Home Quantum Physics Experiments

[jimjones]

Hello,

Does anyone know of any quantum physics experiments that can be preformed at home. All of the experiments I've read about seem to require expensive equipment and precise alignment. Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[jeblack3]

Double-slit interference with light is easy enough, but I don't know any easy way to see the particle behavior of light in an home-brew experiment. You could observe spectral lines from atomic transitions. And some electronic components require quantum mechanics for their operation, but it could be tough to verify that that's really how they work.

 

[LostConjugate]

The best thing to do is to keep an eye on the LHC website, let the pros do the work and watch for new results to ponder about. I hope they find something soon!

The types are experiments that are fun to do at home are E&M, or chemistry, just be careful!

 

[dmtr]

google for "DIY Quantum Eraser"

 

[DaveC426913]

The best thing to do is to keep an eye on the LHC website, let the pros do the work and watch for new results to ponder about.

I think (i.e. I'm hoping) you misunderstood.

I doubt the OP is looking to break ground in the field with his experiments; I think he is simply looking to do some verification of existing knowledge for his own benefit and amusement.

If it is the latter, then sitting around and watching others is a singularly lousy way of being involved in the sciences.

 

[LostConjugate]

Well if you have any ideas for at home QM experiments that don't cost billions of dollars feel free to post them.

 

[jimjones]

google for "DIY Quantum Eraser"

Yes, this is the kind of thing I was hoping for, thank you. I would really like to build a Mach–Zehnder interferometer, but I understand that it requires very precise alignment. I assume the photon detector would be very expensive. I have a background in electronics, is it possible to build a photon detector from commonly available parts?

Thanks

 

[Mk]

Try a cloud chamber! Read about how it works, what it does, and some recipes for it, and then make your own for only the cost of dry ice.

 

[DaveC426913]

Well if you have any ideas for at home QM experiments that don't cost billions of dollars feel free to post them.

There's lots of em.

 

[alanesq]

I would second the cloud chamber idea
I have just made one - it was very easy to make, the most amazing thing to see and you get to play with dry ice as well ;)

see: http://alanesq.com/cloud.htm

btw - I did have trouble finding cheap dry ice - I understand ice cream companies use it and this may be the best way to get some?

 

[sas3]

This is not a QM experiment, but I thought it was cool.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/gravitation/foobar/"

 

[The_Duck]

I'll third the cloud chamber suggestion: there's lots of instructions on the web, it's cheap (you just need dry ice, isopropyl alcohol, and a jar with a metal lid), and you get to watch subatomic particles! You can even set off a bit of a fireworks display inside the chamber if you extract the little bit of radioactive americium from a smoke detector and stick it in there.

 

[DrDu]

You can even set off a bit of a fireworks display inside the chamber if you extract the little bit of radioactive americium from a smoke detector and stick it in there.

I'd really like to know berkeman's oppinion comparing legal and security aspects of this proposal to discussing home distilling of alcohol! Depending on the type of smoke detector it can contain up to several mega-Bequerel of Am (e.g. Siemens F-5 contains 2660 kBq Am-241). Based on an dose conversion coefficient of 5.70 x 10-7 Sv/Bq for ingestion and 7.00 x 10-5 for inhalation, these games can amount to receiving effective doses in the range of one Sievert. For comparison: People who are professionally exposed to radiation are not allowed to be exposed to more than 20 mSv a year.

 

[The_Duck]

Well, yes, you probably shouldn't swallow it. But http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf57.html" claims that even that is not an issue with smoke detectors, as the form of americium used is insoluble.

 

[DrDu]

Well, even inhaling Americium oxide will do more harm to your lung than livelong smoking.

 

[alxm]

What would constitute a 'quantum physics experiment'?
I mean, you can easily just get a prism and look at spectral lines at home - which is certainly a quantum-mechanical phenomenon.

 

[alanesq]

btw - can someone point me to a good explanation of what it is I am seeing in my cloud chamber?
I seem to be finding conflicting information

i.e. what are the different lines I see and where are they coming from

 

[DaTario]

I have seen instructions, very simple in deed, to construct an apparatus which could show the photoelectric effect. It has an electroscope as part of it. Basically what happens is: you shine some light on a metal slab and, due to photoelectric effect this metal becomes charged. And, as this slab has a thin foil of aluminium attached to it, the foil tends to increase the distance to the body of the metal slab.

additional info:
I haven't done it, and it is part of a science kit, commercially available. So, it may not work.

 

[juzzy]

btw - can someone point me to a good explanation of what it is I am seeing in my cloud chamber?
I seem to be finding conflicting information

i.e. what are the different lines I see and where are they coming from

You are seeing muon/electron interactions. Muons are a constituent of cosmic rays which bombard Earth -

a straight line which suddenly goes to the left or right is a high energy muon decaying into an electron and two neutrinos via a w boson (you only see the muon then the electron deflected at sharp angles).

A three pronged pattern which meets in the middle is a medium energy muon being deflected off an electron, sending the electron off at the opposite angle and the zig zag patterns are low energy muons bouncing off atoms

 

[Creator]

Hello,

Does anyone know of any quantum physics experiments that can be preformed at home. All of the experiments I've read about seem to require expensive equipment and precise alignment. Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Simple Demo of an 'impossible' effect from a forbidden quantum transition made possible through symmetry breaking .
Be careful.
http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2008-07/quantum-physics-glass

Creator

 

[Karl Coryat]

Regarding the suggestion to try Scientific American's "DIY Quantum Eraser" -- I believe that the "home" version of the experiment is flawed. According to the Fresnel-Arago laws, light polarized at 90-degree angles does not interfere regardless. I asked about this on another thread a while ago (https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=399029), but no one responded. *sob*

 

[Freshtictac]

Try building your own deep space sonic engine (Hopper) parts I and II are available on the world wide web for distribution in America @ www.casa001.com[/URL]

 

[ZapperZ]

Just in case someone might still be interested in this, a paper in EJP that was just published described a relatively simple experiment using incandescent light bulb and a typical digital camera to measure Planck constant.

I. Bonnet and J. Gabelli, Eur. J. Phys. v.31, p.1463 (2010).

Abstract: We report on the physics around an incandescent lamp. Using a consumer-grade digital camera, we combine electrical and optical measurements to explore Planck's law of black-body radiation. This simple teaching experiment is successfully used to measure both Stefan's and Planck's constants. Our measurements lead to a strikingly accurate value for Planck's constant: h = 6.7 ± 0.4 × 10^−34 kg m^2 s^−1. A digital camera is thus sufficiently good equipment to measure a constant directly related to quantum mechanics. The simplicity of the proposed experiments makes this paper appropriate for undergraduate students interested in the experimental aspects of fundamental physics.

Zz.