Virtual Instrumentation in the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory

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Physics students from this institution have enjoyed significant success in academia and industry because they have graduated with a thorough understanding of modern experimental techniques that can be applied to a variety of scientific questions. Many of the traditional instruments with which students work can now be replaced by a single computer and an inexpensive data acquisition card. The resulting `virtual instruments` are created from user-selected or designed software for a specific task, offering tremendous flexibility in experiment design. This project is developing virtual instrumentation stations for the experimental labs in the Physics Department, for use by students at all levels. This equipment helps students understand that good experimentation is not about obtaining a `correct` result, but rather on the process of investigation. In providing virtual instruments that are relatively quick to set up, easy to use, and inexpensive to operate for a wide range of experimental purposes, the department hopes to encourage students to explore more innovative and iterative experiments than they would pursue with more traditional equipment.