Physics 150, Winter 2024
Prototyping for physics experiments


This 2 unit course is designed to teach the skills students need to design and build whatever they may need in their physics career and provide experience doing such design, prototyping, and testing of an instrument. Students will learn basic skills, such as 3D printing, soldering, circuit design, and Arduino interfacing. They will then develop and execute an individual prototyping project of their choice.

After completing the course, students will be prepared to pursue other independent projects, either through undergraduate research or the Physics Organization for INnovation and Technology (POINT) in which students use the Physics Makerspace to design and build independent projects.

Lecture: Monday 9:30-10:45, Broida 5223
Lab: Wednesday 9:30-10:45, Broida 5223

Instructor: David Stuart ([email protected], Broida 3001) and Connor Lindsay ([email protected], Broida 3310)
Office Hours: TBD
Learning assistant: TBD

Course overview: This course is designed to allow you to learn from the experience of an experimental project. In the first half of the quarter, you will have guided instruction on skills that are commonly needed in experiment, such as 3D printing, soldering, circuits, and microcontrollers, with specific "homework" projects that are completed in lab each week. In the second half of the quarter, you will develop, design, build, and test a project of your own. While you will work independently on the project, the instructors will guide and support you in carrying it out. Each student will make a short in-class presentation about their project during the last week of the course.

Pre-requisites: Phys20AL and Phys29 are recommended. While we will include introductory exercises for the basic skills (3D printing, soldering, circuits, and microcontrollers), students should have some experience in at least one of these areas as a foundation for their work on a prototyping project. If you are unsure about preparation, contact the instructor.

Required materials: None

Grades: Your course grade will be based on the following components: homework assignments 40%, independent project 40%, project presentation 20%.

Homework will consist of practical exercises on the skills, which you will carry out in lab. They will be graded on effort and completion, i.e., you will do well if you carry out the assignments. The independent project grade will be based on your effort and completion on it, as demonstrated in your documentation of the ongoing work in a google-doc or other log. The project presentation grade will be based on properly following the guidelines for a good presentation of progress on a project, which will be discussed during the course.

In addition to "getting a grade", the course will provide you an opportunity to demonstrate your skills, motivation, perseverance, etc., i.e., the qualities that are important for undergrad research work or technical jobs. While not required for a grade, students can go above and beyond in the exercises to learn more and develop a portfolio of technical accomplishments.

Schedule

The topics and lab work for each week is listed below.

Week # Tuesday Thursday
1  Intro to the course and experimental research 
 Soldering 		 Practice through-hole and surface-mount soldering on a PCB and then test it 
2  CAD and 3D printing   Design and print an enclosure for a micro-controller that you will use later 
3  Basics of electronics circuits and their use in instruments   Build a circuit that flashes an LED when a button is pressed or other stimuli sensed 
4  Using microcontrollers   Make an arduino-based voltmeter with serial output and LED indicators 
5  Communication protocols   Make an arduino-based thermometer interfaced to an LCD or OLED display via I2C 
6  Work on independent project   Work on independent project 
7  Work on independent project   Work on independent project 
8  Work on independent project   Work on independent project 
9  Work on independent project   Work on independent project 
10  Project presentations   Project presentations 

Going above and beyond

If things work well and you want to go above and beyond the basic requirements, there are several opportunities for that. You may be in a position to do this if you have some previous experience with any of the skills. Some examples of going beyond the basic exercises include the following. The soldering practice will include real circuits that you can test. Your 3D printed enclosure can include sophisticated mechanical design features. Your LED flashing circuit can respond to light or temperature instead of a button so it flashes when you wave your hand over it or blow on it. If you have already used an Arduino, then you can try using an ATtiny that is more embedable. If you are familiar with I2C, then you can learn SPI instead. You won't get extra credit, but you will get extra experience and satisfaction.