Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of California, Santa Barbara/INT 84BT - Web-based Robotic Control of Modern Physics Labs (Spring 2024)

Evidence that necessitated the development of Quantum Mechanics is not readily observable in daily life. Nor is it easily experienced via lecture demonstrations. Ideally, the curious student re-enacts the key experiments prior to their first QM course. However, schools with few physics majors often lack the resources to make the sophisticated apparatus required available to their students. At UCSB, we “remotified” our Modern Physics apparatus to allow authentic manipulation over a web interface during the pandemic. Now, we’re working to make these apparatus available to students/schools around the world. In this seminar, students will get to interact with the remotified apparatus both on-line and in person and thereby gain first-hand experience with the underpinnings of QM, as well as learn the basics of CAD, 3D printing, robotic control, web interfacing, and pedagogy that went into adapting these experiments for remote instruction. Pairs of students will then be assigned to upgrade some aspect of the remote lab user experience.