What is Lab: Definition and 1000 Discussions

In the current Verizon ad featuring LeBron James in a physics lab, there is an instrument displayed prominently in front of each student. What is it?

Baking a cake entirely with the chemical lab equivalents of traditional baking ingredients has always been something I've wanted to try. Now, I have the chance (i.e. the time) to do so or, at the very least, figure out how it would be done. I need some help with what would actually be put...

Have any other teachers tried this? I put one together this last term with a reasonable amount of success. I was wondering who out there has also tried to do this and if so, what kind of parameters did you set?

Homework Statement I am currently doing a lab investigating the relationship between the moment of inertia and speed. I have attached some pictures of my 'wheel' that is going to be rolled down a ramp. FYI i will be using a photogate to measure the time it takes the black strip to pass through...

I just conducted a lab in which I am testing varying amounts of magnesium to react with a consistent amount of hydrochloric acid, determining which amount of magnesium produces a reaction whose enthalpy is the closest to the theoretical/ideal enthalpy of this equation. I created 3 conditions...

Dear Forum, I am searching for a good explanation and worked example that shows how to convert a inelastic cross-section from the lab frame to the center-of-mass frame. I need to first convert the energy (x-axis) from the lab frame to the COM frame. In addition, I need to convert the...

As a part of an experiment in radioactivity, we placed an alpha particles emitting source (Am) and a sensor in a vacuum chamber, and measured the power (number of particles per time unit) for various angles of the sensor. Our goal is to fit a theoretical function to our measurements (power vs...

I have a machine lab at my university and I have heard that if you want to be an experimental Physicist, then it's a good idea to get some experience in the Machine Shop for it would help not only your skills, but also your CV when you apply for grad school. Is it so? Thanks!

ARS Technica reviewed the book Lab Girl about overcoming funding issues to build a world class lab and about being a woman scientist in today's world: http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/05/how-two-determined-scientists-built-a-world-class-lab-out-of-radio-shack-parts/

I've been reading up on Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and the Michelson Interferometer. My main sources are "Principles of Instrumental Analysis" by Skoog etc and Fourier - Transform Infrared Spectrometry by Griffiths and Haseth. I believe I understand the theoretical principles...

Hi people, In my college laboratory we were assigned an experiment to measure the hysteresis curves of a certain ferromagnetic material at different temperatures. Sounds simple, right? Well, the block of Monel 400 we chose did something weird. We cooled it down to about -200°C and set about to...

I have recently been visiting a lab in the US as a visiting scholar and I am facing a tense social situation that spoils my ability to do decent work. The situation is so shameful that talking about it makes me feel like a child and feels humiliating... Basically, an other student a little...

Hello everyone, How much of a safety hazard is it to store a car battery inside a classroom/lab? It's a new battery and it is plugged into a charger all the time. I use is only couple of times per year for a demonstration. Thanks! -Gamma

Homework Statement I'm trying to find the centripedal acceleration of a roller coaster at a certain point in time from experimental data of acceleration in the X, Y, and Z directions. I do not know the velocity of the roller coaster, only the acceleration. Thank you! Homework Equations v^2/r...

Homework Statement [/B] The problem has to do with sig figs going down to 1. I've checked them multiple times by hand and with sigfig calculators but it is all the same. With 1 sig fig my standard deviation ends up being 0 which I am not sure that is acceptable. It makes sense as the points are...

I apologize if my thought process is unrefined. I didn't really learn and remember much from high school physics that benefits me right now in college physics. Until this point we covered Newton's three laws of motion. And instead of a cotton ball, we used a coffee filter. "Our reasoning is...

For the lab I have to find the spring constant and how force relates to time with simple harmonic motion. To find the spring constant, I used hooke's law and compared different added masses to the stretch from the equilibrium position. When I graphed that, the slope was the spring constant since...

Hi everyone, I am looking for basic elements resistivity vs. temperature laboratory measurements charts. Anyone has ideas where to look for? Regards

some cool stuff happening here

Hi everybody, I'm a second semester physics major who was fortunate enough to get a position in a research group at my school. What I want to do is get a head start on learning the physics that this lab studies. Currently, I'm in the honors section of basic E & M and I do well in class, not...

Homework Statement I'm writing a lab report about an experiment I did where I essentially tested the effects of various planetary characteristics on a planet's orbital period. The planetary characteristics that I tested where eccentricity, mass, and distance from the Sun (or semi-major axis)...

Homework Statement Hello! So, I recently did an experiment where I altered the eccentricity and distance from the sun of a planet orbiting around the Sun in a simulation and measured how long it took the planet to complete a single orbit. With this data, I compared my experimental data with the...

I just need to know what I am being asked for here, I don't recall seeing this symbol before. Is this net force?

Hi all, I'm a newcomer to these forums and this is my first post! I'm currently a freshman physics major, and I was hoping that I could get a little guidance from here. I'm well into my second semester and I've been enjoying most of my maths and physics classes. However, I've identified that a...

Homework Statement I had a lab where we put 50 grams of a metal smaple into a little bowl and then heated it with steam from a big beaker thing. Anyway, my question is about the errors I got in this lab when finding the specific heat of the metal. I had some high percent errors for Aluminum...

Homework Statement Based on a lab we did at school, we charged a Styrofoam plate by rubbing it against wool and determined that it attracted pieces of paper but repelled pieces of aluminum foil. Can anyone clarify why this is because I believe that both the pieces of paper and aluminum foil are...

When we take pressure readings by pressure gauge (Bourbon pressure gauge or pressure transducer) in the laboratory for any fluid system ,in this case, is the atmospheric pressure value (1 bar) must be added to this readings when we use them in any calculations later or them must be used...

Not so much homework question, more about experience doing homework. You have likely had experience writing lab reports quite long. I have a partner and I am worried that he is doing what my university would consider plagiarism. I've asked him about it and got nothing back. To give context he...

Homework Statement I am given the equation (m1 – m2)g = (m1 + m2 + I/R2)a and the experiment is to validate this equation. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution After following the lab guide, it tells you to plot the weight difference (m1– m2)g against acceleration and determine...

Homework Statement Using the Logger Pro Program plot a graph with the angle on the horizontal axis and the measured field on the vertical axis. The curve should have its maximum value at (theta) = S . where cos( theta - S) = cos(0) = 1. Use your graph to determine S, the declination at your...

Homework Statement I have to do a high school report investigating the relationship between the angle of descent and the velocity of a ball rolling across a horizontal surface after it has gone through a ramp. I have collected the data already with the use of photo gates that measured the...

Hey guys! New to the forum here, I've come here several times before for insight on various topics and you guys have always been so helpful! I noticed I couldn't find anything similar to this question while I was doing my lab report and I'm quite lost, to be honest.. 1) Lithium aluminum...

Homework Statement I did this lab on percentage of oxygen in potassium chlorate and I got a percent error of about 30%. I now need to find three reasons for error, and human error does not count. I think one could be that the masses used in calculating the theoretical percentage of oxygen were...

So I recently did a titration lab with a monoprotic acid and sodium hydroxide. After using stochiometric ratios I found the molar mass to be around 175g/mol. It is possible I have a huge percentage error, but can anyone think of an acid that is monoprotic and is within the range of that molar...

Homework Statement I did a lab on the experimental application of Hess's law. There were two experiments where a substance in a solution was dissolved and the temperatures were recorded. Then the standard heat of formation for the substance was calculated. The first experiment used MgO and HCL...

I visited the lab of some collaborators, and they had this device which exactly matches my needs in the lab I work in. Problem is, I can't find this thing anywhere. I emailed the PI of that lab, and he has no idea where it came from. It seems they bought it somewhere a while back and since then...

Homework Statement In our physics lab we were to set up a system looking like this: where the mass was released and the velocity/acceleration and of the ring was calculated using MotionLab software. Our goal was to find the predicted total moment of inertia by just calculating the moment of...

Homework Statement What is the Lorentz-transformation that one would use to go from the lab frame to the Breit Frame? [/B]

Homework Statement An ideal solenoid is expected to generate a dipole field that falls off quickly as you move away from the solenoid. The magnetic field at distance r along the axis of the solenoid is given by B = (Mo/ 2pie) (M/r^3) In this equation the parameter M is called the dipole moment...

Homework Statement In a flame test lab, where different unknown substances are heated and the identity of the substance is determined by the color emitted, what can be some sources of error? Homework Equations n/a The Attempt at a Solution I need three sources of error, and so far I have...

Homework Statement An ideal solenoid is expected to generate a dipole field that falls off quickly as you move away from the solenoid. The magnetic field at distance r along the axis of the solenoid is given by B = (Mo/ 2pie) (M/r^3) In this equation the parameter M is called the dipole moment...

Homework Statement My best fit-line for my average velocity time graph doesn't seem to start at 0 m/s. I have no idea how to explain this in my conclusion - http://imgur.com/zniGGkw. This lab was conducted by using a recording timer, and a mass. We started the recording timer first, then let...

All the scifi geeks will get this yet again scifi becomes reality http://www.bdcnetwork.com/us-naval-research-lab-develops-transparent-aluminum?eid=223056823&bid=1229250 just a little hint :wink: ...Transparent aluminum ? ... that's the ticket laddie ... it would take year just to figure...

Homework Statement That is the set up for experiment, and I attached the data I found in the lab. The lab given me the equation to find the moment of inertia of the cylinder Homework Equations Icyl = (2hgM_cylinder) * (1/(W_withcylinder)^2 - 1/(W_nocylinder)^2) The height is 0.9m The Attempt at...

Homework Statement So I attached the page from the lab with the directions for the derivation. It may be easier to view that document. The lab was set up was taking two objects and rolling them down an incline. The time was measured using photo gates. Basically, I need to use conservation of...

It may be unique to my situation (or it may not, as I was told that AMO is one of the less computational fields of research in Physics), but for my undergraduate research assistant role, my job is to help the research group set up automated experimental controls. That includes learning: Python...

So I just did a lab on resonant frequency, and have to find the error of the period: $$T = 2π\sqrt{m/k}$$ m and k were measured with an error of Δm and Δk. My teacher didn't explain well how to do errors, so I just want to know if I did this right. Prorogation of Error equations: $$y=x^n ⇒...

< Mentor Note -- thread moved to HH from the technical engineering forums, so no HH Template is shown > Hi, I'm working on a lab project and I have limited instruments/electronics. I am trying to use this op amp to amplify a few uA pulse to a 5 mA pulse. The pulse is passing through a...

In class, we did a lab to determine the boiling point of rubbing alcohol. We used a thiele tube filled with water and place a test tube attached to a thermometer w/rubber band in it. However, we never saw any signs of boiling. We conducted several trials, the temperature went all the way above...

Apologies for the stupid questions but I have confused myself. I was separating out blood components in lab- column chromatography- and now we have to calculate Na+ content of each fraction collected (in μmoles) and the protein content of each fraction in mg. Each fraction was 1.5ml. The Na+...