| Student Manual |  This experiment illustrates the basic concepts of Fourier Analysis using simple experimental setup. We will also measure the propagation speed of thermal oscillations, analyze the heat equation and calculate the diffusivity of the material under consideration. |
| Sample Results | Temperature oscillations picked up by the four PhysTherm’s |
| Experiment Code | 2.3B |
| Version | February 18, 2022 Version 2022-1 |
Further Readings and References
- Fourier analysis of thermal diffusive wavesAmerican Journal of Physics, M. S. Anwar, J. Alam, M. Wasif, R. Ullah, S. Shamim, and W. Zia, 82, 928, (2014).
- An undergraduate experiment on the progagation of thermal wavesAmerican Journal of Physics, A. Bodas, V. Gandia and E. Lopez-Baeza, 66, 528, (1998).
- Concepts in Thermal Physics (OUP), S. J. Blundell and K. M. Blundell, 88, (1st Edition).
- Energy propagation of thermal wavesEuorpean Journal of Physics, Agust´ın Salazar, 27, 1349, (2006).
- What is a wave?NATURE, John A. Scales and Roel Snieder, 401, 739, (1999).
Pictorial Procedure
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- Connect the heater to the channel A of PhysWatt. Power up PhysWatt (by connecting to the 220 V AC main supply).
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- Collecting data using Physlogger
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- Connect PhysWatt to PhysLogger by inserting a USB-C cable into one of its digital channels. Connect the PhysLogger with your PC as well.
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- The backside of PhysLogger showing all connections. The four PhysTherms are connected to four analog channels of PhysLogger, PhysWatt is connected to one of its digital channels, and PhysLogger is connected to PC using the USB cable.
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- Launch PhysLogger Desktop App. Select “PhysLogger” and continue.
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- Go to Explore.
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- Select the template “Temperature Oscillations” to set up thermocouples, PhysWatt, and the workspace according to a preset template.
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- Adjust the heater frequency and heater voltage using the respective sliders. The first run may be operated at a heater frequency of 5 mHz and heater voltage of 12 V.
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- Leave the system running for some time until the dynamic equilibrium state has been achieved. Export the recorded data to an excel file.
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- The experiment may be repeated for varying heating frequencies. Once done with the experiment, lower the heater voltage to 0 V before you close PhysLogger Desktop and switch off PhysWatt.