General Physics Laboratory

The General Physics Laboratories are a suite of rooms supporting the General Education Laboratory component of nearly every major program on campus. 

The general physics laboratory courses familiarize students with science and engineering laboratory techniques, measurement equipment, and analysis methods. Experiments provide students with hands-on learning to practice solving problems, analyzing real data and reporting on their work. Students learn to apply physical principles to real-world physical systems, and engineering and testing applications.

The Physics Laboratories also provide equipment to support demonstrations conducted by faculty in lectures courses and for public outreach. The labs can also work with student research groups who may request to borrow equipment on a limited basis.

Equipment

• Dell Windows equipped with Pasco Capstone Software and either a Pasco 550 or 850 Universal Interface
• Digital Storage Oscilloscope, benchtop (various manufacturers)
• BK Precision Function Generators, benchtop
• 10 Ballistic pendulum apparatus
• Six 2.0-meter Pasco Air Tracks with motion glider kits
• Variable DC power supplies, benchtop (18 V, 3 A)
• 15 1.2-meter Pasco Optics Tracks with accessories
• Compressed air feed at lab stations
• Ohaus Triple Beam Balance, 2,610-gram capacity at 0.1 gram
• 14 2.0-meter Pasco Motion Tracks with carts and accessories
• Various Pasco Scientific datalogging sensors and probes, including current, voltage and ultrasonic motion sensors, photogates, wireless force and acceleration sensors, rotary motion sensors, wireless temperature probes, absolute pressure, various light sensors and GM Tubes
• Geiger-Muller Tube radiation detector systems
• Light sources: Incandescent, halogen, collimated white light; Class 2 and 3 lasers; and gas spectral emission tubes (H, He, Hg, Na, Ne, Ar, Xe)