Simulation Laboratory Manual

• A computer, laptop or tablet with a modern browser — Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari.
• WebGL enabled, for the 3D crystal stage and the cryostat at Bench 9.
• No installation, no Python, and no programming. Everything runs in the browser.
• Sound is optional. The bench-sound button in the top bar mutes the mechanical feedback from the controls.

1. Open the Lab Notebook and enter your name, student number and group. Every export is stamped with them.
2. Pick a bench from the equipment rack on the left. Each bench opens with its apparatus in the centre and its control panel on the right.
3. Work down the procedure card. Its steps are the same tasks — A, B, C, D — as the printed manual. Tick each one as you complete it.
4. Set the controls for a measurement point, wait for the meters to settle, then press Record reading. The values are written to the notebook page at the bottom of the bench.
5. When the bench is finished, export the table to CSV and attach it to your written report.

Rotary knob

Drag up or right to increase, down or left to decrease. Hold Shift while dragging for a fine vernier. The scroll wheel nudges it, and once focused the arrow keys step it one graduation at a time.

Slide fader

Drag the machined cap along its slot. The lit part of the track shows how far the control is advanced.

Toggle switch

Click to throw the lever. The legend-faint above the switch lights when it is in the ON position.

Rotary selector

Click a position legend-faint around the dial to jump straight to it, click the dial body to advance one position, or use the arrow keys.

Push button

Momentary action — the button travels and clicks. Buttons that latch stay lit while they are active.

Digital panel meter

Seven-segment readout of a measured quantity. An overrange flag lights in the corner if the reading leaves the range of the instrument.

Moving-coil meter

The needle swings and settles like a real galvanometer, so watch it come to rest before writing a reading down.

Scope screen

The phosphor display carrying the trace. Hover the trace to read off individual points.

The switch at the top right of every page has three positions. Up is the daylight bench, Down is the night bench, and Auto follows whatever your device is set to. Choosing Up or Down overrides the device setting, and the choice is remembered on that computer.

Every control can be driven from the keyboard: Tab moves between them, the arrow keys adjust knobs, faders and selectors, and Home/End jump a knob to the ends of its range. Meters and readouts announce their value to screen readers.

Simulation laboratory work contributes to the 40% continuous assessment component of PHYS 4801.

1. Title and details — experiment number, name, student number, date.
2. Aim — what the apparatus models and what you set out to investigate.
3. Theory — the key concepts and equations, in your own words.
4. Observations — your exported tables from the lab notebook.
5. Analysis — answers to the guided analysis questions.
6. Discussion — what the simulation shows and where it departs from real apparatus.
7. Conclusion — two to four sentences summarising what you found.