Design Like a Physicist


Physics 398DLP, Spring 2022

3 credit hours

Face-to-face (but masked!), Friday afternoons, 1 pm - 5 pm, in Loomis 276.

Note that we'll meet online, via Zoom, during the first week of the semester.


Dean Bashir has asked faculty to distribute to students the information linked here.

    Notable dates


  • • First class: Friday, January 21.
  • • Spring break: Saturday, March 12 - Sunday, March 20.
  • • "Nearly final" project reports due: Friday, April 15.
  • • Nearly-final drafts of project report due: Friday, April 22.
  • • Rewritten final project reports and PowerPoint presentations due: Friday, April 29.
  • • Last class meeting: Friday, April 29.
  • • End of semester conferences: Monday - Wednesday, May 2 - 4.

Calendar


whatdaydateMilestones are listed below the calendar
semester begins
Tuesday
January 18
week 1
Friday
January 21
week 2
Friday
January 28
see Celia Eliot's presentation on communicating clearly
week 3
Friday
February 4
week 4
Friday
February 11
week 5
Friday
February 18
week 6
Friday
February 25
week 7
Friday
March 4
week 8
Friday
March 11
Spring break: Saturday, March 12 - Sunday, March 20
week 9
Friday
March 25
Celia Eliot: Writing clearly
week 10
Friday
April 1
"Nearly final" report due
week 11
Friday
April 8
week 12
Friday
April 15
Final draft of report due
week 13
Friday
April 22
week 14
Friday
April 29
Rewritten final report and PowerPoint presentations due
end of term conferences
Monday - Wednesday
May 2 - May 4
reading day
Thursday
May 5

Milestones

  • •  1a. Modify the Arduino’s blink program so that it blinks the initials (of your English/American name) in Morse code. (Week 1, by end of Friday class)
  • •  1b. Install and test a BME680. (Week 1, by end of Friday class)
  • •  1c. On your breadboard, install the following devices (in addition to the BME680 and Arduino): LCD (including 10kΩ trimpot), keypad, and microSD breakout. (Week 2, by beginning of Friday class)
  • •  1d. Formulate a project plan and division of project responsibilities. (Week 2, by midweek group conference with course staff)
  • •  2a. Install, set, and read back a DS3231 real time clock. (Week 2, by end of Friday class)
  • •  2b. Install and read back a GPS module. Use it to set the DS3231 real time clock. (Week 2, by end of Friday class)
  • •  2c. Write a short text file to your SD card. Copy the file to your laptop, then write a short Python program to read it and display its contents. (Week 2, by end of Friday class)
  • •  2d. Finish installing all the parts on your breadboard required for your project’s data logger. (Week 3, by beginning of Friday class)
  • •  2e. Register an Autodesk user account, then visit the TinkerCad website. (Week 3, by beginning of Friday class)
  • •  3a. Write a single bare-bones program that read all your project circuit’s sensors and writes data to a microSD file. (Week 3, by end of Friday class)
  • •  3b. Write a single bare-bones Python data analysis program that generates histograms and plots of environmental data read by your BME680. Calculate means and RMS widths for these quantities. (Week 3, by end of Friday class)
  • •  3c. Log in to Autodesk and download EAGLE. (Week 4, by midweek group conference with course staff)
  • •  4a. Finish writing a reasonably sophisticated DAQ and use it for a quick field test of your devices. (Week 4, by end of Friday class)
  • •  4b. Analyze your field test data, generating the plots and calculations that you expect to appear in your ultimate report. (Week 4, by end of Friday class)
  • •  4c. Install breakout boards on your PCB and test it. (Week 5, by midweek group conference with course staff)
  • •  5a. Perform a longer set of field tests and run them through your analysis. (Week 5, by beginning of Friday class)
  • •  5b. In consultation with course staff, refine your offline analysis. (Week 5, by end of Friday class)
  • •  5c. Finish PCB and transition to using it for more field test data; verify that PCBs function as expected. (Week 5, by end of Friday class)
  • •  5d. Use TinkerCad to design personalized covers for your PCB cases. (Week 5, by end of Friday class)
  • •  5d. Use TinkerCad to design personalized covers for your PCB cases. (Week 5, by end of Friday class)
  • •  6a. Take all the data that you think you’ll need for your project. (Week 6, by end of Friday class)
  • •  6b. Verify that your data are valid: analyze them. (Week 6, by end of Friday class)
  • •  7a. Analyze production data and discuss your conclusions with course staff. (Week 7, by end of Friday class)
  • •  7b. Draft a modified run plan if appropriate, take more production data. (Week 8, by midweek group conference with course staff)
  • •  8a. Develop a detailed data analysis including cross calibration techniques, and run all your data through it. (Week 8, by end of Friday class)
  • •  8b. Write brief outline of a possible project report, discuss with course staff. (Week 8, by end of Friday class)
  • •  9-10. Write and submit “nearly final” draft of project report. (Week 10, by start of Friday class)
  • •  11-12. Rewrite and submit “final” project report. (Week 12, by start of Friday class)
  • •  13-14a. Prepare PowerPoint project presentation. (Week 14, by start of Friday class)
  • •  13-14b. Prepare and submit final project report. (Week 14, by start of Friday class)