For each of these experiments there is a write-up that provides a description of the equipment and the physical phenomena involved. It also gives a set of measurement goals, but usually not a detailed procedure. You must develop your own procedure for best achieving these goals. All of these experiments are somewhat openended in that they offer opportunities for you to pursue additional research topics, and you are encouraged to investigate additional topics of your own choosing. All the experiments typically take 3 weeks to complete if you do the basic minimum experiment. This assumes you put in something like 6 hours per week in the lab and prepare ahead of time. If you pursue additional topics (with the permission of the instructor) they can take much longer.)

1. Scanning tunneling microscope. The STM is used to study a variety of surfaces with atomic resolution. After first exploring the basic tunneling phenomena, students observe gold, graphite, and other surfaces and measure the atomic structures of the surfaces.

2. Gamma ray spectroscopy. This experiment uses a NaI crystal and the photoelectric effect to obtain spectra of the gamma rays emitted by various sources. Compton scattering is also observed, the mass of the neutron is precisely determined by measuring the energy of the gamma produced in the nuclear reaction producing a deuteron, and the radioactive constituents of a dirt sample are determined.

3. Pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance. The dynamic behavior of nuclear spins is investigated using pulsed magnetic resonance techniques. Spin echoes and spin relaxation rates are studied in various samples.

4. Laser spectroscopy. Narrowband tunable diode lasers are used to carry out high-resolution spectroscopy of atomic rubidium. The technique of saturated absorption spectroscopy will be studied to obtain resolution greater than the Doppler width of the resonance lines. The excited state hyperfine structure will be measured.

5. Optical pumping. This experiment investigates optical pumping of rubidium atoms between different atomic levels. It is used to observe radio frequency resonance between different atomic levels, and to precisely measure magnetic moments of the atoms.

6. Laser trapping and cooling. Light from tunable diode lasers is used to cool and trap rubidium atoms. The forces exerted by the laser light are used to hold atoms at a point in space and cool them to less than 1 mK above absolute zero. The laser spectroscopy experiment is a prerequisite for doing this experiment, and some of the same apparatus is used in both.

7. Study of cosmic rays. This experiment uses large plastic scintillators with attached photomultiplier tubes. Cosmic rays are studied by observing the light pulses they produce in the scintillators. A variety of fast timing electronics and coincidence circuits are used to obtain information about the composition and characteristics of the cosmic rays, but the specific measurements and studies are designed by the student. Muon lifetime measurement is a good first effort.