Experiments Definition and 478 Threads

An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a particular factor is manipulated. Experiments vary greatly in goal and scale, but always rely on repeatable procedure and logical analysis of the results. There also exists natural experimental studies.
A child may carry out basic experiments to understand how things fall to the ground, while teams of scientists may take years of systematic investigation to advance their understanding of a phenomenon. Experiments and other types of hands-on activities are very important to student learning in the science classroom. Experiments can raise test scores and help a student become more engaged and interested in the material they are learning, especially when used over time. Experiments can vary from personal and informal natural comparisons (e.g. tasting a range of chocolates to find a favorite), to highly controlled (e.g. tests requiring complex apparatus overseen by many scientists that hope to discover information about subatomic particles). Uses of experiments vary considerably between the natural and human sciences.
Experiments typically include controls, which are designed to minimize the effects of variables other than the single independent variable. This increases the reliability of the results, often through a comparison between control measurements and the other measurements. Scientific controls are a part of the scientific method. Ideally, all variables in an experiment are controlled (accounted for by the control measurements) and none are uncontrolled. In such an experiment, if all controls work as expected, it is possible to conclude that the experiment works as intended, and that results are due to the effect of the tested variables.

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  1. J

    Question about refraction experiments

    A very noobish physics question: Has it been experimentally verified, that individual photons get refracted, for example when shot one at a time through a glass, or does the refraction occur only with classical electromagnetic waves?
  2. V

    Exciting Experiments for Linear Momentum Conservation

    Hi Are there any exciting experiments for the conservation of linear momentum?
  3. H

    Argument about inteference experiments : help me win

    Ok, I've been taught this stuff in school about the particle/wave duality. And what's been always bugging me is that it doesn't really tell me anything : I want a theory that is cohesive without compromises. SO...I was shown an experiment similar to Young's 2 slit experiment. It has a half...
  4. J

    Easy Drag Experiments: Materials and Methods for Beginners

    Are there any simple drag experiments (one with limited knowledge in physics and expensive equipment) can conduct? Perhaps one with which involves varying materials.
  5. I

    Exploring Experiments: Reproducing & Understanding Concepts

    Can you explain me how to realize these experiments? I would to reproduce them. http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=c3asSdngzLs http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=t7s3cvm6CfY&feature=related Can you explain me the theoretical bases of those experiments?
  6. A

    Experiments - ideas for young students

    Hi, is there anyone who can give me some good links with experiments. I want to present physics to younger pupils (end of elementary and first and second grade of high school). Thanx
  7. E

    Temperature in Thompon's experiments.

    1. In one of Thompson's experiments he placed a thin metal foil in the electron beam and measured its temperature rise. Consider a cathode-ray tube in which electrons are accelerated through a 2,000 V potential difference, then strike a 10 mg copper foil. How many electrons strike the foil...
  8. C

    What experiments are lined up to test gravity

    I was wondering about what experiments are planned or being done now to test the properties of gravity, such as is there a graviton, is MOND real, and other such questions. As I recall there were (maybe still are) a group of Washington scientists working on a torsion pendulum experiment that...
  9. R

    Comparing Solar Cells & Panels: Designing Lab Experiments

    last part! hi QUESTION There are two standard methods for the solar energy to be trapped and used domestically. One is to use solar cells, which convert the radiation energy to electrical energy. The other is to use a solar panel, which absorbs the solar radiation to heat water. You...
  10. E

    Understanding NMR Experiments: Questions Welcome!

    Homework Statement Does anyone understand the basic theory behind NMR experiments such as the one shown here http://www.ifw-dresden.de/institutes/imw/sections/22/laboratory-for-pulsed-high-magnetic-fields/nmr/nmr_exp.gif. If so I have questions.Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution
  11. manjuvenamma

    Experiments in a revolving satellite

    A revolving satellite is similar to a lift which is falling from a height. Only the difference is that the satellite has a very high horizontal velocity due to which the satellite moves forward while falling to earth. And when the Earth's curvature and the lift's downfall match, the satellite...
  12. D

    Exploring Molecular Level Research and Experiments: Top Suggestions

    Are there any experiments or research one can do at the molecular level? if so, what are some suggestions?
  13. P

    Simulating Quantum Entanglement Experiments

    (N.B. - Not sure if this is the right forum!) Does anyone know discussions of or actual computer simulations of quantum entanglement experiments designed to test the Bell Inequality? Has anyone tried to make a computer program that would simulate a "local realistic" view of QM?
  14. B

    Compare Energy Usage of NaOH and XOH in Chemistry Experiment

    Question: 1. Scientists Dee and Vee discovered a large deposit of a salt XCL in a lake in Egypt. X was found to be in the same group as Sodium (Na) and was said to be a major source of energy when burnt in its hyrdoxide form. This observation is the same for NaOh. It is said that XOH uses less...
  15. L

    Curve Crossing in Titration Experiments

    Hi guys, I have been out of school for a couple of years and I forgot when is it OK to consider a curve crossing at certain value. Let me explain. I am measuring signal in a titration experiment. The outcome is a typical saturation curve (growth curve), a hyperbola. I am wondering if it is...
  16. N

    How Do You Measure Vibration Decay in Damped Drumsticks?

    Hi, I am currently in the process of completing my final year mechanical engineering thesis, which compares the dynamics of damped drumsticks (not the chicken ones, the drum kit playing ones!) with those of a conventional, undamped drum stick. I now am up to the point where I need to...
  17. F

    Possible webpage title: Can You Perform Quantum Experiments at Home?

    Hi all, I was wondering if there are any quantum experiments that I can perform at home? I am talking about basic experiments by using equipments that I can purchase easily on the market - like polarized films, laser pointer etc...and how can I construct those experiments? Thanks in...
  18. B

    HTR fuel irradiation experiments at IVV-2M, HFR, R2, AVR and Dragon reactors

    I understand the sensitivity and confidentiality of some of this data. Its so difficult to archive or access data for this experiments (coated particle and pebble irradiations at material testing reactors: IVV-2M, R2, HFR, AVR, Dragon etc.) as well as the current irradiation programs...
  19. O

    Electrostatic Speed Experiments?

    Does anyone know of an experiment that shows that the electrostatic and/or magnetostatic forces have a finite speed, i.e. transmission time? I think I remember reading somewhere that Hertz devised experiments that showed that one or the other or both effects had a finite transmission time. In...
  20. D

    Modelling Einstein's Thought Experiments (Trains + Mirrors)

    OK, I have an assessment task to create a 3D model of SOME of Einstein's thought experiments involving trains and mirrors, and present it to the class. Therefore a minimum of 2 thought experiments. The task is unique (ie each student is required to model a different part of the course), and I'm...
  21. P

    Slit Experiments: Unanswered Questions Explored

    So I've been thinking about the slit experiment again... I did some googling/searching for literature but was unsuccessfull for finding the following variations on this subject. What happens when the slits are very long? (very thick sheet) What is the material (Z) dependence? What...
  22. M

    Melt Wire Experiments: AVR Fuel Testing Analysis Explained

    Can someone please help me understand the phrase "melt wire experiments" as used at the AVR fuel testing analysis and maybe why the such a choice of phraising. I would aso appreciate if I could be referred to either papers, journals or web links where one can get information and probably the...
  23. L

    Pure Electron Diffraction Experiments

    Hello, I just read about the the ten most beautiful experiments of all times. The top winner was the double slit diffraction by electrons experience carried out by Claus Jönsson . This electron diffraction experiment, I think, has been chosen as remarquable because it stages the...
  24. Mk

    Coolest chemistry at-home experiments

    What do you think are some of the coolest, most fun, or most interesting chemistry experiments to do at home, and how did you do them?
  25. B

    Help: Lorentz transformations with and without thought experiments

    Please have a critical look at the lines below: The simplest derivation of the Lorentz transformation simplified: J.M.Levy "A simple derivation of the Lorentz transformation and of the accompanying velocity and acceleration changes," Am.J.Phys 35,615 (2007) arXiv:physics/0603103 revisited.[1]...
  26. Cyrus

    Will It Blend? Crazy Blender Experiments!

    Will it blend? :smile: This guy is nuts and this blender scares the hell out of me! Glow Sticks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l69Vi5IDc0g&mode=related&search= Marbles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OmpnfL5PCw&NR=1 Fake Diamonds...
  27. P

    Understanding the Single Photon in Double Slit Experiments

    when performing a double slit experiment using photons it is said that if you fire individual photons that over time as more photons are fired the interference pattern starts to appear. My question is how do they define a single photon? what is the method that they can fire one photon at a time...
  28. J

    Fermi statistics in experiments

    In what kind of experiments does the fermi statistics show? What kind of experiments have been carried out to verify that electrons obey fermi statistics? This fermi statistics stuff has been quite theoretical only in texts I have encountered so far.
  29. B

    Angle independence of Michelson-Morley type experiments

    In all descriptions of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelson%E2%80%93Morley" I know of, the two arms of the interferometer are at right angles to each other. Does anyone know of an experiment which, just for completeness, tried other angles? If not, does anyone know of a reference with...
  30. K

    Exploring Using LIGO as a Photon Buffer for Quantum Eraser Experiments

    Just a few questions for anyone. I am trying to buffer photons for a long delay quantum eraser. Is there anyway to convert one arm of a 4km LIGO interferometer into a high-fidelity photon buffer? If a beam is merely reflected once down the length of the tube, it is stored for ~13 µs with...
  31. M

    Medical Researching Inner Monologue: Experiments & Audio Tools

    Is anyone currently researching the inner monologue? Where can I find information about experiments to alter the inner monologue? Are there any websites which have "audio tools" which, when listened to, can positively alter the tone and function of the inner monologue? Cheers,
  32. T

    2 questions about the double slit experiments

    I Have two questions in my mind about the double slit experiment about the electrons, i would be glad if you guys could clear it up. 1)When we try to observe which slit the electron is going through, how exactly do we go about making the measurement? what kind of "device" or "technique" do we...
  33. O

    How Skepticism Slowed Scientific Progress: The Lunar Laser Ranging Experiments

    Right. Even well-documented observations that do not fit easily into a preconceived notion of how the world should work, may be rationalized away or just neglected. One example of this is the observed mean acceleration {\dot n} of the Moon; from lunar laser ranging experiments this has the...
  34. B

    Experiments that provide evidence for the expansion of the universe

    I am looking to read up on some recent experiments that provide evidence for the expansion of the universe and I don't know where to start.
  35. P

    British MOD remote viewing experiments

    I wonder what the actual conclusion was, besides that it wasnt of use.
  36. Hans de Vries

    Two experiments on the Wave-Particle duality

    Two new papers on beautiful experiments were published this month concerning the Wave Particle duality of the photon:Paradox in Wave-Particle Duality S.Afshar et. Al. in Foundations of Physics. http://www.springerlink.com/content/q110r82074w03277/fulltext.pdf Experimental realization of...
  37. B

    The Size of Photons: Experiments and Results

    In visible light, what is the spatial dimensions of the photon itself. I'm interested in the experiments they have done to prove how big the photon is.
  38. T

    Significant Numbers in Experiments

    I don't understand why data has to be in a specific significant numbers? Why significant numbers? Can't it be decimal places with the appropriate unit? What if you multiply two values with different sig figs? Why the answer should follow the least sig fig value? Why not decimal places?
  39. R

    In optics experiments we assume that the sun rays are parallel

    Even though in optics experiments we assume that the sun rays are parallel, we can clearly see that the sunlight seems to diverge from the sun when coming through the clouds. Whats the reason of this discrepancy?
  40. M

    Aerospace Engineering Experiments

    Hi people, i am really in a deep trouble and i will be so happy if anyone can help. Any tips will be so appreciated and make a real different to what i am going through at the moment. i have got two question to answer. 1. Experiment of boundry layer on a flat surface : giving dtails of how...
  41. M

    Aerospace Engineeering Experiments

    Hi people, i am really in a deep trouble and i will be so happy if anyone can help. Any tips will be so appreciated and make a real different to what i am going through at the moment. i have got two question to answer. 1. Experiment of boundry layer on a flat surface : giving dtails of how...
  42. Q

    Mechanical experiments testing special relativity?

    Are there any experiments which test special relativity? I know of the Kennedy–Thorndike experiment, but it involves light. I am curious whether a different kind of experiments showing relativistic effects like time dilation or length contraction have been performed (I'm thinking of experiments...
  43. A

    Tracing the Roots of Nuclear Physics: Experiments by Early Pioneers

    Where can all the classic papers by the experimentalists that layed the foundation for nuclear physics be found?:confused: Rutherford, joliot-curie, fermi, lawrence, Hahn ect. Im very interested in reading exactly how they setup there experiments, the conclusions they drew and so on.
  44. C

    What is the relation between refractive index and wavelength in a prism?

    This is from my Physics practical experiments. The experiment is to find the refractive power of the prism for different colours and also to determine the dispersive power of the material of the prism. My question is how does the refractive index of the material of the prism vary with the...
  45. J

    Physics Experiments: Constructing Investigation Design Report

    can anyone help me find a simple experiment that i would be able to use to guide me to construct an investigation design report?
  46. L

    Completed Physics Experiments at College Level

    hey does anyone got any completed physics experiments at the college level??
  47. N

    Two slit experiments with things other than photons

    This question has, no doubt, been answered before here ... but my quick search came up with nothing. I'm interested to know what 'two-slit' experiments have been done, and published, using things other than photons. In particular, versions in which 'no more than one in apparatus at any...
  48. T

    Experiments: Get Creative and Make Something Useful

    I'm going to get back to experimenting soon and I would like some experiments. Something cool, fun, but with a meaning, a goal. Useful products would be fun, too.
  49. P

    Time dilation experiments with spacecraft

    I assume this has been done, but I have not seen any papers on it. For example, with the Voyagers traveling at however-many-tens-of-thousands-of-mph with respect to us, we should be able to measure the slower tick of their internal clocks (e.g., slower signalling). Perhaps this hasn't been...
  50. R

    Is Kansas's Science Curriculum Opening Doors to Intelligent Design?

    I caught this gem in an article in today's New York Times - it was inconspicious and the writer didn't seem to notice it. It's a quote from Dr. Steve E. Abrams, the anti-evolution chairman of the Kansas state school board. See if you notice it. (You may need to read it twice!)...
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