Welcome Natural Sciences

Facilities

General Physics Lab:

General Physics I&II is the introductory physics sequence taken by most science majors. Physics majors and those interested in going into engineering are encouraged to take Engineering Physics I&II which make a greater use of calculus. One can use General Physics I&II towards a physics major with permission of the physics program director.

Throughout the course of a year, students in General Physics I&II conduct twenty-four experiments. Some examples of experimental topics:

Conservation of Momentum in Two Dimensions
A Measurement of the Acceleration due to Gravity
A Computer Simulation of Free Fall with and without Air Resistance
A Measurement of the Speed of Sound
Conservation of Momentum and Energy in a Ballistic Pendulum
A Measurement of Absolute Zero Temperature
Electrolysis of Water
DC and AC Circuits
A Measurement of the Charge to Mass Ratio of the Electron
Analysis of the Atomic Spectrum of Hydrogen
The Absorption Coefficient of Lead for Gamma Rays

Research Equipment:

The physics program has a great deal of up-to-date research grade and advanced laboratory equipment. This equipment is used in advanced physics courses and for senior research projects.

Our equipment includes:

A 10-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope
10-inch Dobsonian Telescope
A Scanning-Tunneling Microscope
A 4 x 8 Research Grade Optics Table and Optical Equipment
A Gamma Ray Spectrometer
An X-ray Spectrometer
A Dual 750-MHz Processor PC running Linux for Data Analysis and Computer Simulation