OPTICS LABORATORY
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2022/2023
- Teacher
- ROBERTO CALABRESE
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- FIS/01
Training objectives
- The aim of the Optics Laboratory course is to consolidate the knowledge about the geometrical optics, physical optics and quantum optics, in order to give to the student the necessary skills to use optical instrumentation. The course also aims to give to the student sufficient skills to carry out simple optical experiments, using lasers and other optical instruments.
The goal of the course is the acquisition of the ability to perform elementary optics experiments, using lasers and other optics instrumentation. Prerequisites
- Knowledge of elementary algebra, trigonometry, electromagnetism and data analysis.
Course programme
- The course is organized in frontal lectures (24 hours) and laboratory experiments (36 hours). In the following the course’s topics are reported.
Light as an electromagnetic wave (2.5 hours).
Geometrical optics. Lenses. The laws of reflection and refraction. Total internal reflection (4 hours).
Diffraction. Interference. Polarization. Coherence
(4 hours).
Some aspects of the quantum nature of light. Photons. (2.5 hours).
Laser: working principles and applications (4 hours).
Magneto-optical traps. Bose-Einstein condensation (4 hours).
Laboratory experiences description (3 hours).
Laboratory experiences (7 experiences for a total of 36 hours). Didactic methods
- The course is organized as follows:
-frontal lectures on all the course’s topics (24 hours);
-laboratory experiments in the Optics laboratory (36 hours). The students will be grouped (typically 3 students per group) to perform the experiments. At the end of the experiment each group has to prepare a report which describe goals, methodology and experimental setup, data taken and related analysis. Learning assessment procedures
- The examination consists in an oral test:
-the course subjects will be discussed, to verify the ability of linking different topics discussed during the lectures;
-the reports about the laboratory experiments will be discussed, to verify the understanding of experimental problems and to verify at which level the learning objectives previously described have been acquired, in particular the ability to perform elementary optics experiments.
Final evaluation will be based on the examination and on the laboratory work. Reference texts
- Lecture notes.
Specific topics can be further developed in the following text: Hecht 'Optics' Addison Wesley
