Introduction
Welcome to this workshop aimed at developing practical experience with data-collection and instrumentation.
This workshop is targeted at, but not restricted to, students who will be going into 2nd-year physics in September and who feel that they lack confidence in their laboratory and computing skills. The workshop was created as a general primer for such courses as Phys210 (Computational Physics) and Phys219 (Experimental Physics) but the skills and confidence acquired are transferable to many situations outside the narrow confines of undergraduate physics.
The training is divided into modules. Start with module zero to get the programs you need installed and running. The rest of the modules follow in chronological order, each building on the progress of the last.
The workshop was run F2F in May 2019, and has now been recast for distance learning. The total cost of electronic parts is less than $40.
Modules
- Buying Parts
- Preparing the Arduino
- Setting up Python on your PC
- Learning Python
- Arduino for Data Collection
- Ultrasonic Range Sensing
- Pendulum Experiment
Workshop goals
- to get started with the Python language and control a microcontroller with Python to learn how to calibrate sensors and make/display/analyze measurements
- to debug an electrical circuit with an oscilloscope (F2F version only)
Updated 2020-07-27 CEW