and wood...

Hello, I am a senior undergraduate (USA) who wants to go to graduate school for either engineering or experimental physics. I am an A/B student and have taken all the recommended classes as if I was preparing to apply to physics graduate schools. I am not sure I am satisfied with an...

Hey PF, quick question for you guys. I got offers (on the same day!) to work with a professor at my college (1.5 hours away from home), paid, to do some experimental work. I also was offered an internship at the Naval Undersea warfare center in Newport, RI (~40 minutes from home). I will be...

Hey, Does anyone know a link to a paper talking about the experimental verification of indistinguishability of some free particles? For example showing it for free neutrons or something. Thanks!

I've recently done an experiment where I've obtained the strain of a channel section beam in bending. I used a strain gauge to get the strain from the midspan and also used dial gauges to get the deflections of the beam under different loading conditions. Along with the readings I've...

Homework Statement An experiment was done to test the validity of the equation a = 2/3 g sin∅ for a rolling cylinder. A hockey puck was rolled down a wooden ramp at 5 different inclination angles, and the time it took to roll down the length of the board was recorded. ∅ was found using...

Hi Im in the army, and the army is willing to give me 20 000kr (bout 4000$) to educate myself. F. ex i can take å truck license if i wanted to. I want to become a physisist, either theoretical or expereimental. I was wondering if anybody in this forum would know of any courses which could...

Homework Statement A wooden box is at rest on a ramp inclined at an angle Ө to the horizontal. W is the weight of the box and its contents. A frictional force prevents the box sliding down the ramp. A reaction force acts on the box perpendicular to the inclined plane. The inclined plane is...

Hello! Recently, I read abt some experiments related to probability which involved tossing of coins.It listed the experiments performed by following- Comte buffon:- 2048 heads from 4040 tosses. J E Kerrich:-5067 heads from 10000 tosses. Karl Pearson:-12012 heads from 24000 tosses. My...

Greetings, My questions below could be categorized into a mixture of “history of chemistry” and “experimental basis for chemistry”. I’m having difficulty phrasing the questions that I have, so I’m going to start by stating them as directly as I can, and then spend the rest of this post...

Enrico Fermi was a successful theoretical and experimental physicist. Is this still something that someone can do, or is it practically impossible today? If it is pissible how can someone achieve this?

I am a student from India i just finished my class 10 exams . I want to appear in IPHO 2014 and IPHO 2015 . So let me tell you what preparations i have done uptill now . I read all the theory and solved almost all problems from resnick/halliday's FOP I am solving problems from IE IRODOV ( i...