Resource Letter ALC-1: Advanced Laboratory Courses

Almost all undergraduate physics programs include an advanced laboratory course that is taught at the junior or senior level. One goal of such courses is fairly concrete, but still central: to teach the students about the most common and important experimental and data analysis techniques in physics. However, there is also a more abstract goal: to increase the ability of the students to work as independent experimentalists. For this transformation, the students must learn how to formulate worthwhile research questions, and how to discover what is already known about the area of research. They should begin to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the range of experimental techniques that might be applied. They should become more confident in their ability to design, assemble, and debug experimental apparatus and to use it to take meaningful data. They should come to understand that experiments usually do not work and learn how to iteratively move from inconclusive efforts to experiments that yield quantitative conclusions.

In November, 2014, the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) released a set of “Recommendations for the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Curriculum.”¹ This report emphasizes six focus areas: constructing knowledge, modeling, designing experiments, developing technical and practical laboratory skills, analyzing and visualizing data, and communicating physics. “Constructing knowledge” and “modeling” refer to teaching students how to use their own data to create their own set of equations and/or computer simulations that describe the system being studied; the goal is that students should construct “knowledge that does not rely on an outside authority.”

Another excellent overview document about the learning goals of an advanced laboratory course was written in 2013 by Zwickl et al.,² and emphasizes four areas: technical laboratory skills, design, modeling, and communication. This includes very detailed and specific objectives for each of the four main areas.

Many advanced laboratory courses place primary emphasis on the last three focus areas of the AAPT report (developing technical and practical laboratory skills, analyzing and visualizing data, and communicating physics), with little emphasis on the first three (constructing knowledge, modeling, and designing experiments). Although students may do some assembly of the pieces and connecting cables, it is often rather clear what the apparatus to be used should be. The theory that governs the system and the equation to be tested are usually also clear.

However, there is a tension between the need to teach the students how to use specific instruments and techniques, and the desire to get them to think like physicists. A case can be made that the former is most efficiently taught by “programmed” laboratories, in which the procedures are clearly laid out, albeit with conceptually challenging questions to keep the students engaged. The latter (getting them to think like physicists) requires that the students have freedom to design their own apparatus, to figure out how to use it properly, to make mistakes and learn from them, and to figure out how to analyze and present their data. This requires a thorough understanding of the available units from which a complete apparatus could be assembled, as well as a good deal of time.

So, depending on the curriculum of the institution, one way to structure an advanced laboratory course is to start with some relatively programmed laboratories and then transition into experiences in which students have more input into the design.

Topics often covered include: literature research (ways to search for articles, how to read them, how to judge their importance, and how to keep track of them), selection and planning of an experiment, fundamental skills in electronics, fundamental skills in optics, computer interfacing and programming, troubleshooting, error analysis, and scientific communication (including, at a minimum, writing, but often also including talks and posters). In addition to these skills, it is essential to enhance the students' ability to collaborate, to normalize the expectation that experiments almost never work on the first try and that persistence and resilience are required of all experimentalists, to emphasize the joy of the experimental challenge, and to improve students' sense of when to keep working on their own vs. when to ask for help.

In the remainder of this Resource Letter, I review the books, journals, organizations, conferences, online resources, and commercial vendors that are most valuable to instructors of advanced laboratory courses. The last such review was written by Lawrence Larson in 1992.³ 

• 1.

  “Recommendations for the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Curriculum,” prepared by a subcommittee of the AAPT Committee on Laboratories ( American Association of Physics Teachers, 2014). (E)

• 2.

  B. M. Zwickl, N. Finkelstein, H. J. Lewandowski, “ The process of transforming an advanced lab course: Goals, curriculum, and assessments,” Am. J. Phys. 81(1), 63–70 (2013).10.1119/1.4768890

• 3.

  L. Larson, “ Upper level experimental physics resource materials,” Am. J. Phys. 60(4), 376–377 (1992).10.1119/1.16880

Many instructors choose to teach the advanced laboratory course without a supporting textbook, often relying on a set of laboratory write-ups that has accumulated over the years. However, instructors sometimes overestimate the experimental background of the students, so having a textbook that can fill in gaps in this background can be very helpful. Most of the texts below have well-supported laboratory exercises that still allow room for exploration by the students, and for development of their independence. If the instructor does not wish to require students to purchase or rent the text, another option is for the department to purchase a set of them (e.g., as many copies of a text as there will be students in the course) and then to loan them to the students each year.

• 4.

  Experimental Physics: Principles and Practice for the Laboratory, Ed. Walter F. Smith ( Taylor and Francis 2020).4 (Edited by the author of this Resource Letter.) This is the only book written by experts in each subfield of physics and the only one with full instructor manuals for every experiment. There are three sections: fundamentals (experiment planning, uncertainty analysis, communication, and scientific ethics), Tools of an Experimentalist (background and fairly programmed skill-building laboratories in analog and digital electronics, both about circuit construction and proper use of instruments; optics; computer interfacing; and particle detection), and Fields of Physics (background and more open-ended laboratories in each major area of physics). Many of the laboratories have online simulation versions available; these were developed for the Covid era but are still useful when equipment is unavailable or students are ill. (E)

• 5.

  Quantum Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, Mark Beck ( Oxford U. P., 2012).5 This is really intended for a course in quantum mechanics with laboratory, but is also useful for advanced laboratory courses. Most of the content is theory. There are five experiments concerning the polarization of single photons and entangled photons. Because the experiments are extremely challenging, the procedures are described in great detail. (A)

• 6.

  Building Scientific Apparatus, 4th ed., John H. Moore, Christopher C. Davis, and Michael A. Coplan ( Cambridge U. P., 2009).6 This is not at all a textbook, but rather a reference work. This is an exhaustive, detailed description of experimental techniques from all areas of physics. It is written at a level appropriate for graduate students doing research. It contains no suggested experiments. All advanced laboratory courses should have this on reserve in the library, as a reference for the students. (A)

• 7.

  Experiments in Modern Physics, 2nd ed., Adrian C. Melissinos and Jim Napolitano ( Academic Press, 2003).7 This is a very comprehensive text. It consists of an extensive set of experiments, with excellent theoretical background for each. The focus is completely on the experiments, so there is no coverage of uncertainty analysis or writing a scientific paper. (I)

• 8.

  Practical Physics, 4th ed., G. L. Squires ( Cambridge U. P., 2001).8 This includes discussions of scientific communication and ethics. It also includes discussion of a few experimental techniques. However, only one experiment is described. (E)

• 9.

  Physics Experiments and Projects for Students, C. Isenberg and S. Chomet ( Taylor and Francis, 1996), Vol. I, II, and III.9 These books are sourcebooks of ideas for instructors, rather than textbooks. Many of the laboratory descriptions lack detail, and many are dated. Many of the experiments have little connection with modern research techniques. (I)

• 10.

  The Art of Experimental Physics, Daryl W. Preston and Eric R. Dietz ( Wiley, 1991).10 This is an outstanding book. It includes chapters on error analysis and on publishing papers. It has a good number of homework problems in each chapter and describes the equipment in good detail. There is no coverage of statistical/nonlinear/fluids physics or of biophysics. (E)

• 11.

  Experimental Physics: Modern Methods, R. A. Dunlap ( Oxford U. P., 1988).11 This provides an extensive discussion of the theory behind many of the most important pieces of experimental physics apparatus. It is really a reference work, rather than a textbook. There are no laboratory exercises. (I)

• 12.

  The Physics of Experimental Method, 2nd ed., H. J. J. Braddick ( Chapman and Hall, London, 1963). This book is mostly aimed at professional physicists rather than undergraduates and is primarily focused on the construction and operation of experimental apparatus. As one would expect from the date of publication, most of the techniques described are outdated, so the book is mostly of historical interest. However, there is a thorough chapter on error analysis and also a useful section summarizing deflections under stress of common mechanical elements. As with Ref. 13, looking through this book makes one appreciate how fortunate we are that so many components needed for physics experiments can now be purchased, instead of having to be manufactured by the experimentalist. As Braddick writes, “…laboratory physics depends to a large and increasing extent on the use of the products of a specialized industry…”

• 13.

  Procedures in Experimental Physics, J. Strong ( Prentice Hall, 1938). This venerable tome has been reprinted many times, but never updated. It is a fascinating look into the effort that was needed to conduct experiments in the early part of the 20th century. While now we can order most components and have them within a few days, then it was often necessary to grind one's own lenses, blow one's own glassware, and build one's own diffusion pump! Instead of purchasing an electrometer, it was necessary to build one's own electroscope. Instructions with detailed illustrations are given for all these activities and many more, making me even more grateful for the conveniences of modern life. Here is a representative passage, from the chapter on deposition of metal films: “A solution for depositing platinum is made as follows: Evaporate 100 cc of a 10% H2PtCl6 solution to dryness and dissolve it in a minimum quantity of absolute alcohol. Add this alcohol solution slowly to 6 cc of oil of lavender kept ice-cold. Finally, add some Burgundy pitch to give the mixture consistency, so that it will remain uniform when it is applied and the glass is slowly heated.” This book was intended for the professional physicist, not for undergraduates. Essentially, all the experimental techniques are outdated. However, in addition to its historical interest, the sections on the theory of pumping speed and of heat conduction may be of value.

Most relevant journal articles fall into two categories: those on course design and general instruction methods and those on specific experiments.

Articles on course design and instruction methods, often including assessments of the effectiveness of different approaches, are published in American Journal of Physics,^14, European Journal of Physics,^15, Physical Review Physics Education Research,¹⁶ and Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings.¹⁷ 

A significant leader in this area is Heather Lewandowski and her group. They have written many articles of value to advanced laboratory instructors, but I will highlight two. “Framework of goals for writing in physics laboratory classes”¹⁸ is a remarkably thoughtful delve into the reasons we teach writing in laboratory classes, especially advanced laboratory classes, including writing for communication, writing to learn (using the process of writing as a way to think), and writing as professionalization (using writing to increase students' sense of their identity as physicists, and preparing them to act as professional physicists). “Student engagement with modeling in multiweek student-designed laboratory projects”¹⁹ describes the application of the Experimental Modeling Framework, an iterative approach to refining experiments, models, and understanding, to advanced laboratory courses.

Articles on specific experiments for advanced laboratory courses appear almost exclusively in American Journal of Physics and European Journal of Physics. There are eight or more such articles each year, so far too many to summarize here. Unfortunately, not all articles of interest use a term such as “advanced” or “upper-level,” so it is difficult to find all of them in a database search. However, I have created a categorized list (with links) of over 260 such articles in the last 20 years at AdvLabResources.org,²⁰ and hereby pledge to keep this list current for at least five years. Briefly, the organization scheme is as follows:

Another important resource is the proceedings of the AAPT Conferences on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year²¹ (also known as BFY, pronounced “buffy”). Many of the “abstracts” for the conference presentations include the full presentation and in some cases a paper. There are hundreds of presentations available. A web search using “AAPT Advanced Labs” and a few keywords (e.g., “interferometer”) often leads to excellent resources.

• 14.

  American Journal of Physics. https://pubs.aip.org/aapt/ajp

• 15.

  European Journal of Physics. https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0143-0807

• 16.

  Physical Review Physics Education Research. https://journals.aps.org/prper/

• 17.

  Proceedings of Physics Education Research Conferences. https://www.per-central.org/perc/Proceedings.cfm

• 18.

  J. R. Hoehn and H. J. Lewandowski, “ Framework of goals for writing in physics lab classes,” Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16(1), 010125 (2020).10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.16.010125

• 19.

  V. Borish, J. R. Hoehn, H. J. Lewandowski, “ Student engagement with modeling in multiweek student-designed lab projects,” Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18(2) 020135 (2022).10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.18.020135

• 20.

  Categorized List of Advanced Lab Journal Articles. http://advlabresources.org. (E)

• 21.

  Proceedings of the AAPT Conferences on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year. https://www.compadre.org/advlabs/conferences/

Anyone teaching an advanced laboratory course should join the Advanced Laboratory Physics Association (ALPhA).²² This outstanding organization has several central activities. ALPhA organizes immersion experiences for advanced laboratory faculty, in which 5–15 faculty go to a host institution and learn in depth about an advanced laboratory experiment (or series of experiments), which is not in their area of expertise. The immersions are hosted by a faculty member who is both expert in the area and deeply devoted to excellence in advanced laboratory instruction. The immersions last for several days. Although much of the cost is covered by NSF, there is a significant fee for each attendee, which is sometimes paid by the attendee's institution. Attendees can apply to the Jonathan Reichert Foundation²³ for a grant that provides 50% of the cost of the equipment needed to implement the experiment(s).

ALPhA organizes the national Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College (BFY). The BFY conferences are held roughly every three years, usually in conjunction with the AAPT summer conference. They are extraordinarily valuable, offering workshops on specific advanced laboratory experiments, plenary talks on central issues for advanced laboratory instruction, breakout discussion sessions on a wide variety of topics related to advanced laboratory instruction, poster sessions, and other opportunities to connect with the community of advanced laboratory instructors. ALPhA also organizes annual regional meetings; so far these are for the New England and New York regions. These feature plenary talks as well as opportunities to network with other instructors in the region.

ALPhA also arranges for discounted purchase of single photon detectors, which are critical for experiments on quantum entanglement. Such experiments are discussed in numerous journal articles, as detailed in the 2014 Resource Letter by Galvez²⁴ and in the entries under “Experiments/single-photon” at AdvLabResources.org, and also in the books Experimental Physics: Principles and Practice for the Laboratory and Quantum Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, which are detailed above in Refs. 4 and 5.

Finally, ALPhA hosts a Slack channel²⁵ for discussions and announcements.

The American Association of Physics Teachers²⁶ (AAPT) primarily supports instructors of students at the high school and undergraduate levels. It hosts national and regional conferences, which include workshops and presentations, some of which relate to advanced laboratory courses. The abstracts of the presentations can be searched at https://www.aapt.org/Conferences/Abstract-Archive.cfm; using the keywords advanced laboratory or upper-division laboratory (without quote marks) yields a large number of relevant abstracts. In many cases, the presentation author will be willing to provide the full presentation if contacted. AAPT also hosts the Compadre Digital Library, which is described further below.

The Jonathan Reichert Foundation²³ is the result of an incredible act of generosity by Jonathan Reichert, in which he donated his company TeachSpin (described below) to a charitable foundation, so that the profits from the sales of the company support the Foundation. The Foundation supports advanced laboratory courses and course development through several grant programs. One of these provides cost-sharing grants to the institutions of ALPhA Immersion participants, enabling the purchase of the equipment needed to mount the laboratory that was covered in the immersion. Other grant programs from the Foundation support joint development of advanced instructional laboratories by students and faculty, and “mining” of advanced instructional laboratories from recent research developments.

• 22.

  Advanced Laboratory Physics Association. https://www.advlab.org/

• 23.

  Jonathan Reichert Foundation. https://jfreichertfoundation.org/

• 24.

  E. J. Galvez, “ Resource Letter SPE-1: Single-Photon Experiments in the Undergraduate Laboratory,” Am. J. Phys. 82 (11), 1018–1028 (2014).10.1119/1.4872135

• 25.

  Slack Channel for the Advanced Laboratory Physics Association. https://advlab.org/resource

• 26.

  American Association of Physics Teachers. https://www.aapt.org

Don't be deceived by the shortness of this section. There is an enormous number of laboratory write-ups/manuals available online, far too many to describe here, and they represent a tremendous resource for instructors. These write-ups are typically not peer reviewed, so may vary in quality more than the laboratories in books or American Journal of Physics articles. They are already in a format suitable for distribution to students. The biggest resource is ComPADRE, a digital library sponsored by AAPT. The collection of laboratory manuals²⁷ there is vast, including many derived from presentations at AAPT conferences. Only a fraction of these manuals are for advanced laboratories, but there does not seem to be a way to filter these automatically.

Advanced laboratory manuals (including dozens of experiments at each site) are also available at many universities, including University of Colorado,²⁸ MIT,²⁹ Northeastern,³⁰ Notre Dame,³¹ University of Florida,³² University of Toronto,³³ University of Virginia,³⁴ University of Michigan,³⁵ UCSB,³⁶ and Berkeley.³⁷ 

• 27.

  ComPADRE Collection of Lab Manuals. https://www.compadre.org/advlabs/search/launchpad.cfm?ex=Manuals

• 28.

  University of Colorado, Advanced Lab Manual. https://physicscourses.colorado.edu/phys4430/phys4430_fa19/labs.html

• 29.

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Advanced Lab Manual. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/8-13-14-experimental-physics-i-ii-junior-lab-fall-2016-spring-2017/pages/experiments/

• 30.

  Northeastern University, Advanced Lab Manual. https://web.northeastern.edu/heiman/3600/index.html

• 31.

  Notre Dame University, Advanced Lab Manual. https://www3.nd.edu/∼wzech/advancedphysicslab.html

• 32.

  University of Florida, Advanced Lab Manual. https://www.phys.ufl.edu/courses/phy4803L/

• 33.

  University of Toronto, Advanced Lab Manual. https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/∼phy326/

• 34.

  University of Virginia, Intermediate Lab Manual. http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/317/home.html

• 35.

  University of Michigan, Advanced Lab Manual. http://instructor.physics.lsa.umich.edu/adv-labs/Experiments_main.html

• 36.

  University of California at Santa Barbara, Advanced Lab Manual. https://web.physics.ucsb.edu/∼phys128/

• 37.

  University of California Berkeley, Advanced Lab Manual. https://experimentationlab.berkeley.edu/writeups

Is there a role for remote-controlled and/or virtual laboratories in an advanced laboratory course? It is clearly essential for students to get real hands-on experience with real equipment; there are far more types of errors and opportunities for errors in such a real-world experience. These errors and the process of finding and correcting them are among the most critical learning experiences of any laboratory course. Remote-controlled laboratories (in which a student controls an apparatus via the internet) and virtual laboratories (in which a student uses a computer simulation and/or set of video recordings to experience a laboratory) cannot provide the same richness of error opportunities. However, it is not always practical for an institution to provide the equipment needed for some laboratories, even though it is desirable to expose students to many areas of experimental physics. When a student is sick, or otherwise unable to come to laboratory, it may be preferable for them to do a remote-controlled or virtual laboratory instead of falling behind in the class. (Another option for sick students may be for them to remotely direct the instructor about what experiments to carry out and having the professor report back the results. This approach, necessitated by the pandemic, resulted in surprisingly positive outcomes for both students and faculty.³⁸)

There are many remote-controlled and virtual laboratories for the introductory level, but far fewer at the advanced level.

The book Experimental Physics: Principles and Practice for the Laboratory, Ref. 4, includes 22 laboratories that can optionally be done in the virtual mode using custom-developed simulations, free circuit simulators, and interactive videos. The free MyVirtualScope³⁹ is a sophisticated oscilloscope and function generator simulator, including several simple RC circuits, full triggering adjustment, full simulation of input and output impedance, and microphone input. Circuit-centered laboratories can be done using free circuit simulators such as Eagle⁴⁰ (free until June 7, 2026), EasyEDA,⁴¹ LTSpice,⁴² and Tinkercad.⁴³ Leybold Didactic offers a couple of virtual labs⁴⁴ suitable for advanced laboratory courses, for purchase.

There are several impressive options for remote-controlled laboratories. IBM Quantum Computing⁴⁵ offers free remote control of actual quantum computers as well as simulators, in addition to extensive courses and tutorials. Brody and Avram⁴⁶ describe how to conduct an experiment with this system. The Oqtant Quantum Matter Service⁴⁷ allows remote control and measurement of a Bose Einstein Condensate. Deborah Fygenson and her group at UCSB have created an extremely impressive set of five laboratories⁴⁸ at the sophomore or advanced level (photoelectric effect, atomic spectroscopy, Franck–Hertz experiment, gamma radiation absorption, and diffraction and interference) that can be remotely controlled, including video of the apparatus, control of filter wheels, control of ambient lighting, moving a robotic cart with the screen attached (for diffraction), and the ability to push every button on the multimeters. (Interested faculty should contact Prof. Fygenson⁴⁹ before unleashing their students on these experiments.) The Remote Glow Discharge Experiment⁵⁰ at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory allows the user to control a plasma (voltage, pressure, and magnetic field) and observe the results with a video camera.

• 38.

  J. R. Hoehn, M. F. J. Fox, A. Werth, V. Borish, and H. J. Lewandowski, “ Remote advanced lab course: A case study analysis of open-ended projects,” Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17(2), 020111 (2021).10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.17.020111

• 39.

  MyVirtualScope. http://myvirtualscope.org

• 40.

  Eagle Circuit Simulator. https://www.autodesk.com/products/eagle/free-download

• 41.

  EasyEDA Circuit Simulator. https://easyeda.com/

• 42.

  LTSpice Circuit Simulator. https://www.analog.com/en/design-center/design-tools-and-calculators/ltspice-simulator.html

• 43.

  TinkerCad Circuit Simulator. https://www.tinkercad.com/

• 44.

  Leybold Didactic Virtual Experiments. https://info.ld-didactic.de/virtual-experiment

• 45.

  IBM Quantum. https://quantum.ibm.com/

• 46.

  J. Brody and R. Avram, “ Testing a Bell Inequality with a Remote Quantum Processor,” Phys. Teach. 61(3), 218–221 (2023).10.1119/5.0069073

• 47.

  Oqtant Quantum Matter Service. https://oqtant.infleqtion.com/

• 48.

  UCSB Physics Remote Labs. https://remotelabs.physics.ucsb.edu/

• 49.

  Prof. Deborah Fygenson. https://www.physics.ucsb.edu/people/deborah-fygenson

• 50.

  Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, Remote Glow Discharge Experiment. https://www.pppl.gov/remote-glow-discharge-experiment-rgdx

These vendors offer close-to-turnkey projects for advanced labs, often including laboratory manuals for students. Typically, these cost $8000 or more, so budgetary planning is needed.

Teachspin⁵¹ offers the widest variety of experiments from magnetic resonance to atomic spectroscopy to muon detection. All of the experiments were developed by faculty members who have taught advanced laboratory classes. The experiments come with extensive manuals and very good support from the company. Profits go to the Jonathan Reichert Foundation (see above).

Klinger⁵² sells the line of Leybold Didactic experiments, many of which are suitable for advanced laboratory courses and cover a very wide range of topics, from Hall effect to Compton Effect to the Frank–Hertz experiment.

Pasco⁵³ offers about a half dozen experiments suitable for advanced laboratories, including a muon observatory, the Frank–Hertz experiment, and the Zeeman effect.

Spectrum Techniques⁵⁴ sells “exempt quantity” radioactive sources (which do not require a license), related detectors, and accessories for instructional laboratories. Caen⁵⁵ sells equipment related to particle and nuclear physics, including kits for advanced laboratory experiments in nuclear physics.

Keithley sells a wide spectrum of precision test instruments, including electrometers, nanovoltmeters, and multimeters. Their Low Level Measurement Handbook⁵⁶ is freely available for download and is a terrific resource for making low-noise measurements.

Liquid Instruments sells the remarkable Moku:Go,⁵⁷ a software-configurable test instrument, which can take the place of 14 other instruments (e.g., oscilloscope & function generator, lock-in amplifier, or PID controller).

Qubitekk⁵⁸ and Qutools⁵⁹ each sell sets of equipment for quantum entanglement experiments based on fiber optics, eliminating the rather challenging alignment needed for such experiments when based on free space optics. Deveney, Demirbas, and Serney⁶⁰ describe their approach to using one of the Qutools kits in an introductory quantum mechanics course.

Arduino and Raspberry Pi microcomputers are available from many sources, but SparkFun⁶¹ and Adafruit⁶² have unusually wide ranges of kits, sensors, and other accessories suitable for advanced labs. Both these companies have extensive websites devoted to instruction; click on the “Learn” tab on the homepage of either company. The learning resources at SparkFun are slightly better organized, making it easier to find an appropriate set of tutorials to learn a new subject from the beginning. However, both have extensive sets of projects, many of which could be adapted for advanced laboratory courses. The Arduino Store⁶³ also offers an excellent set of Arduino-based kits and accessories.

Electronics components are available from distributors including Mouser,⁶⁴ Digikey,⁶⁵ and Newark.⁶⁶ An interesting variety of low-priced electronics can be purchased from AreTronics⁶⁷ (a company formed by employees of the now-closed All Electronics).

Computer interfaces (including analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters) are available from several suppliers including LabJack⁶⁸ (e.g., the LabJack T7⁶⁹), National Instruments⁷⁰ (e.g., USB-6002⁷¹ and the USB-6211,⁷² which is discontinued but excellent and affordably available on Ebay⁷³), and Digilent (e.g., the USB-1608GX-2AO⁷⁴).

Optics components can be purchased from many vendors. ThorLabs⁷⁵ offers excellent selection, fast delivery, and reasonable prices and also has a very helpful set of instructional materials⁷⁶. Newport⁷⁷ is another excellent supplier, with a strong set of instructional materials (from the home page, click on the Resources pull-down menu). Edmund Optics⁷⁸ also has a wide range of products and an excellent set of educational materials.⁷⁹ 

• 51.

  TeachSpin. https://www.teachspin.com/

• 52.

  Klinger Educational. https://klingereducational.com/

• 53.

  Pasco. https://www.pasco.com/subjects/college-physics/c/52

• 54.

  Spectrum Techniques. https://www.spectrumtechniques.com/

• 55.

  Caen Group. https://www.caen.it/

• 56.

  Keithley Low Level Measurements Handbook. https://www.tek.com/en/documents/product-article/keithley-low-level-measurements-handbook–-7th-edition

• 57.

  Liquid Instruments Moku:Go. https://www.liquidinstruments.com/education-solutions/

• 58.

  Quibitekk Quantum Starter Kit. https://qubitekk.com/products/quantum-mechanics-lab-kit/

• 59.

  Quantum Laboratory Kits from Qutools Company. https://qutools.com/quantum-physics-education-science-kits/

• 60.

  E. Deveney, E. Demirbas, and S. Serna, “ Quantum mechanics in a quicker, more intuitive, and accessible way,” in Seventeenth Conference on Education and Training in Optics and Photonics: ETOP 2023, edited by David J. Hagan, Mike McKee ( SPIE, 2023), Vol. 12723, p. 1272334.10.1117/12.2670760 (I)

• 61.

  SparkFun. https://www.sparkfun.com/

• 62.

  Adafruit. https://www.adafruit.com/

• 63.

  The Arduino Store. https://store-usa.arduino.cc/

• 64.

  Mouser Electronics. https://www.mouser.com/

• 65.

  DigiKey Electronics. https://www.digikey.com/

• 66.

  Newark Electronics. https://www.newark.com/

• 67.

  AreTronics Company. https://aretronics.com

• 68.

  LabJack Company. https://labjack.com

• 69.

  LabJack T7 Interface. https://labjack.com/products/labjack-t7

• 70.

  National Instruments. https://www.ni.com/

• 71.

  National Instruments USB-6002 Interface Unit. https://www.ni.com/en-us/shop/model/usb-6002.html

• 72.

  National Instruments USB-6211 Interface Unit. https://www.ni.com/en-us/shop/model/usb-6211.html

• 73.

  Ebay Search for National Instruments USB-6211 Interface. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2332490.m570.l1313&_nkw=usb-6211&_sacat=0

• 74.

  Digilent USB-1608GX-2AO Interface. https://digilent.com/shop/mcc-usb-1608g-series-high-speed-multifunction-usb-daq-devices/

• 75.

  ThorLabs Company. https://www.thorlabs.com/

• 76.

  ThorLabs Company instructional materials. https://www.thorlabs.com/navigation.cfm?guide_id=2400

• 77.

  Newport Company. https://www.newport.com/

• 78.

  Edmund Optics Company. https://www.edmundoptics.com/

• 79.

  Edmund Optics Company educational materials. https://www.edmundoptics.com/knowledge-center.

The Lewandowski group at the University of Colorado has created three research-based assessment tools that are helpful for advanced laboratory instructors.

The Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (E-CLASS)⁸⁰ assesses students' thinking about “experimental strategies, habits of mind, and attitude,” and how their own approaches compare to those of professional researchers. There are two parts to the survey, one to be given at the beginning of a course and one at the end, with the end part focused partially on students' perception of how their grade in the course is connected to the higher-level practices emphasized in the first part of the survey. The survey is designed for laboratory courses at all levels and has been found to be helpful in promoting metacognition in students in an advanced laboratory course, improving student enthusiasm and confidence.⁸² 

The Survey of Physics Reasoning on Uncertainty Concepts in Experiments (SPRUCE)⁸² assesses understanding of fundamental ideas about uncertainty that may (depending on the institution's curriculum) have been taught in a previous course, but probably were not fully absorbed by the students. The assessment can both serve to inform the instructor about how much instruction is needed on these fundamentals, and to motivate the students.

The Modeling Assessment for Physics Laboratory Experiments (MAPLE)^83,84 assesses students' ability to engage in modeling. The pre-test (to be administered near the start of a course) measures students' existing modeling skills, based on a “choose your own adventure” set of questions in which students choose one or more experiments related to a simple pendulum, such as varying the length of the string. The questions lead to the program presenting data graphs for the period of a pendulum, from which students are to extract the value of g. The post-test, administered later in the class, tests modeling skills related either to an inverting amplifier or the attenuation of a polarizer.

• 80.

  B. M. Zwickl, T. Hirokawa, N. Finkelstein, and H. J. Lewandowski, “ Epistemology and expectations survey about experimental physics: Development and initial results,” Phys. Rev. Spec. Top. Phys. Educ. Res. 10(1), 010120 (2014).10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010120

• 81.

  M. Eblen-Zayas, “ The impact of metacognitive activities on student attitudes towards experimental physics,” in Physics Education Research Conference 104–107 (2016)

• 82.

  M. Vignal, G. Geschwind, B. Pollard, R. Henderson, M. D. Caballero, and H. J. Lewandowski, “ Survey of physics reasoning on uncertainty concepts in experiments: An assessment of measurement uncertainty for introductory physics labs,” Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19(2), 020139 (2023).10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.19.020139

• 83.

  M. F. J. Fox, B. Pollard, L. Ríos, and H. J. Lewandowski, “ Capturing modeling pathways using the modeling assessment for physics laboratory experiments,” in Physics Education Research Conference, 155–160 (2020)

• 84.

  B. Pollard, M. F. J. Fox, L. Ríos, and H. J. Lewandowski, “ Creating a coupled multiple response assessment for modeling in lab courses,” Physics Education Research Conference 400–405 (2020)

I am aware of only a few examples of advanced laboratory exercises that expose students to the synergy between simulations and experiments. The small number of such laboratories is presumably due in part to the time required to do both the experiment and the simulation, but the reward in both student excitement and training of students in an increasingly central approach to physics is substantial. Hopefully, this Resource Letter will encourage more such efforts.

Siahmakoun et al.⁸⁵ describe an experiment and accompanying Mathematica simulation investigating chaos in a driven pendulum with a repulsive magnet at the center of the swing. Lancaster et al.⁸⁶ describe a circuit that simulates the heart condition of reentrant tachycardia and its surgical treatment, along with a numerical simulation. Strombom and co-authors⁸⁷ detail an experiment in which food coloring is added to a thin layer of water, resulting in patterns of remarkable beauty and complexity, which are modeled using a finite difference simulation. Brody et al.,⁸⁸ describe an experiment in which a surprising pattern is formed by the reflection of S and P polarized light and is compared to optical modeling software. Knights and co-authors⁸⁹ describe an exploration of the effects of polarization on Compton scattering and comparison with computer simulation. Klein sets forth a pair of experiments, one in which experimental observations of the motion of fruit fly larvae are made and quantified and the other where this motion is simulated using random walks, and quantitatively compared to the observations.⁹⁰ Abdelhamid and co-authors⁹¹ describe a combination of experiment and MATLAB simulation that explores using surface plasmon resonance to sense small changes in the dielectric constant of fluids in a microfluidic cell.

• 85.

  Siahmakoun, V. French, and J. Patterson, “ Nonlinear dynamics of a sinusoidally driven pendulum in a repulsive magnetic field,” Am. J. Phys. 65, 393–400 (1997).10.1119/1.18546

• 86.

  J. L. Lancaster, E. H. Hellen, and E. M. Leise, “ Modeling excitable systems: Reentrant tachycardia,” Am. J. Phys. 78(1), 56–63 (2010).10.1119/1.3246868

• 87.

  E. H. Strombom, C. E. Caicedo-Carvajal, N. N. Thyagu, D. Palumbo, and T. Shinbrot, “ Simple, simpler, simplest: Spontaneous pattern formation in a commonplace system,” Am. J. Phys. 80(7), 578–586 (2012).10.1119/1.4709384

• 88.

  J. Brody, D. Weiss, and K. Berland, “ Reflection of a polarized light cone,” Am. J. Phys. 81(1), 24–27 (2013).10.1119/1.4765079

• 89.

  P. Knights, F. Ryburn, G. Tungate, and K. Nikolopoulos, “ An undergraduate laboratory study of the polarisation of annihilation photons using Compton scattering,” Eur. J. Phys. 39(4), 045202 (2018).10.1088/1361-6404/aab334

• 90.

  M. Klein, “ Biophysics,” in Experimental Physics: Principles and Practice for the Laboratory ( CRC Press, 2020), pp. 307–323

• 91.

  A. A. Abdelhamid, D. Kerrigan, W. Koopman, A. Werner, Z. Givens, and E. U. Donev, “ Surface plasmon resonance sensing in the advanced physics laboratory,” Am. J. Phys. 90(11), 865–880 (2022).10.1119/5.0070022

There is a vast wealth of resources to support advanced laboratory courses, including a set of recommendations from the AAPT, textbooks, journal articles, assessment tools, detailed laboratory manuals, virtual experiments, a dedicated association, dedicated conferences, and vendors selling complete experiment packages. Since physics is an experimental science, it is to be hoped that these courses will retain their central role in the undergraduate curriculum.