Opinions on a great physics experience

[bluephysics]

Hey Guys, so thanks to a great math teacher at my school, I know what i want to do with my life: I want to become a Physicist. He has gotten me madly in love with science and especially physics. And since summer is starting in a week for me, i'd like to do some 'physics stuff' I was originally going to buy a microscope of 1000x but i decided that since i am much more interested in physics, i would love to do some activity related to physics. If possible i would have tried to make a particle accelerator, but that's a dream, since i neither have the funds nor the genius mind of Michio Kaku. My greatest interest has been in theoretical physics specifically related to astrophysics, such as Relativity and Quantum mechanics. I am no expert or even close to it in this topics, but love reading about them, so if you guys could suggest some ideas on how to spend my free time during the summer please tell me. So far i am just thinking of learning how observe space and take data from the positions of stars, but i wanted to see if you guys could suggest something more interesting.\

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Klaynos]

A very accessible way into doing some intro astrophysics is to buy a telescope. If you get the right one you can do a basic star survey looking at their intensity and colour.

 

Others here will know more about this than me. Astro was never really my thing.

[Sensei]

i'd like to do some 'physics stuff' I was originally going to buy a microscope of 1000x but i decided that since i am much more interested in physics, i would love to do some activity related to physics. If possible i would have tried to make a particle accelerator, but that's a dream, since i neither have the funds nor the genius mind of Michio Kaku.

Even your old CRT TV is particle accelerator..

 

The largest cost is purchase of vacuum pump device (~$600).

Vacuum flask could be used ($10 the last time I bought it 1L volume). Both from chemistry equipment shop.

Rectifying diodes and capacitors for Cockcroft-Walton high voltage generator from electronic shop (you could use it also for discharge tube with some gas as medium and observe spectral lines of different gases).

The rest of needed things could be found on scrapyard.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Build Cloud Chamber to observe cosmic rays, and unstable element isotopes decays..

 

 

Cost $50 or so. Aquarium could be reused lated. You should start from finding local supplier of dry ice.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Sensei

[Klaynos]

Yes, cloud chamber is a great idea.

[imatfaal]

Agree - cloud chambers are excellent. Basic electronics kits are very useful for learning stuff you will reuse for the rest of your life - both in academic pursuits and at home/work. At your age I had a deep distrust of other people's results and just didn't believe canonical experiments - one summer project was redoing Young's work on materials; when I related this to a teacher he commented that next year I should look at the rest of his work and do the double slits experiment so I did. This was quantitative work in which I found it more important to get consistent data than discover or prove anything. So many of the experiments we did in class were frankly rubbish - they were poorly thought out and even worse in the execution; so a bit of discipline and trying to achieve a good data set was a challenge and fascinating

[Raider5678]

The largest cost is purchase of vacuum pump device (~$600).

Vacuum flask could be used ($10 the last time I bought it 1L volume). Both from chemistry equipment shop.

Rectifying diodes and capacitors for Cockcroft-Walton high voltage generator from electronic shop (you could use it also for discharge tube with some gas as medium and observe spectral lines of different gases).

The rest of needed things could be found on scrapyard.

Could you send me a How-To on that?

 

Yeah, physics can be pretty interesting. Sadly, I don't know a lot of physics experiments. One suggestion I would provide though would be to use ferro fluid, and explain why it acts the way it does when in the presence of a powerful magnet.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Raider5678

[Enthalpy]

Experiment kits!

Chemistry

Electronics

Electromagnetism

Optics

...

(One per summer I'd say)