Motion of a Cart This program plots the position, velocity, and acceleration of a cart vs. time using an ultrasonic range finder. The position, velocity and/or acceleration plots may be turned on or off before or after a data run. This allows students to see the position plot and then predict what the velocity and acceleration of the object will be.

Energy of a Cart A motion detector is used to display the kinetic, potential, and total energies of a cart as it moves up and/or down a ramp. A pad can be used to introduce friction to the system. Each plot may be turned on or off if you wish to solicit predictions from the class.

Motion of a Mass on Spring A motion detector is used to plot the position, velocity, and acceleration of a mass on a spring. Each plot may be turned on or off at any time.

Energy of a Spring A motion detector is used to display the kinetic, potential, and total energies of a mass on a (vertical) spring. Each plot may be turned on or off if you wish to solicit predictions from the class.

Greenhouse Effect A glass bottle with a little sand and water simulates a greenhouse (or the Earth). A temperature probe is placed inside the bottle and another probe is placed outside of the bottle. A heat lamp is placed above the bottle and probes. The program will track the readings from each probe and also the difference in temperature between inside and outside of the bottle.

Adiabatic Gas Law A piston/cylinder arrangement contains sensors measuring volume, temperature, and pressure. Various thermodynamic quantities can be plotted (P-V or T-V curves). Also, the temperature in the cylinder can be displayed. If you wish, the program will also calculate gamma from the data collected.

Doppler Effect A function generator and speaker produce a 5000 Hz tone. The signal is detected with a microphone and displayed with an FFT program. Either the microphone or the speaker is moved and a shift in frequency is observed.

Fourier Synthesizer This simulation allows the user to add up to six sine waves together. One can change the frequency, amplitude, and phase of each signal. There is also a display to show the relative "size" of each signal.

Half-Life of an Isotope A short-lived isotope (Ba-137m) is monitored with a Geiger counter. The LabVIEW program will plot the number of counts every 30 seconds. The program will run for 12 minutes. One can fit a curve to the data and show the half life (from the fit).

Counting Statistics A radiation monitor detects the radiation from a radioactive source. The program will make 1800 1-second counts (run time = 30 minutes) and then plot frequency vs. counts.

Random Walk Simulator This program simulates the struggles of a photon trying to escape from the center of a star. The program will show the random pattern the "photon" exhibits as well as the number of steps required to exit the star.

Radioactive Decay Simulation This simulation allows one to select the half life of an isotope and watch it decay from a set number to zero. One can also plot the decay of a secondary isotope (the result from the decay of the primary isotope). In addition, a line can be fit and the calculated half life (from the fit) can be displayed.

Resonance Tube The program generates a tone ramped from 0 to 1000 Hz and is played through a speaker. The speaker is placed at one end of a PVC tube and a microphone is placed at the other. The signal from the microphone is displayed with an FFT program. The frequency can be ramped automatically or changed manually.

Ohm's Law A circuit consists of a variable voltage source and a resistor (which can be replaced with a different value). The program plots current vs. voltage while the voltage is changed. The program will also calculate the resistance of the circuit from the data collected.

Resistance of Light Bulbs The current through carbon and tungsten bulbs is plotted as a function of voltage as the voltage is changed. The carbon bulb displays a positive temperature coefficient while the tungsten shows a negative coefficient.