Explores such topics in physics as the properties of water, transmission of heat, evaporation, and air pressure as seen in home plumbing, refrigerators, and other common items.

You might be wondering, "How can there be a science lab at home? Home is home. I eat, sleep, play, and do homework there. A science lab is where scientists hang out, discovering even more things for me to learn in school. Besides, aren't all scientists guys with white coats and long gray beards, who mutter things like: 'E = mc²' or 'Ah ha! I've found the secret of living forever!'?"Well, not exactly! Scientists don't always work in laboratories, don't necessarily wear white coats, and don't talk like they were starring in a sci-fi thriller. There are some scientists with long gray beards- usually they are older men.Almost anyone can make scientific observations and do experiments, even kids. And anywhere that you make observations and perform experiments can be considered a science laboratory. Entomologists, scientists who study insects, do most of their work in forests, jungles, and backyards. Herpetologists, scientists who study reptiles such as snakes and lizards, hunt for their subjects where they live--in wooded areas, swamps, and fields.Some astronomers, scientists who study planets, stars, galaxies, and everything else in the cosmos, setup telescopes in their backyards, in parks, or on mountaintops. These scientists study in "field laboratories," and so can Your home can be your field laboratory.Did you ever wonder how certain things in your home worked? When I was a youngster (lots of years ago when the only good music was rock and roll, long before walkman-type tape players and CDs), I always wanted to know what made things work-things like light switches, refrigerators, dish- washers, washing machines, toilets, sinks, freezers, door locks, hinges, vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, juicers, windows, and plumbing pipes.After disassembling (the easy part) and reassembling (the harder part) lots of household "stuff," I learned that even the most complex of these items worked on some very basic principles. All of them worked (when I was able to put them back together properly) because of science and applied science, which is called technology. Once I looked at the simple components that make these items work, they were easy--or at least easier-- to understand. This book will show you how to perform experiments and observations at home and help you figure out where and how science is used in your home.Scattered throughout these chapters you will find a safety symbol. Ask an adult to help you wherever you see this symbol. The symbol indicates that the experiment is a little bit dangerous or difficult. I'd hate to see you get discouraged or hurt while you are learning about science in your home. Throughout the book you'll also find words in italic type. These words are defined in the glossary at the back of the book. There are three other books in this series that explain how you can conduct scientific observations and experiments with material found in hardware stores, housewares stores, and supermarkets. If you like this book and think your friends, parents, and teachers would like it, the author's name is Bob Friedhoffer. Go to the library and check out the books, or even better, go to the bookstore and buy them. If you don't like this book. . . don't tell anyone.

This new book aims to guide both the experimentalist and theoretician through their compulsory laboratory courses forming part of an undergraduate physics degree. The rationale behind this book is to show students and interested readers the value and beauty within a carefully planned and executed experiment, and to help them to develop the skills to carry out experiments themselves.

This textbook presents quantum mechanics at the junior/senior undergraduate level. It is unique in that it describes not only quantum theory, but also presents five laboratories that explore truly modern aspects of quantum mechanics. These laboratories include "proving" that light contains photons, single-photon interference, and tests of local realism. The text begins by presenting the classical theory of polarization, moving on to describe the quantum theory of polarization. Analogies between the two theories minimize conceptual difficulties that students typically have when first presented with quantum mechanics. Furthermore, because the laboratories involve studying photons, using photon polarization as a prototypical quantum system allows the laboratory work to be closely integrated with the coursework. Polarization represents a two-dimensional quantum system, so the introduction to quantum mechanics uses two-dimensional state vectors and operators. This allows students to become comfortable with the mathematics of a relatively simple system, before moving on to more complicated systems. After describing polarization, the text goes on to describe spin systems, time evolution, continuous variable systems (particle in a box, harmonic oscillator, hydrogen atom, etc.), and perturbation theory. The book also includes chapters which describe material that is frequently absent from undergraduate texts: quantum measurement, entanglement, quantum field theory and quantum information. This material is connected not only to the laboratories described in the text, but also to other recent experiments. Other subjects covered that do not often make their way into undergraduate texts are coherence, complementarity, mixed states, the density operator and coherent states. Supplementary material includes further details about implementing the laboratories, including parts lists and software for running the experiments. Computer simulations of some of the experiments are available as well. A solutions manual for end-of-chapter problems is available to instructors.

PREFACE Browsing through hardware stores can be fun, interesting, and informative. Hardware stores sell tools and supplies used by mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, homeowners, hobbyists, and do-it-yourselfers. When you have-and know how to use-tools, you can demolish, disassemble, fix, or build just about anything. I was very lucky as a youngster. My grandfather, Louis Helfand, was an expert mechanic and woodworker. He came to live in my parent's house when I was about 10 years old. While he lived with us, he showed me the correct way to use and care for tools. It was through his patience, and his ability to explain the functions of tools, that I became interested in both the tools and the scientific principles that allow them to work. Grandpa took tools very seriously. He praised the ones that were well made and cursed the ones that weren't. In other words, he told it like it was. When I walk through a hard- ware store today, I remember Grandpa pointing out the tools, both good and bad. Sometimes his comments made me laugh so hard that my stomach hurt. Hardware stores still hold a fascination for me. There always seem to be new, strange, nifty, cool, wonderful machines, and tools. I can look at them, touch them, examine them, and even buy them. This book is written as a guidebook to help you learn the scientific principles that make some of the tools dis-played in a hardware store work. I hope that after read-ing this book you will enjoy browsing through hardware stores as much as I do. Who knows? One day we might even meet in one. His comments made me laugh so hard that my stomach hurt. Hardware stores still hold a fascination for me. There always seem to be new, strange, nifty, cool, wonderful machines, and tools. I can look at them, touch them, examine them, and even buy them. This book is written as a guidebook to help you learn the scientific principles that make some of the tools dis-played in a hardware store work. I hope that after read-ing this book you will enjoy browsing through hardware stores as much as I do. Who knows? One day we might even meet in one. * * * * * A Quick Note to Parents and Educators Physics Lab in a Housewares Store, a companion volume in this series, demonstrates many of the same principles as this book. That has been done with intent. Many of the students who will be attracted to one of the titles will probably not be attracted to the other, due to traditional gender preferences. Those that are attracted to both will have the added pleasure of finding out that a workshop and a kitchen have many things in common, and that tools found in one might actually be substituted for those commonly used in the other."

Over 50 extended projects are described in detail. Each project description starts with a summary of theoretical background, proceeds to outline goals and possible avenues of exploration, suggests needed instrumentation, experimental setup and data analysis, and presents typical results which can serve as guidelines for the beginner researcher.