PHYS 4801 Simulation Laboratory

Mzuzu University

Department of Physics & Electronics

Simulation Laboratory

PHYS 4801 · Fundamentals of Solid State Physics

Ten benches, each modelled on the apparatus a solid state laboratory would actually hold. Set the controls, watch the instruments respond, take your readings into the lab notebook, then export them for your report.

Enter Bench 1Lab manualManual PDF

Before you start

  • 01Fill in your name and student number in the lab notebook — every exported data file is stamped with them.
  • 02Work through the procedure card at each bench in order. Tick each step as you finish it.
  • 03Press Record reading at every measurement point. Readings are saved in this browser between sittings.
  • 04Export your table to CSV at the end of the session and attach it to your written report.

Simulated high voltage, cryogens and ionising radiation. The interlocks behave as the real ones do — you must close them before an instrument will run.

Laboratory floor

Ten stations · 3 hours each · Kittel, 8th edition

Bench 1

Crystal Structures

Crystallographic Model Stage

GON-1

Mount a lattice model on the goniometer stage, index it along the principal directions and measure its packing.

3 hoursKittel Chapter 1Open bench
Bench 2

Bragg Diffraction

θ–2θ Powder Diffractometer

XRD-2

Run a θ–2θ scan with a Cu Kα tube and locate the Bragg reflections on the chart recorder.

3 hoursKittel Chapter 2Open bench
Bench 3

Phonons & Heat Capacity

Lattice Dynamics Rig + Calorimeter

CAL-3

Drive a ball-and-spring chain to see phonon modes, then measure heat capacity in an adiabatic calorimeter.

3 hoursKittel Chapters 4 & 5Open bench
Bench 4

Fermi-Dirac Statistics

Electron Energy Analyser

EEA-4

Cool and heat an electron gas in the cryostat and watch the occupation edge sharpen and smear.

3 hoursKittel Chapter 6Open bench
Bench 5

Band Structure

Kronig-Penney Band Synthesiser

KPS-5

Raise the periodic potential until gaps open, fill the bands, and test the sample with a conduction lamp.

3 hoursKittel Chapter 7Open bench
Bench 6

p-n Junction

Semiconductor Curve Tracer

CVT-6

Socket a diode into the curve tracer, sweep the bias and record the rectifying characteristic.

3 hoursKittel Chapter 8Open bench
Bench 7

Hall Effect

Hall Probe & Electromagnet

HAL-7

Pass a constant current through a Hall bar between the magnet poles and read the transverse voltage.

3 hoursKittel Chapter 8Open bench
Bench 8

LED Band Gaps

LED Characterisation Bench

LED-8

Ramp each LED to its turn-on knee, read the threshold voltage, and extract Planck's constant from your own points.

3 hoursKittel Chapter 8Open bench
Bench 9

Superconductivity

Cryostat & Levitation Stage

CRY-9

Cool a sample through its transition, watch the magnet lift off, and follow the four-probe resistance to zero.

3 hoursKittel Chapter 10Open bench
Bench 10

Metal Properties

Four-Point Probe & Thermal Bench

FPP-10

Sweep a metal rod through temperature on the four-point probe and test the Wiedemann-Franz law.

3 hoursKittel Chapter 6Open bench

Course texts

Reference shelf

Bench lighting

Use the three-position switch in the top-right corner. Up is the daylight bench, Down is the night bench, and Auto is the only position that follows your device. Whatever you pick is remembered on this computer and overrides the device setting.

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