54798 - Lab-based Course on Electromagnetism and Optics

Academic Year 2017/2018

  • Moduli: Federico Boscherini (Modulo 1) Nicoletta Mauri (Modulo 4) Silvia Arcelli (Modulo 2) Luca Pasquini (Modulo 3)
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo 1) Traditional lectures (Modulo 4) Traditional lectures (Modulo 2) Traditional lectures (Modulo 3)
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Physics (cod. 8007)

Learning outcomes

Modules 1 and 2. The student will perform experimental measurements on electrical circuits in both sinusoidal and transitory regimes, on electromagnetic induction and on physical optics; he/she will acquire basic skills in written and oral presentation of experimental results.  
Module 3. The student will have in depth knowledge on programming in C++ and on Monte Carlo methods for the simulation of physical processes.
Module 4. The student will have an intermediate knowledge of the LabVIEW programming language, including its use for the development of data acquisition and analysis applications

Course contents

The course is divided in four modules which cover in an integrated fashion different aspects of data acquisition, analysis and presentation (both in written and oral form), with reference to the topics covered in the second year of the first level physics degree.

Module 1 (Fundamentals and methods of electromagnetism, circuits and optics laboratory), Prof. Federico Boscherini, 2nd semester

In this module, the main experimental methods used in the electromagnetism, circuits and optics laboratory will be described, with reference to the laboratory sessions. The methods to be used when writing a report and when giving a talk reporting scientific results will be described, with reference to the customary standards of the international scientific community. Finally, some complements necessary to perform the laboratory sessions on electrical circuits in the transient and sinusoidal regime will be given.

  • Description of the experiments on Faraday’s law and on diffraction and interference of light. Laboratory sessions. Reference: Description of laboratory sessions available on campus.
  • Characteristics of laboratory instruments. Function generators. Digital multimeters. Oscilloscopes. Coherent and incoherent light sources, coherence lengths. Lasers. Light detectors, photodiodes. Reference: Boscherini Strumenti
  • Methods and standards used when writing a laboratory report and when presenting experimental results in a talk. Linear and non linear fits.
  • Oscilloscopes. The cathode ray tube. Static and dynamic sensitivity, band pass. Vertical gain, horizontal deflection and saw tooth time scan. Trigger. Digital oscilloscopes. Reference: Bava, Galzerano, Norgia, Ottoboni e Svelto
  • Complements on circuits in the transient and sinusoidal regime. Capacitors and inductors. First order circuits. Second order circuits. RLC circuits in the sinusoidal regime and phasors. Frequency response. Low pass, high pass, band pass circuits and resonant circuits. Reference: Perfetti, chap. 6, 7, 8 and 13 (part). Copy of lecture slides available on campus.unibo.it

 

Module 2(ROOT), Prof. Silvia Arcelli, 1st Semester

  • Recap on the main concepts of Object Oriented Programming in C++: coding conventions, classes, member functions and data members, encapsulation, aggregation and inheritance, polymorfism.
  • Applications of the ROOT Data Analysis framework Usage for the data simulation and analysis with examples connected to the laboratory sessions which will be held during Module I:

–Further fuctionalities, with examples, of histograms (THx), graphs (TGraph), functions (TFx), ROOT persistency (TFile).Fitting data with ROOT (linear and non linear fits).

–the ROOT Monte Carlo utilities for the generation of physics distributions and for the simulation of experimental effects (resolution,efficiency)

– Advanced ROOT applications: The ROOT Collection Classes (TList) and ROOT n-tuple type data (TTree)

Module 3 (LabVIEW), Prof. Luca Pasquini, 1st semester

  • The LabVIEW Graphical programming language

    Introduction to LabVIEW: Virtual Instruments and dataflow paradigm. Front panel, block diagram, controls, indicators, constants and functions. Data types: numeric, Boolean, string. Arrays, Clusters and Type definitions. Using loops: While loops, For loops, Tunnels and Shift Registers. Decision-making structures: Case Structure, Event Structure. Polling vs Event-drive programming. SubVIs and modularity. Accessing files in LabVIEW. Sequential and state-machine programming. Local and Global variables, race conditions. Communicating data between parallel loops: queues and notifier functions.

  • Data acquisition

General architecture of a data acquisition (DAQ) device. The measurement chain. Analog to Digital Converters (ADCs). Communication buses. Signal-device connection. Signal sampling: aliasing and Nyquist theorem. Buffered data acquisition. The DAQ-mx library in LabVIEW.

Module 4 (Electrical circuits laboratory), Dr. Nicoletta Mauri, 2nd semester

Module 2, consisting exclusively in laboratory sessions, consists in designing a simple circuit on ELVIS breadboard, writing a data acquisition program in LabVIEW, performing measurements and analyzing and discussing the results.

Readings/Bibliography

Modules 1 and 4 (Electromagnetism, circuits and optics laboratory)

  • Renzo Perfetti, Circuiti Elettrici, Zanichelli, 2013.
  • Copy of lecture slides are available at campus.unibo.it (search with “Federico Boscherini”)
  • Elio Bava, Gianluca Galzerano, Michele Norgia, Roberto Ottoboni e Cesare Svelto, Misure elettroniche di laboratorio, Pitagora Editrice, 2005.

    Module 2 (Root)

  •  Available on campus.unibo.it (search with “Silvia Arcelli ”)

  • Official ROOT material (User guide, Reference guide) from http://root.cern.ch [http://root.cern.ch/] ; The ROOT primer: https://root.ern.ch/root/htmldoc/guides/primer/ROOTPrimer.html
  • Slides of the lectures and ROOT code examples written during the lectures

    Module 3 (LabVIEW)

Available on campus.unibo.it (search with “Luca Pasquini”)

  • National Instruments official course material “LabVIEW Core 1” and “LabVIEW Core 2”
  • Slides “DAQ&LabVIEW” on data acquisition

Teaching methods

Lectures and laboratory (compulsory). Below are some details on the laboratory sessions for each module

Modules 1 and 4 (Electromagnetism, circuits and optics laboratory)

Each student will perform two experiments, working in couples. For both, a written report is required, using a given template; the report, in PDF format, will be sent by e-mail to a specific e-mail address. The first experiment (one day) can be either optics or the Faraday law; for this, a short report is required. The second experiment involves the design of a simple electronics circuit, its construction on an Elvis II breadboard, performing selected measurements using Labview data acquisition program and data analysis. For this experiment, which involves approximately three laboratory sessions, a longer report is required. The second experiment will also be the subject of an oral presentation using PC and beamer.

Module 2 (Root)

The students will perform three laboratory sessions and each student individually will write a C++ program to simulate physics data and perform their analysis using the ROOT functionalities, making practice of C++ Object Oriented programming. A written report of the laboratory sessions is required, using a given template and including the C++/ROOT code listing; the report, in PDF format, must be sent by e-mail to a specific e-mail address within 30 days after the completion of the laboratory sessions.

Module 3 (LabVIEW)

The students, working in couples, will perform three experiments, which include the realization of simple electrical circuits on ELVIS II and the implementation of a LabVIEW program for data acquisition and analysis. The subjects of the experiments are: 1) Measurement of the code width and noise of ELVIS II, buffered data acquisition and Nyquist sampling theorem; 2) Ohm’s law and resistive circuits in direct current; 3) transient regimes in RC circuits.

Assessment methods

The final mark is an overall evaluation related to the topics covered in the four modules and is equalt to the weighted average of the marks of the four modules, according to the formula:

V(fin)= 0.5 × V(mod1&4) +0.192 × (mod3) + 0.308 × V(mod4). In order to attribute an overall “cum laude”, it must have been attributed to at least two modules. In all evaluations there is a great emphasis on the assesment of critical thinking and communication abilities.

The exam for different modules can take place in any order.

Oral exams can be performed in English upon request.

Modules 1 and 4 (Electromagnetism, circuits and optics laboratory)

The joint mark for modules 1 and 4, V(mod1&4), is equal to the weighted sum of three marks, each of which is between 0 and 3.

  1. Mark (A) for a written report, maximum length 3 pages, on optics measurements or the Faraday law experiment (depending on which one was performed). This must be submitted within one week.
  2. Mark (B) for a written report, maximum length 6 pages, on the circuits experiment. This must be submitted by the end of the course.
  3. Mark (C) for an oral presentation with computer and beamer, maximum time 15 minutes, and subsequent discussion.

The final joint mark for modules 1 and 4 is V(mod1&4) = A + 3B + 7C, with a maximum of 30. The exam is passed if A + 3B + 7C >= 18. “Cum laude” is attributed if A + 3B + 7C > 30.

Module 2 (Root)

During the second and third laboratory sessions, the students write a report using a pre-defined template. The reports of the laboratory sessions receive a score A ranging from 0 to 5. The final assessment consists in a written exam with 4 questions, requesting the student to write C++code using the ROOT functionalities illustrated during the module. To the written exam a maximum score B of 28 is given. The final score of the module is given by C=A+B. The exam is passed if C>=18. “Cum laude” is attributed if C>30.

Module 3 (LabVIEW)

During the second and third laboratory sessions, the students write a report using a pre-defined template. The reports, delivered in PDF format at the end of the session, receive a score A ranging from 0 to 5. The final assessment consists in a written exam with 11 questions on all course subjects, to which is given a maximum score B of 33. The exam is passed if B>=18; the final score of the module is given by C=A+B, with a maximum of 30. “Cum laude” is attributed if C > 33 and A > 3.

Teaching tools

Well equipped computer, optics and electronics laboratories.

Office hours

See the website of Federico Boscherini

See the website of Nicoletta Mauri

See the website of Silvia Arcelli

See the website of Luca Pasquini