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.

The market leader for the first-year physics laboratory course, this manual offers a wide range of class-tested experiments designed explicitly for use in small to mid-size lab programs. The manual provides a series of integrated experiments that emphasize the use of computerized instrumentation. The Sixth Edition includes a set of "computer-assisted experiments" that allow students and instructors to use this modern equipment. This option also allows instructors to find the appropriate balance between traditional and computer-based experiments for their courses. By analyzing data through two different methods, students gain a greater understanding of the concepts behind the experiments. The manual includes 14 new integrated experiments—computerized and traditional—that can also be used independently of one another. Ten of these integrated experiments are included in the standard (bound) edition; four are available for customization. Instructors may elect to customize the manual to include only those experiments they want. The bound volume includes the 33 most commonly used experiments that have appeared in previous editions; an additional 16 experiments are available for examination online. Instructors may choose any of these experiments—49 in all—to produce a manual that explicitly matches their course needs. Each experiment includes six components that aid students in their analysis and interpretation: Advance Study Assignment, Introduction and Objectives, Equipment Needed, Theory, Experimental Procedures, and Laboratory Report and Questions.

This market-leading manual for the first-year physics laboratory course offers a wide range of class-tested experiments designed specifically for use in small to mid-size lab programs. A series of integrated experiments emphasizes the use of computerized instrumentation and includes a set of “computer-assisted experiments” to allow students and instructors to gain experience with modern equipment. This option also enables instructors to determine the appropriate balance between traditional and computer-based experiments for their courses. By analyzing data through two different methods, students gain a greater understanding of the concepts behind the experiments. The Seventh Edition is updated with the latest information and techniques involving state-of-the-art equipment, and a new Guided Learning feature addresses the growing interest in guided-inquiry pedagogy. Fourteen additional experiments are also available through custom printing.

This textbook provides the knowledge and skills needed for thorough understanding of the most important methods and ways of thinking in experimental physics. The reader learns to design, assemble, and debug apparatus, to use it to take meaningful data, and to think carefully about the story told by the data. Key Features: Efficiently helps students grow into independent experimentalists through a combination of structured yet thought-provoking and challenging exercises, student-designed experiments, and guided but open-ended exploration. Provides solid coverage of fundamental background information, explained clearly for undergraduates, such as ground loops, optical alignment techniques, scientific communication, and data acquisition using LabVIEW, Python, or Arduino. Features carefully designed lab experiences to teach fundamentals, including analog electronics and low noise measurements, digital electronics, microcontrollers, FPGAs, computer interfacing, optics, vacuum techniques, and particle detection methods. Offers a broad range of advanced experiments for each major area of physics, from condensed matter to particle physics. Also provides clear guidance for student development of projects not included here. Provides a detailed Instructor’s Manual for every lab, so that the instructor can confidently teach labs outside their own research area.