General Physics Laboratories

The department has three large laboratories for the introductory physics courses. These laboratories feature extensive use of computers for data acquisition and analysis.

Upper Division Laboratories

The department uses three laboratories for its optics, modern physis, and electronics courses. These laboratories have excellent computing facilities and are well equipped for experiments in optical interferonmetry, nuclear magnetic resonance, x-ray diffraction, and gamma-ray spectroscopy. Students also use these laboratories for research projects under the direction of the faculty.

Low-Temperature Physics Laboratory

This research laboratory contains a state-of-the-art helium cryostat for reaching temperatures close to absolute zero (-273° C). There are two cryostat inserts to perform a variety of experiments at low temperatures, including experiments in superconductivity. The laboratory also contains a high field superconducting magnet. A Pentium III computer running LabVIEW software controls an IEEE-488 bus to automate the experiments and to analyze the data. Students may participate in this research.

Parachute Data Analysis Laboratory

Parachute flight data acquired during test drops and wind tunnel experiments is taken to this laboratory for analysis by student researchers, using software developed by the parachute research group . Some of the work involves sophisticated image processing hardware and software.