Advanced Physics Experimental Lab Manual

This manual is prepared for Ethiopian University physics undergraduate and graduate students based on the facility installed in Jimma University by purchasing the instruments from German PHYWE company in 2013. The experiments are compiled from the company’s instrument technical documents and organized in the way it fits with the national curriculum of physics undergraduate students in Ethiopia. The instruments from this company are very sophisticated and it is based on the current state of the art. The purpose of performing these experiments in the laboratory is not only to reinforce the material that the students learn during the physics lecture but also to enhance their understanding of how scientific knowledge actually progresses. As you perform the experiments in this manual you will encounter a messy reality quite unlike the tidy exercises of your textbooks -a reality of inconclusive results subtle equipment problems and experimental biases. It is hoped that this course will give you a taste of the difficulties and thrills of real experimentation; and that you come away with a greater appreciation of how the laws of nature are teased out of “real world” measurements.