The discussion revolves around a lab exercise involving the measurement of Earth's magnetic field using a Logger Pro program. Participants are tasked with plotting a graph of angle versus measured field strength to determine the declination at their location. The original poster questions their interpretation of the data, specifically regarding a calculated angle of 1.44 degrees.
The conversation is ongoing, with participants providing various methods for analyzing the graph and questioning the original poster's understanding of the measurements. Some participants offer guidance on curve fitting and interpreting the graph, while others express confusion about the measurements and the definitions involved.
There is uncertainty regarding the accuracy of the measurements and the potential influence of external magnetic fields. The original poster's understanding of true north and its application in the lab setup is also under scrutiny.
For the inclination, you need to start with the sensor horizontal and aligned with the max field from the first part, i.e. magnetic north. Then rotate the sensor in the vertical plane through that.lloyd21 said:I figured out the first part...I went and re did the lab again and got the max with completely different data. This second part though I am getting very off data and I think its because I'm not measuring right with the magnetic sensor...when measuring the magnetic inclination how should I hold the sensor?
3D pictures are difficult to draw well, and I'm not even good at 2D ones.lloyd21 said:I did it three different times haha, all different ways, can you show me a picture of what it might look like?
It's not a statistic for which percentage error is appropriate. It's the absolute error that matters. (Though I guess you could express it as a percentage of 360 degrees.)lloyd21 said:I actually think I figured it out...3 percent error seems reasonable too, thanks a lot for everything though!