How to perform a major physics experiment at home

[Zaya Bell]

Hello there, I am a physics undergraduate and one trying to be very practical.
I try to study a lot, to understand the principles and everything and get how all this knowledge came to existence. However, except for the little and not-very-modern experiments we carry out in our school I have no practical knowledge of how to set up many experiments I encounter in the textbooks.

This is making me really one sided and I want to change that. So how can I affordably get all these practical knowledge (from electricity to electronoics to electromagnetism, to thermodynamics to sound and on and on) at home just the way I got the theoretical knowledge at home (and at school too).

Thank you.

 

[gleem]

Hello there, I am a physics undergraduate and one trying to be very practical.
I try to study a lot, to understand the principles and everything and get how all this knowledge came to existence. However, except for the little and not-very-modern experiments we carry out in our school I have no practical knowledge of how to set up many experiments I encounter in the textbooks.

Could you give some examples of the type of experiments that you would like to undertake. Some experiments may require equipment that you may find too expensive.

 

[Choppy]

One tip that can help is to simply start with little projects that interest you. They don't have to be experiments done for the sake of learning. Do projects because you find them cool or interesting. Start small and build up. There are a lot of "kit" projects that can get you started.

 

[Zaya Bell]

Could you give some examples of the type of experiments that you would like to undertake. Some experiments may require equipment that you may find too expensive.

One may be Hertz experiment where he created and detected em waves. Possibly, the cathode Ray experiment, and others that may have not being famously performed but are a good way of demonstrating a phenomenon.

 

[Zaya Bell]

One tip that can help is to simply start with little projects that interest you. They don't have to be experiments done for the sake of learning. Do projects because you find them cool or interesting. Start small and build up. There are a lot of "kit" projects that can get you started.

Please, can you give me examples of such kit project or tell me where I can find them.
Thank you.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

It is not difficult to do experiments on electricity. Almost all circuit components are available online at a very cheap price. If you can learn Arduino, then things become easier because you can control your electronics with programming. There are dedicated sites like Hackster.io which feature thousands of projects on Arduino, from introductory level to advanced. Experiments on electronics are perhaps the easiest (and perhaps the cheapest too?) to set up.

As for other experiments, equipments are quite costly. Apparatus like student's spectrometer, gold leaf electroscope, inertia table, flywheel, etc. are available on Amazon, but I have doubts regarding their accuracy. You will have to spend quite a lot of money to get an accurate apparatus, but once you get it, you might soon start loosing interest in it. I have worked with flywheel and inertia table this semester; they looked interesting at the beginning, but later we just lost interest.

Electronics is, on the other hand, something where I have never lost interest as there are infinite possible experiments which you can set up without spending much.

 

[Choppy]

Please, can you give me examples of such kit project or tell me where I can find them.

One example might be building your own drone. See for example: Best Drone Kits. Once you have one working with cameras, you can start playing with imaging and object recognition software - use it to navigate through obstacle courses, track other drones, etc.

Another idea might be investing in a 3D printer.

There's no shortage of cool projects out there these days.

 

[Merlin3189]

1-One may be Hertz experiment where he created and detected em waves.
2-Possibly, the cathode Ray experiment, and others that may have not being famously performed but are
3- a good way of demonstrating a phenomenon.

3- What phenomena and why?
You've picked a couple that would not have sprung to my mind, but you follow your interests. If we are to help, perhaps we need to know more about your interests.
1- Well this is a relatively easy one, provided you are sensible and discreet about it.
2- This is not an easy one. Probably the sort of expt you shouldn't aim for, as it requires some very specialised (= expensive and/ or difficult to obtain) equipment.

I was a bit disappointed by your dismissal of "not very modern experiments". One reason these were done a long time ago, may have been that they were possible without very sophisticated equipment. Certainly not true of all, since amazing bits of apparatus were built. Of course many experimenters were wealthy or had patronage of wealthy people. But if you're not in such a position, maybe experiments needing simpler apparatus have an advantage.
On the other hand, such things as electrical equipment, lasers and lenses are much more readily available now.
Maybe one way to proceed is to tell us your current interest and we can suggest what could be done.

==========================
I see a few more replies while I've been writing.
I'm a bit surprised by their ideas. I thought you were looking to investigate physics principles. Perhaps computers and drones are nice demos, but of what, I don't know.

If you were interested in drones, I'd have thought maybe you'd want to investigate aerodynamics, rather than buying a toy. Perhaps you could build a wind tunnel? Or maybe build your own aircraft (or even kites).

Arduinos are great and please use them if it interests you. I have some myself, but I've never thought of them as anything to do with physics. I have built tools such as a thermometer and tachometer/ frequency meter, but they are to enable me to do other things, not ends in themselves.
Programming something to solve a maze seems more like psychology to me.

If you have a 3D printer and controlling computer and software, then perhaps I take back my concerns about cost and availability! Though again, I'm not sure where the physics comes in.

======================
PS Re. "As for other experiments, equipments are quite costly. "
I would suggest you could try building such things yourself. It may depend on what your objectives are - if you need vey high quality / accuracy , then this might not work, but if you want working equipment to demonstrate the principles, that may be better.

 

[OmCheeto]

One may be Hertz experiment where he created and detected em waves.

?
I'm not sure I've ever heard of this experiment.
Let me google that...

Wow! That is a cool experiment!



I wonder if the neon lamp can be replaced with a pair of light emitting diodes?

Possibly, the cathode Ray experiment, and others that may have not being famously performed but are a good way of demonstrating a phenomenon.

I believe the last time I was involved in a cathode ray experiment here at physicsforums, I accidentally got the thread locked, as the poster appeared to be inadvertently trying to sterilize his son, with something grandpa helped built. [ref]

Anyways, before attempting experiments, you should propose them here, and I'm sure someone will let you know if they will kill you, sterilize you, or put your eye out.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

Modern video cameras and analysis software like Tracker make lots of simple kinematics, projectile, and fluid experiments accessible at home at low cost. Here's one of the more complex ones that a student I mentor did at his home:

https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/accurate-fluid-dynamics-by-video-analysis/

We've got a YouTube channel we developed demonstrating a number of simple and inexpensive Physics experiments one can do at home. Send me a PM, and I'll reply with a link.

 

[Zaya Bell]

If we are to help, perhaps we need to know more about your interests

Generally, I love mechanics (which may include fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, or even orbital mechanics), electromagnetics and thermodymics. Nevertheless, I do get interested in electronics, electricity and optics.

I'm a bit surprised by their ideas. I thought you were looking to investigate physics principles.

Yeah, I think you got what I meant the most, but on the basis of electronics and general hand on experience they gave me good ideas.

I was a bit disappointed by your dismissal of "not very modern experiments".

Lol. Sorry.

I have built tools such as a thermometer and tachometer/ frequency meter, but they are to enable me to do other things, not ends in themselves.

If this would help, why not?

As for other experiments, equipments are quite costly. "
I would suggest you could try building such things yourself

This would be nice. A little engineering knowledge, I guess.

 

[StatGuy2000]

@Zaya Bell , according to your profile, you are from Nigeria. Are you currently studying at an university in Nigeria, or are you studying elsewhere? (e.g. US, UK, Canada -- I've known a number of Nigerian students in my alma mater)

It might help for others on this thread to know this, since you mention the "little and not-very-modern experiments" at your university. Perhaps this maybe due to lack of money or resources?

 

[tech99]

Generally, I love mechanics (which may include fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, or even orbital mechanics), electromagnetics and thermodymics. Nevertheless, I do get interested in electronics, electricity and optics.

I made a wind tunnel for a school where I worked, based on information on a NASA web site. It was like the one made by the Wright Brothers. It was made of cardboard boxes and used a big fan which we happened to have.

 

[Zaya Bell]

@Zaya Bell , according to your profile, you are from Nigeria. Are you currently studying at an university in Nigeria, or are you studying elsewhere? (e.g. US, UK, Canada -- I've known a number of Nigerian students in my alma mater)

I study in Nigeria.