A 1.33m McPherson spectrometer is equipped with a cooled photomultiplier tube and image intensified photodiode array. The 1 GHz digital storage scope is an impressive tool for data taking and analysis. We also have ultrasonic facilities to measure elastic properties of solids, capacitance bridges to measure ionic conductivity in solids, and spectrometers to measure optical properties of solids. Although you may not know what these pieces of equipment are now, you can be assured that student hands-on experience is valued very highly at Davidson. Our equipment is not locked away and accessible only to faculty, but is a useful and used component of a Davidson undergraduate education.
Every physics major is encouraged to participate in an independent research project.
Students are exposed to a synthesis of research and teaching from the time they enroll in their first physics course at Davidson. Building on this initial experience, upper level courses develop skills in instrumentation and research methods. By the end of their 4 years at Davidson, most students have been involved in either ongoing projects with departmental members, projects developed by the student for whom we have the appropriate equipment and expertise already available, or projects done during the summer at national laboratories or research universities. The close collaboration between faculty and students is similar to the experience students will have in any graduate research program. However, our students use the equipment and are not just passive observers as undergrads are at research universities.