- The student understands the experimental and physical background of building a senstitive scientific apparatus and realization of specific experimental conditions
- The student is able to translate a scientific question into an approriate experimental design/realisation
|
|
Ability to translate a scientific question into an instrument, which allows to obtain information of interest, is probably one of the most crucial components in competence of a scientist. The lecturer is convinced that nothing is really impossible in experimental research. The main goal of this course is to discuss solutions to the main problems which scientists come across when designing a scientific apparatus and performing experiments.
Even the most advanced techniques are affected by noise which limits both sensitivity of the techniques and our abilities to push the frontiers of knowledge. Moreover, modern scientific question often require to use advanced experimental facilities (lasers, free-electron lasers and synchrotrons) or to study a material under extreme conditions of ultrahigh vacuum, low temperature, high magnetic field or high pressure. This is why the main part of the course will be devoted to the problem of designing an ultimately sensitive scientific apparatus. To this goal statistical and spectral properties of noise will be discussed, the concept of signal-to-noise ratio will be introduced, filtering electrical signals, phase-sensitive detection as well as operational principles of lock-in amplifiers and gated integrators will be explained.
Another part of the course will briefly review basic operational principles and limitations of advanced experimental facilities covering cryogenic technology, technology of generating high magnetic fields or creating high pressure. A special attention will be paid to the research you can do with unique scientific instrumentation such as synchrotrons and free-electron lasers.
|
|
|