1. Modern Optics Lab Modern Optics Lab Introductory Meeting

2. Modern Optics Lab Contact Information Gernot Laicher South Physics 410 (801) 585-5553 gernot@physics.utah.edu TAs:Joel Brownstein (Wednesday Section) joelbrownstein@astro.utah.edu Bijaha Thapa (Thursday Section) bijayathapa104@yahoo.com Bryant Svedin (Tuesday and Friday Sections) bsvedin@gmail.com Website: http://www.physics.utah.edu/~gernot/Modern Optics/Modern Optics.html

3. Modern Optics Lab Lab Format Lab descriptions will be on our website (pdf files). Before the lab: * Read through lab description. * Try to understand the principle of the experiment and the data evaluation methods. * Think about the format of your lab report. Labs are done individually, not in groups. A short introduction/overview to the lab activity is usually given at the beginning of the lab. Lab report is written as much as possible during the lab. Submission deadline is 1 week after lab completion. 9 labs (11 lab sessions) are planned over the course of the class (may vary).

4. Modern Optics Lab Grading in Modern Optics Quizzes: 15% Midterm Exams: 20% Final Exam: 30% Lab Grade: 35% Your lab score is obtained as follows: 90%: Grade received for lab reports 10%: General Lab conduct - Displayed interest/diligence in lab activity - Ability to answer questions asked by TA - Cleanliness of workspace at the end of the lab - Creativity - Punctuality There is a 10% grade deduction for every day the lab report is late.

5. Modern Optics Lab Guidelines for Writing the Lab Report Keep in mind the main purpose of a lab report which is a written record of the a) purpose of the lab activity, b) methods and techniques - experimentally and mathematically, c) raw data as measured and their uncertainties, d) data analysis (e.g., computations) including error propagation, e) conclusions derived from your data analysis. “Say what needs to be said” as efficiently, concise, and clear as possible – we are not writing novels. A picture is worth a thousand words:  Include a sketch of the apparatus when describing the methods.  Label what’s on the sketch. Don’t forget units ! Don’t submit messy lab reports in which the TA needs to “fish for information”.

6. Modern Optics Lab Lab Report Grading General guideline (may vary somewhat depending on lab activity and TA): 20% Purpose, Methods, Techniques ….. 30%Raw Data Record 20%Data Analysis 10%Error calculation - Measurement uncertainties in raw data - Propagation of error 20%General appearance and organization - Legible ? - Looks organized ? - Easy to follow ?

7. Modern Optics Lab Missing a lab due to Illness, etc. Arrange with the TA a way to make up the missed lab activity. - If possible, in another section the same week. - Alternatively a time outside the regular lab hours may be arranged between you and TA. - Worst case: We may waive a lab and base your grade on the remaining average. You cannot expect to be allowed to make up a lab activity without penalty unless you have a very good reason (illness, etc.).

8. Modern Optics Lab Sample Lab Report Pages

9. Modern Optics Lab Significant Figures and Uncertainty Report uncertainties (error) in measurements to one significant digit Make sure the position of the least significant digit of the measured value agrees with that of the uncertainty.

10. Modern Optics Lab Estimating and Reporting Uncertainty Estimation of uncertainty from a single measurement due to measuring device (e.g., ability to read out a scale) Uncertainty in repeated measurements and averaging (averaging 5 or more measurements to get mean)  calculate standard deviation of the mean

11. Modern Optics Lab Error Propagation Calculating the error in the final result based on the error in the measured quantity can be done in several ways. a) Calculate the “high” and “low” possible outcome based on using extreme values of input data (x+  x and x-  x). b) Doing a “proper” error calculation.

12. Modern Optics Lab “High/Low” Method Suppose you measure a quantity and it’s uncertainty ….and you want to calculate the value of a function f(x) and the uncertainty  f of the function f(x) at the point x=x o

13. Modern Optics Lab

15. General Error Propagation Method

16. Modern Optics Lab Example

17. Modern Optics Lab Example

18. Modern Optics Lab Example using “High/Low” Method Method overestimates error somewhat