A laboratory experiment that exposes students to fundamental concepts in kinetics and statistical thermodynamics to study systems of great current interest in nanotechnology by employing a foundational technique in physical chemistry is described. A modified commercial flash photolysis spectrometer was used to study photoinduced isomerization…

For conducting laboratory experiments on Fresnel diffraction, the use of a simple point light source from an LED and the application of a modern smartphone for photographing the diffraction patterns are proposed. The developed devices allow the experiments to be carried out under normal laboratory lighting.

Excel spreadsheets are used as an excellent tool in physics laboratory experiments related to wave optics. This paper presents a simple way to simulate diffraction of waves through a slit using Excel spreadsheets without any tedious programming. These simulations are used to visualize the effect of variation of different parameters such as number…

Astronomy and astrophysics are very popular with pupils, but the experimental work they can do tends to be rather limited. The search for life elsewhere in the Universe ("exobiology") has received an enormous boost since the detection of a rapidly increasing number of planets ("exoplanets") orbiting other stars in our galaxy. Recently (March…

This practical paper describes a novel fluorescence imaging experiment to study the three processes of photochemistry, fluorescence and thermal energy dissipation, which compete during the dissipation of excitation energy in photosynthesis. The technique represents a non-invasive tool for revealing and understanding the spatial heterogeneity in…

Describes an experiment that allows the students to verify the assumption that light travels in straight lines. (GS)

The role of spectral color slides in laboratory situations is discussed, then experiments for secondary school students concerning color and wave length, evidence of quantization, and the ionization energy of the hydrogen atom are outlined. Teaching guidelines for creating a set of spectrograms and photographic specifications are provided. (DT)

Describes an experiment in which a recycling oscillator has been designed having a fiber optic data link that closes the loop. Outlines the use of this wink-around system to determine the speed of light and suggests additional application for measuring integrated circuit propagation delays to subnanosecond resolution. (GS)

Describes a simple experimental setup in which the student can detect and record light spectra, study and test the concept of Bragg reflection, and measure the anisotropy of the index of refraction in a cholesteric liquid crystal. (MLH)

Describes a simple experiment to verify the reflectivity equations of Fresnel and for measurement of optical constants. (SL)

Describes an experiment demonstrating the frustration of totally reflected visible light. (SL)

Describes a device which employs two diffraction gratings and three or four simple lenses to produce arbitrary absorption or emission spectra that may be doppler shifted and spectroscopically examined by students some distance away. It may be regarded as a sort of artificial star whose spectrum may be analyzed as an undergraduate laboratory…