Guidelines for Waves Project

In the Waves course, you will have the opportunity to design and pursue an independent research project that allows you to explore in detail some wave phenomenon that particularly interests you. Your project should be primarily experimental, since it takes the place of the last two labs of the semester, but you should also understand its theoretical underpinnings. Choose a project that is relevant to, and an extension of, the content of the course. Some possibilities are (1) an extension of an existing experiment you have done, (2) measurement of another physical system using equipment from one of the existing experiments, or (3) construction of a simple apparatus to demonstrate a physical principle you learned in class. You will need to make an appointment to talk with me about your project and get my approval of your plans the week of April 15. Talk to me earlier if you anticipate needing additional equipment or supplies. There will be no regular lab during the weeks of April 29 and May 6--this time should be used to work on your project. However, those two afternoons will not, in themselves, be enough time to do a good job.

Successful projects require substantial work before the two week period. You need to start thinking about possible projects soon after spring break. If you don't have any ideas, come talk to me. I won't tell you what to do, but I can give you ideas based on what experiments or classwork you find interesting. I can also tell you what other students have done in the past. I'll meet with everyone the week of April 15th, but you should be sure to talk to me earlier if you even suspect that you might need equipment or supplies we may not have in the department. You must also gather the equipment and supplies you need ahead of time so that you are ready to start work when your lab time rolls around. And you must be flexible. In contrast with the waves lab experiments, these projects are always rough and rarely work as anticipated the first time they are set up. Many students end up modifying their original projects on the fly if they do not work. Please see me for questions, support, or technical assistance at any point during your work on your project.

The culmination of your project will be a technical paper, written as if it were a research paper you intended to submit for publication in a scientific journal. The quality of the writing in the paper, as well as the content, are important. Your paper must have a clearly defined point, and everything in it must be relevant to that point. Explain the motivation for the work, the way the work was done, what the results were, and what the results meant. Above all, the physics must be clear. You may find that clarity can be better achieved by including a few relevant figures (a sketch of the experiment, a plot of your data together with a theoretical fit, etc.). Also, your results may be clearer if they are presented in tabular form. Finally, you will probably want to include some equations to explain your results; all but the shortest equations (e.g. E = hn) should be segregated onto separate lines and numbered.

I would like your paper to be written in the standard scientific journal format you would see in Physical Review Letters or the Journal of Applied Physics. The title page should include your name, department, institution, date, and a single-spaced abstract no longer than 120 words. The main body of your paper should be no longer than five double-spaced pages, excluding figures and references. Make sure that all symbols used in your paper are clearly identified at least once. You must attribute any equations, results, or scientific ideas you draw from another source by citing them in endnote style on your references page. The paper is due May 17 (the last day of finals week). I would strongly advise you to write at least one or two rough drafts before submitting your final draft for grading.