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Outline:

In this module, students will conduct a single extended physics practical assignment over the course of seven/eight weeks. The practical assignment will involve complex instrumentation and is supported by a non-prescriptive dossier containing a general description of the experiment and guidance, as well as referenced material.

Students are required to research the literature and plan for their own practical work. They will also complete a worksheet on the treatment of experimental data and undertake extensive analysis of their own results by employing advanced statistical analysis techniques. The use of data analysis specific software is actively encouraged.

Students will keep a detailed record of their practical work and from this will write an interim and final formal report of their findings. Students will complete the in-lab activities by undertaking an individual viva to gauge their overall understanding of the experiment. The viva will be scheduled to take place during the last two weeks of term.

Aims:

The aim of the module is to develop advanced practical and instrumentational physics skills, with emphasis on independent literature research and planning, record keeping, advanced data acquisition and analysis, and reporting.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

• Have experienced the capability of performing a focused background literature research on the topic of the experiment.
• Prepare a plan and timeline for an experiment to be performed based on preliminary information available including the setting of goals and minimum requirement for success.
• Have improved both the skills and confidence in the calibration of apparatus and the acquisition and analysis of experimental data, through the performance of an extended experiment with more complex instrumentation.
• Have built further on the skills acquired in the first and second year laboratory modules, to record work concisely and precisely in a laboratory notebook, as the experiment is performed.
• Have further practiced skills acquired in the first two years in the identification and propagation of experimental uncertainties and been introduced to confidence intervals, hypothesis testing based on chi^2 analysis and maximum likelihood analysis.
• Have further improved the skills acquired in the first and second year laboratory modules, to condense the information contained in the record made in the laboratory notebooks into a concise, but precise interim report and complete formal report of the experiment in word-processed form.
• To be able to provide a clear and concise overview of the experiment in the form of a mini-viva, including underlying theory and current applications of the experimental technique in industry and/or research.
• Experience a degree of independence in exploring possible developments in the experiment goals as they are completed.

Teaching and Learning Methodology:

This module is delivered via practical and observational work, in which students focus on one extended experiment using advanced, complex instrumentation. Students are provided with dossiers of information rather than prescriptive scripts. Under the guidance of demonstrators and expert technical advisors, students are expected to research the literature, to seek out additional information and to plan their experimental work accordingly.

Demonstrators are on hand to help students understand experiments and overcome technical difficulties as they arise. Demonstrators will also periodically check that students have kept a contemporaneous record of the experiment in their lab books.

Students are expected to submit an interim progress report midway through their assignment, so that the demonstrators can gauge progress. Students then prepare a formal report based on the record kept in their laboratory notebook and feedback from the interim report. Students will complete their in-lab activities by undertaking an individual mini viva- an oral examination designed to gauge a student's overall understanding of the experiment.

In addition to timetabled practical hours, it is expected that students engage in self-study in order to master the concepts and material. This can take the form, for example, of further reading in journals, textbooks and online resources.

Indicative Topics:

Experiments in lab 3 map onto existing compulsory third year lecture modules, covering topics such as Solid State Physics, Nuclear and Particle Physics, Quantum Mechanics and EMT, as well as optional modules such Lasers and Modern Optics. In addition, a Computed Tomography experiment has recently been introduced for those students interested in experimental techniques and applications in Medical Physics.