This system enables UQ physics students to run the experiment from their home, flat or college room, on any day and at any time. Experiment reports can be prepared and then submitted electronically. Logs of experiments and plagiarism software can be used automatically to assist in the validity of individual reports.
- Principal Investigator - Dr Mark Schulz, Dr Gary Tuck, Dr Gordon Wyeth
- Start date - 2006
- Goal - The aim of this project is to make a simple experiments on radioactivity available to a widely distributed (geographically) audience on a 24/7 basis over the Internet.
- Overview of project - This project is a simple experiments on radioactivity in which students use a Geiger counter to measure the radioactivity of a number of different sources directly and modified by various shielding materials (e.g., different materials and different thicknesses of materials). The same experiments would be performed, but without the need to actually be present in the laboratory. The experimental equipment will be held in a locked facility at the St. Lucia campus of UQ, with strict access control maintained (because of the use of radioactive material). Students specify their experiment requirements and submit these over the Internet. Experiment requests are queued until an available timeslot, performed, the results stored, and students emailed that their data is available for collection. The experiment is performed in a robotic rig, where students are able to select the radiation source and the type and thickness of shielding. Radiation data is measured for a fixed period and recorded into a database.
The same experiment could also be made to available to school students around Queensland and elsewhere. As there would be an extremely limited opportunity for high school students to undertake this experiment in their schools due to the regulations on the storage and handling of these radiation sources, this experiment would provide an opportunity to contribute a useful experience to the physics students of Queensland.
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