Special Experimental Projects

Course Description

Student taking this course is required to finish a short experimental project, which illustrates modern physics and/or experimental technique. (For undergraduates only.)
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

Course information

Special experimental projects (1-unit courses) are offtered in 1st term, 2nd term & summer:
First term: PHYS 4711 & PHYS 4721
Second term: PHYS 4712 & PHYS 4722
Summer: PHYS 3710 & PHYS 3720

Coordinator:
Prof. H.K. Wong (¶À±dÅv)
Office: Rm. 208, Science Centre N.
Tel.: 394 36355
Email: hwong@phy.cuhk.edu.hk
*** In this coming summer, I will not handle these lab courses. ***

Manager:
Mr. Lee Chung Kay (§õªQ°ò)
Office: Rm. 214, Science Centre N.
Tel.: 394 36356
Email: chungkaylee@cuhk.edu.hk

General information
  • For each project, a student should plan to work in the lab for about 7 afternoons.
  • To apply for doing project(s), please contact a professor in the department & discuss for a doable project.
  • In H.K. Wong's labs, only those projects (listed below) with instructions/manuals are ready.
    However, you may propose a project. We will judge whether it is doable in our lab.

    • Submit the following for each project before the deadline for the term
  • lab report (pdf file or hard copy)
  • (a draft report should be submitted earlier for improvement of report writing)
  • files of raw data
  • logbook (hard copy)
    --- Upload your project data & report here ---
          Password:
    • Marking Scheme
    This file shows how I grade students' reports

    Sample Report
    For each project, student should submit a report in a journal paper format. See, for example, A. S. Bennal et al., "Measurements of K x-ray fluorescence parameters" Am. J. Phys. vol.73, pp. 883-887 (2005).
    For guidelines, see, e.g., "How to write a journal article?" (MIT)

    Logbook requirement
    Write all details about how you work on the project in a format of a diary.
    For guidelines, see, e.g., http://web.mit.edu/8.13/www/JLIntroFiles/Notebooks.pdf

    Projects
    (The numbers in [ ] are the numbers of students who took the projects (from September 2004 to December 2011). Total enrolment = 155 projects)
    (We have folders of references for topics with *.)

    (I) Modern Physics (special relativity, atomic & molecular physics)
  • Special relativity* [14]
  • Electron diffraction [3]
  • Molecular spectroscopy [2]
  • Carbon 60* [9]
  • X-ray fluorescence

    • (II) Nuclear Physics
  • Nuclear detectors & alpha, beta, gamma spectroscopies [11]
  • Compton's scattering [4]
  • Rutherford scattering* [14]
  • Muon lifetime measurement* [13]
  • Radon* [6]

    • (III) Solid State Physics
  • X-ray diffraction [7]
  • diodes, LED, photodetector, solar cell, laser diode, and tunneling diode* [20]
  • Magnetic property of Cu-Ni alloy [7]
  • Magnetic property of high Tc superconductors* [8]
  • NMR & ESR (Prof. Lee W.K.) [1]

    • (IV) E & M
  • Jumping ring

    • (V) Thermal Physics, Optics, mechanics, etc.
  • Radiometer* [5]
  • Coupled oscillator & Wilberforce pendulum* [4]
  • Solar spectrum (Prof. Lee W.K.) [1]
  • Water wave and Soliton [3]
  • Heat engine* [20]
  • acoustical resonators [2]
  • Chaos (Prof. Lee W.K.) [1]

    • Equipment notes
  • VSM
  • SM-240 spectrometer
  • MD10 x-ray diffractometer
  • Arc melter
  • Preparation of YBCO
  • Vacuum pumps
  • Radiation safety notes by William B. McCarthy of MIT

    • Data Analysis
  • Short Notes on Error Analysis
  • Peak fitting with Origin 6
  • MathCad Program (Fourier Transform) for Wilberforce pendulum experiment
  • S. Van Bramer, "An Introduction to the Fourier Transform", J. Chem. Educ., vol.76, p.286 (1999).
  • Software: Mathcad 2001 (QA76.95.M38 2001 CD)
  • General Reference: L. Kirkup, Data Analysis with Excel, (Q180.55S7K57 2002)
  • General Reference: L. Lyons, Practical guide to Data analysis for physical science students (QC33L9 1991)

    • Lecture Notes
  • Superconductivity
  • nuclear detectors
  • Gamma activity of K-40 in natural materials
  • X-ray diffraction

    • Lab manuals
  • Special relativity
  • Compton scattering
  • Coupled oscillator
  • Heat engine (Pasco)

    • General references
  • A.C. Melissinos, Experiments in modern physics (QC33.M52 1966, 2003)