Experimental Techniques II

The main objective of this laboratory is to make the student familiar with the experimental aspects that concern the courses in Mechanics, Electromagnetism and Thermodynamics. Also with concepts regarding the role of experiment in the feasibility of the physical theories. Statistics plays a major role in the search for the optimal analytical treatment of the data obtained in the laboratory, from experiments that reveal the fundamental principles and laws that have been studied in the above mentioned courses. Work in the lab aims at the acquisition of a critical view on the compatibility among theoretical constructs and measured data. These tasks are the first step for more elaborate experiments that will take place in the second part of the degree. In order to optimize the learning, the lab will organize itself into three different specialized modules involving each of the above mentioned topics.

Learning outcomes:
With respect to the matter Experimental Techniques II, the student will demonstrate:
• Be aware of techniques for measuring fundamental physical properties: length, angles, masses, temperatures, voltages and electric currents, etc.
• Know the technologies and experimental systems used in research within the field of Physics.
• Know the techniques of statistical treatment of experimental data including their uncertainties.
• Knowledge and skill in the handling of the most common basic experimental techniques in the field of mechanics,
• Have the ability to apply theory to practice in the context of a laboratory of students in the field of Physics.
• Know clearly how a study is designed to allow testing a hypothesis.
Further:
• Demonstrate technical and scientific competence to ensure the achievement of accurate and reproducible results from which valid conclusions can be drawn in the scientific area.
• Demonstrate the ability to practice and implement safety standards in a Physics laboratory.
• Demonstrate a good knowledge and a skill in the use of basic computer tools of greater relevance in the field of Physics.
• Demonstrate a good capacity to access the scientific and technical literature through electronic searches in databases.
• Demonstrate a good capacity to understand and critique the scientific literature of your area of expertise.
• Ability to identify a significant issue or hypothesis about an issue or problem and formulate the objectives, design and monitoring of a project to address its solution.
• Demonstrate a good capacity for oral and written communication to present in an effective way, with ease and confidence, the results of an experimental work for critical evaluation by colleagues or reviewers
• Demonstrate a good capacity for scientific dissemination in front of a non-specialized public, paying special attention to the social implications of scientific advances.

Statistics.
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS. Frequency distribution and characteristic measurements of centrality, dispersion, symmetry and appointment. Data representation and fit.
PROBABILITY THEORY: Definition and probability properties. Conditional probability: Bayes Theorem, Random Variables. Poisson Distribution. Gaussian or normal distribution. Central limit theorem.
STATISTICAL METHODS: Population parameter estimators. Estimation by intervals: confidence intervals. Application to measurement uncertainty. Mean square fit: linear regression. Parameter estimation. Polynomial regression. Máximum likelihood method.

Thermodynamics laboratory.
SECOND PRINCIPLE OF THERMODYNAMICS. The mechanical heat pump. The thermoelectric heat pump.
FLUID BEHAVIOR. Ethan gas PVT isothermal curves. Study of the coexistence region of the vapour and liquid phases: critical point.
SIMPLE SYSTEM EQUILIBRIUM PHASES. Water vapour-liquid equilibrium up to pressures of 10 at.
Liquid-vapor equilibrium of the ethanol up to pressures of 10 bar.
BINARY SYSTEM EQUILIBRIUM PHASES Density of the binary water-alcohol system.
Vapour-liquid equilibrium of the water-alcohol binary system. Cryoscopy: freezing temperature of the water-glucose sucrose system.
THERMOELECTRIC PHENOMENA: Generation of electromotive force: Seebeck effect. Thermoelectric refrigeration: Peltier effect.
THERMAL RADIATION: Thermal radiation and temperature: Stefan-Boltzmann law. Spatial energy distribution: Kirchoff law. Spectral distribution of thermal radiation: Planck law. Study of efficiency of a solar collector.

Mechanics Laboratory:
ANALYSIS OF MOVEMENT IN CLASSICAL AND RELATIVISTIC MECHANICS. Energy and momentum conservation. Rotation movement. Gravitational force. Non inertial forces.
OSCILLATIONS: Oscillation and resonance. Coupled oscillations.
WAVE EFFECTS: Longitudinal and transversal waves. Polarisation. Stationary waves. Diffraction of microwaves.

Electromagnetism Laboratory:
ELECTROSTATICS: Laplace equation and superficial resistivity. Energy and force in electrostatics: Force upon the plates of a condenser and determination of the dielectric permitivity.
MAGNETOSTATICS: Energy and force in magnetostatics, force on a current.
Energy and moments in magnetostatics. Moment on a current loop.
ELECTROMAGNETISM: Faraday induction law. Electric and magnetic properties of materials.
CIRCUITS: Analysis of simple circuits in the domain of frequencies and times. Filters: Fourier spectrum of a signal.

A) Statistics:
• The virtual classroom, which will include teaching material prepared by the teacher and links to online resources.
• L. M. Varela, F. Gómez, J. Carrete. Tratamiento de Datos Físicos. Servizo de Publicacións e Intercambio Científico. Universidade de Santiago. 2010.
• Daniel Peña. Fundamentos de Estadística. Alianza Editorial, 2008.
• George C. Canavos, Probabilidad y Estadística. Aplicaciones y Métodos. Ed. McGraw Hill, 2003.
• T. H. Wonnacott, R. J. Wonnacott, Introducción a la estadística, Ed Limusa, 1987.
• Spiegel Murray, Probabilidad y Estadística, Ed. McGrawHill, 2003

B) Thermodynamics laboratory:
• The virtual classroom, which will include teaching material prepared by the teacher and links to online resources.
• F. W. Sears, Termodinámica, 1980
• M.W. Zemansky, Calor y Termodinámica, 1944
• H. B. Callen, Termodinámica

C) Mechanics Laboratory:
• The virtual classroom, which will include teaching material prepared by the teacher and links to online resources.
• A.P. French. Relatividad Especial. Editorial Reverté, 2008.
• A.P. French. Vibraciones y Ondas. Editorial Reverté, 2008.
• A.P. French. Mecánica Newtoniana. Editorial Reverté, 2008.

D) Electromagnetism Laboratory:
• The virtual classroom, which will include teaching material prepared by the teacher and links to online resources.
• Wangness, R. K., Campos Electromagneticos, Ed. Limusa, 1994.
• Edminister, J. A., Circuitos Eléctricos, McGraw-Hill, 1994.

BASIC AND GENERAL
CB1 - That students have demonstrated to possess and understand knowledge in an area of study that starts from the base of general secondary education, and is usually found at a level that, although supported by advanced textbooks, also includes some aspects that imply knowledge coming from the vanguard of their field of study.
CB2 - That students know how to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and possess the skills that are usually demonstrated through the elaboration and defense of arguments and the resolution of problems within their area of study.
CB3 - That students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their area of study) to make judgments that include a reflection on relevant issues of social, scientific or ethical nature.
CB4 - That students can transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions to a specialized and non-specialized public.
CG1 - Possess and understand the most important concepts, methods and results of the different branches of Physics, with a historical perspective of their development.
CG2 - Have the ability to gather and interpret data, information and relevant results, obtain conclusions and issue reasoned reports on scientific, technological or other issues that require the use of knowledge of Physics.
CG3 - Apply both the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired as well as the capacity for analysis and abstraction in the definition and posing of problems and in the search for their solutions both in academic and professional contexts.

TRANSVERSALS
CT1 - Acquire analysis and synthesis capacity.
CT2 - Have the capacity for organization and planning.
CT4 - Being able to work as a team.
CT5 - Develop critical reasoning.
CT6 - Develop creativity, initiative and entrepreneurial spirit.

SPECIFIC
CE1 - Have a good understanding of the most important physical theories, locating in their logical and mathematical structure, their experimental support and the physical phenomenon that can be described through them.
CE2 - Be able to clearly handle orders of magnitude and make appropriate estimates in order to develop a clear perception of situations that, although physically different, show some analogy, allowing the use of known solutions to new problems.
CE3 - Be familiar with the most important experimental models, also be able to perform experiments independently, as well as describe, analyze and critically evaluate the experimental data.
CE4 - Be able to compare new experimental data with available models to check its validity and suggest changes that improve the agreement of the models with the data.
CE5 - Be able to perform the essentials of a process or situation and establish a work model of it, as well as perform the required approaches in order to reduce the problem to a manageable level. He will demonstrate critical thinking to build physical models.
CE6 - Understand and master the use of mathematical and numerical methods most commonly used in Physics
CE7 - Be able to use computer tools and develop software programs

A course will be activated on the Moodle platform of the Virtual Campus, in which information of interest to students will be uploaded, as well as various teaching materials.

The course "Experimental Techniques II" will start the first day of the academic year with expositive and interactives lectures Statistics. Teaching will be given to the main group (expositive) or subgroups of twenty students per hour of interactive class. Before the end of the lectures on statistics, the date for the exam of this part, to be held within a short time, will be fixed and general indications about the laboratories will be given to continue immediately with the corresponding part of Mechanics. In the second semester, the specific dates for the start of the Thermodynamics and Electromagnetism laboratories will be indicated. Each group will be in each of the laboratories a total of six sessions of four hours a day in the morning or afternoon.

Recommended prerequisites: Physical Xeral I, II. Mathematical Methods I-III. Techniques Experimentais I.

Specific methodological indication for the subject: For the part of Statistics, the methodology will consist mainly of theoretical classes and seminars. The laboratory parts follow the general methodology of the laboratory.

Particular rules

• Statistics
As it was said, this part is eminently theoretical and will be developed in an approximate time of 28 hours. In the lectures, the contents of each of the chapters of the program will be presented, preferably following a manual ("Treatment of physical data", LM Varela, F. Gómez, J. Carrete), although some of the topics will be developed from notes delivered by the professors in charge of the subject. At the end of each topic or at the end of a group of topics, it can be carried out a liberatory test type exam on the contents seen, depending on the availability of dates and classrooms. Finally, there will be a final exam of this part near the end of the classes.

• Mechanics Laboratory:
The sessions corresponding to the Mechanics laboratory will take place during the first semester. At the beginning of the semester, the calendar will be published with the internship sessions in each of the groups. The practices have some scripts that will be distributed to the students before they begin in a first informative session. Each group will also have five sessions in the laboratory, at a rate of four hours a day. These sessions will be separated by a sufficient period of time so that each student can process the data obtained and make a report that has to be presented before the next session. The last session will serve to complete the evaluations and to complete or repeat a practice. There will be a written test of this part on a date close to the end of the laboratory sessions.

• Thermodynamics Laboratory:
The calendar and the composition of the groups will be published in the “Campus Virtual”. The students will receive in advance the material with the different existing practices in the laboratory that they must read and understand before entering the laboratory. Each group will be in the laboratory for three weeks in two sessions per week, at a rate of four hours per session. The first session will be informative. In this session, it will be explained the general functioning of the laboratory, and they will be resolved the doubts that the students may have. At the beginning of the remaining sessions, the teacher will ask individually, through a written control during laboratory hours, about the content of the practice to be carried out in that session. Students must present an individual report of the assigned practices.

• Electromagnetism Laboratory:
The sessions corresponding to the Electromagnetism laboratory will take place during the 2nd semester. At the beginning of the semester the calendar will be published with the practice sessions in each of the groups. The practices have written scripts and explanatory videos that will be made available to students through the virtual classroom. This material details both the experimental procedure and the procedure for preparing the report. The evaluation will be continuous, knowledge will be evaluated throughout the semester based on the preparation of laboratory reports and tests of acquired knowledge.

The tutorials may be face-to-face or telematic, if they are telematic they will require an appointment, something that is also recommended for face-to-face.

For the evaluation of this course, the following items will be taken into account:

a) Attendance to the interactive lectures.
b) Attitude in the classroom and laboratory.
c) Realisation and deliverance of the proposed problems.
d) Written report about the work at the laboratory.
e) Partial exams.
f) Final exam about contents of the subject.

In order to pass the course, the student must perform all the works, experiments at the laboratory and written reports individually and, besides, pass independently each one of its four parts: Statistics, Mechanics, Thermodynamics and Electromagnetism. Failure of only one of them can be compensated, provided the mark is not smaller than a 4/10, and that the mean of the scores in the four parts is greater than 5/10.

Concerning Statistics, a combined evaluation system can be established, which consists in continuous evaluation plus a final exam. The mark of the student will be the maximum between: i) the one got in the continuous evaluation and ii) the one in the final exam. For continuous evaluation, small exams will be proposed that, if passed, will compensate the final exam, and the attendance to the interactive lectures (up to 10 % of the total marks when attendance is greater than 80 % of the lectures). The student's qualification in the second opportunity will correspond to the average with the same previous weight between the final exam of the second opportunity and the continuous evaluation made for the first opportunity.

In cases of fraudulent performance of exercises or tests, the provisions of the “Regulations for the evaluation of student academic performance and review of grades” will be applied:

Article 16. Fraudulent performance of exercises or tests.
The fraudulent performance of any exercise or test required in the evaluation of a subject will imply the qualification of failure in the corresponding call, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be followed against the offending student. It is considered fraudulent, among others, the realization of plagiarized works or obtained from sources accessible to the public without reworking or reinterpretation and without citations to the authors and sources.

Blackboard classes in big group 28 h
Classes with computer / laboratory in small groups 84 h
Tutorials in small groups without computer / laboratory 8 h

Individual study or group 60 h
Writing exercises, conclusions or other work 85 h
Programming / experimentation or other works in computer / laboratory 30 h
Recommended readings, activities in library or similar 5 h

This course is essentially practical, although in the first part includes a theoretical introduction to statistics, essential for the processing of data from physics experiments. The program of this course is divided into four parts of equal length, one dedicated to the statistical treatment of data and the other three to the experimental techniques for the mechanics, electromagnetism and thermodynamics. During the development of the theoretical part the students can be required to deliver a variety of problems in dates for the continuous assessment of their knowledge. Furthermore, after the laboratory time, each student must submit either the laboratory notebook, or a separate memory, as indicated by the teacher, where the data treatment as well as the results
and the conclusions must be incorporated for each of the experiments.