Diffraction Experiments with a Smart Cart

The use of smartphones in experimental physics is by now widely accepted and documented. PASCO scientific’s Smart Cart, in combination with student-owned smartphones and free apps, has opened a new universe of low-cost experiments that have traditionally required cumbersome and expensive equipment. In this paper, we demonstrate the simplicity, convenience, and cost-savings achieved by replacing a plethora of traditional motion sensors, wires, interface boards, and other equipment clutter with the smart cart, PASPORT® High Sensitivity Light Sensor, and the free SPARKvue® app by carrying out diffraction measurements of light with a single as well as double slit. Rylander and Miller reported a similar experiment but with an ordinary laboratory cart and a motion sensor to extract the precise position of the light sensor. The use of the smart cart in this report obviates the need for using a motion sensor and the laborious extraction of the position data.