computers

=PHY251 Computers and Statistics= Computers controlled by a central server will be used in all the physics undergraduate labs. It is your responsibility to close all applications and log-out of your computer account when you leave the laboratory. Only two of the available tools are relevant to PHY252:

I. Microsoft Excel
Excel is a spreadsheet program which you can use to record/store your data. Appendix B of the lab book has a list of useful Excel commands.

II. Kaleidagraph
Kaleidagraph is a general plotting program. It takes its input from columns of data and allows you to either plot a histogram of the contents of one column or “scatterplot” any column versus anyother column, and obtain the best fit for the parameters for an expected functional dependence, e.g., a straight line’s slope, intercept and uncertainties. Although some of these things are possible in Excel, Kaleidagraph has a very userfriendly interface for adjusting axes/labels/text/bins etc. in any of the graphs. The input for the plots can be copied from an Excel spreadsheet and pasted, or typed directly into a Kaleidagraph data table. Once you are satisfied with your plot (binning is correct, labels are clear, axes are labeled and have units!), you can make a best fit for the parameters of an expected functional dependence and include the results on the plot. The plot can then be saved, printed and attached to your worksheets.

Refer to Appendix D for more advice concerning computers and uncertainties in measurements. Appendix A also has more detail on uncertainties. All measurements are uncertain.