Articles describing construction of an inexpensive spectrograph, improving focusing of Polaroid cameras, use of space satellites for instruction, and construction of an optics demonstration platform. (RH)

Describes a procedure for modifying an interferometer which compensates for distortions when making interferograms. (SL)

Describes a compact and inexpensive permanent magnet assembly, well-suited for educational NMR-ESR demonstrations, field use, and possible space flight applications. (Author/CS)

Describes a demonstration technique for showing multiple-slit interference patterns with the use of a Fabry-Perot etalon and a laser beam. A simple derivation of the analytical expression for such fringes is presented. (Author/CP)

Presents a simple method of analysis in which the student can integrate, point by point, any interferogram to obtain its Fourier transform. The manual technique requires no special equipment and is based on relationships that most undergraduate physics students can derive from the Fourier integral equations. (Author/MLH)

Describes a simple method, the Edser-Butler methods, for calibrating the Fabry-Pevot fringes seen in the focal plane of a spectrograph. (GA)

Includes five brief articles on: solar-heating demonstration equipment, mercury or sodium vapor lamp spectroscopy, an apparatus for simulating variable stars, a voltage-to-frequency converter, and an introductory absorption experiment for low-energy beta particles. (MLH)

Discussions are presented for implementing photoacoustic spectroscopy as a technique for describing the photoacoustic effect. This technique makes it possible to study optical absorption in samples which are usually difficult to study. It is suggested that this approach makes understanding of the photoacoustic effect accessible even at the…

A computer program which simulates an interstellar gas and dust cloud has been used to study Kirchhoff's laws of spectral analysis in introductory astronomy courses. The model parameters can be varied to stimulate various effects observed in actual clouds. Students are given exercises to use the program in a manner similar to a lab experiment.…

Advanced undergraduate experiments utilizing a commercially available, thin spontaneous fission source are described, including studies of the energy and mass distribution of the fission fragments and their energy and angular correlation. The experiments provide a useful introduction to fission, nuclear mass equations, heavy-ion physics, and…

Describes a technique in which a Fabry-Perot etalon can be used to demonstrate longitudinal and transverse modes present in a laser beam. (Author/CP)