Below is the lab schedule for 74:275 Modern Physics for Term 1 of the 2026-2027 year. 

Labs begin at 1:40pm on Wednesdays in either BB2-34 or BB2-35 on the second floor of the Brodie Buildin.

Lab reports are due one week later and are marked by Dr. Victor Arendt.

Watch your email for instructions pertaining to the lab manual, instructions in pdf form may be distributed by email and/or posted here for download.

If you wish to use xmbrace/grace for graphing on your laptop, please work on getting Virtualbox installed on your computer by downloading it from virtualbox.org.

TUTORIALS AND REFERENCES

• Monday, 8 September 2025: Tutorial for Modern Physics graphing for lab reports. this file may be updated for 2025. Here is the older one : grace_tutorial_2024.pdf
  

• Lab Report advice and format from Dr. Fugleberg: LabFormat.pdf

• Here is a grace quick reference to making a graph: grace_quick-ref.pdf 

• Dr Foster's combination of Errors Quick Reference pdf: Errors_QuickReference_273.pdf

• This pdf has some background on the propagation of uncertainties and errors: propagation_of_errors-2019.pdf

• Details on using remote control on zoom.  This allows are remote user to control s/w etc on another remote machine: zoom_remote_control.pdf 

LABS (not in order):

• Michelson Interferometer Lab instructions: Michelson-Pasco8501-2023.pdf
  

• Charge to mass ratio for electron: e_over_m.pdf  

• Millikan Oil Drop experiment: Millikan.pdf    Here is additional data in the form of an xmgrace file: Millikan_extra_data_4students.agr

 

• 2020 Blackbody files, watch here for further links and files.
• Blackbody Radiation Lab Instructions 2023 file: Blackbody Radiation Instructions.pdf
• Table Angle from RMS angle instructions and data: 2020spect5 
• Instructions for data analysis for 2020 blackbody lab: 2020 black body analysis.pdf    
• 2020 advice for fitting BB curve to 2020 data: bb_fit_advice_2020-v1.pdf, please use this document, not 2019's bb_fit_test-v2.pdf.   
  

• 2020 Photoelectric Effect: 2021_photoelectric.pdf 
• Here is a scan of the RCA 934 phototube datasheet: RCA934_phototube_specs.pdf 
• A link to a document discussing phototubes: etuttle_phototube_link  
• Characteristic curves for five filters used for taking data: filter_curves_photoelectric_lab.pdf  
• Data for plotting Current as a function of Retarding Voltage: photoelectric_data_5filter.txt  

• Franck-Hertz Experiment: Franck-Hertz.pdf  
• Data for Franck-Hertz experiment: Franck-Hertz.dat     

• OLD: Discrete Spectra GLX version: discrete_spectra.pdf 
• Possible 2020 Discrete Spectral (SpectraSuite version):  This is the software we will use for 2019 since one GLX has a keyboard problem and the software cannot be easily moved:  Here is the manual for SpectraSuite: SpectraSuite.pdf   Have a quick look at Chapter 3.  We will just be using arc lamps and the sun for sources.  Also look for the setting called "integration time".