Simple Internet data collection for physics laboratories

Kyle Forinash and Raymond Wisman

Citation: American Journal of Physics 70, 458 (2002); doi: 10.1119/1.1445408

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.1445408
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Published by the American Association of Physics Teachers

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 APPARATUS AND DEMONSTRATION NOTES
Jeffrey S. Dunham, Editor
Department of Physics, Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont 05753

This department welcomes brief communications reporting new demonstrations, laboratory equip-
ment, techniques, or materials of interest to teachers of physics. Notes on new applications of older
apparatus, measurements supplementing data supplied by manufacturers, information which, while not
new, is not generally known, procurement information, and news about apparatus under development
may be suitable for publication in this section. Neither the American Journal of Physics nor the Editors
assume responsibility for the correctness of the information presented. Submit materials to Jeffrey S.
Dunham, Editor.

Unipolar motors and their application to the demonstration of magnetic

field properties
Stanisl”aw Bednareka)
Department of Physics, University of Łódź, 149/153 Pomorska Str., 90-236 Łódź, Poland
共Received 20 January 2000; accepted 28 August 2001兲
关DOI: 10.1119/1.1412648兴

I. INTRODUCTION rod shaped. Ceramic and disk-shaped magnets used for at-
taching sheets of paper to magnetic tables or refrigerators
A magnetic field is able to exert a force on magnetic poles can be used in this apparatus. A few such disks 共without the
and on moving electric charges.1 Field lines can be used for plastic shield兲 put together with opposite poles and glued
the graphical presentation of the magnetic field. The form of together by cylanoacrylate or epoxy glue can create a proper
these lines represents a possible trajectory for a north mag- rod-shaped magnet. Ready-to-use rod-shaped magnets made
netic pole placed in the field. Magnetic field lines around a
long rectilinear current-carrying conductor have the shape of
concentric circles. Hence, it would seem that there is the
possibility of constructing a very simple motor, a so-called
unipolar one, in which the magnetic pole would rotate
around the current-carrying conductor. This is not possible,
however, because a magnetic monopole as postulated by
Dirac has not been discovered, and in nature magnets are
always found with two opposite poles.2 Therefore, forces, or
moments of forces, acting on a magnet placed in the field of
the long rectilinear current-carrying conductor can cause
only a turn of the magnet by a limited angle and, as a final
effect, align it with the magnetic field lines.3
It appears, however, that by applying a magnetic field with
an appropriate distribution in space and a specific orientation
of one or two magnets, a unipolar motor, in which the mag-
net is in a continuous rotary motion, can be constructed. A
motor of this kind is an interesting demonstration apparatus
that allows students to understand magnetic field properties
better and to observe the use of magnetism in practical ap-
plications. The aim of this article is to describe the construc-
tion of four models of unipolar motors and explain their
principles of operation. Since the required materials are
readily available and construction is quite simple, such mo-
tors can be constructed in typical conditions of a school
physical laboratory.

II. A UNIPOLAR MOTOR WORKING IN A

CONDUCTING LIQUID Fig. 1. Construction of a unipolar motor working in a conducting liquid
presented in the axial cross section: 共1兲 magnet, 共2兲 slat, 共3兲 bearing, 共4兲 tip,
The construction of this motor is shown in Fig. 1. Two 共5兲 insulating rod, 共6兲 lower electrode, 共7兲 transparent cylinder, 共8兲 power
magnets 共1兲 are fastened to a horizontal slat 共2兲, which is lead, 共9兲 upper electrode, 共10兲 electrolyte, 共N, S兲 magnetic poles, 共I兲 current
equipped at its center with bearing 共3兲. The two magnets are intensity, 共j兲 current density, 共B兲 magnetic field, 共M兲 torque acting on rotor.

455 Am. J. Phys. 70 共4兲, April 2002 http://ojps.aip.org/ajp/ © 2002 American Association of Physics Teachers 455
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 of steel or other magnetic alloys having appropriate dimen-
sions can also be used for constructing the motor. However,
the use of disk-shaped ceramic magnets is a very easy and
cheap method for obtaining magnets required for construct-
ing the motor. Magnets composed of seven ceramic disks of
16-mm diameter and 8-mm thickness were used in the model
constructed. The magnets obtained in this way were sym-
metrically fastened to the slat with adhesive tape, which was
coiled around the magnets and the slat. When fastening the
magnets to the slat it should be remembered that the magnets
have to be turned with the same poles near the center. Mag-
netic poles should be marked by coiling them with pieces of
adhesive tape of different colors, for example, blue and red
ones. The bearing has the shape of a conical cavity in a metal
disk and is glued to the central part of the slat. The upper part
of a press-stud fastener was used as the bearing, which was
glued to the slat with epoxy glue.
The slat with the magnets and the bearing constitute a
rotor of the motor, which is able to revolve in the horizontal
plane on tip 共4兲 mounted inside insulating rod 共5兲. The tip is
made of a sewing needle. The dull end of a needle was
heated and pressed into the plastic rod. The rod was glued
with epoxy glue to the center of the lower electrode 共6兲. The
lower electrode constitutes the bottom of transparent cylinder
共7兲 made of glass or plastic, in which the rotor was placed.
The lower electrode was carefully glued to the cylinder using Fig. 2. Construction of a unipolar motor with an open cylinder presented in
silicone. Power lead 共8兲 was fastened with a screw and a nut the axial cross section: 共1兲 magnet, 共2兲 aluminum cylinder, 共3兲 bearing, 共4兲
to the lower electrode. At the top, the vessel is covered with rod, 共5兲 insulating base, 共6兲 power lead, 共7兲 brush, 共N, S兲 magnetic poles, 共I兲
current intensity, 共B兲 magnetic induction, 共M兲 torque acting on rotor.
a similar upper electrode 共9兲 equipped with a power lead. A
few holes were made in the upper electrode to allow escape
of gases produced when current flows through the electrolyte
conductor passing along the rotor axis. The magnitude of
共10兲, that fills the cylinder. The electrolyte can be a water
such a magnetic field is inversely proportional to r, whereas
solution of the sulfuric acid with a concentration of 15%–
the value of the lever arm of the torque is directly propor-
20% or a saturated solution of copper sulfate or domestic
tional to r. As a result, the value of the torque acting on the
salt.
magnetic poles does not depend on r and the resultant torque
The described motor operates as follows. An electric cur-
acting on the rotor is zero. It is also noteworthy that the
rent with density j flowing through the electrolyte produces a
motor presented in Fig. 1 would work with only one magnet
magnetic field with the induction B. The field lines have the
placed on one side of the rotation axis. However, the me-
shape of circles, whose centers lie on the cylinder axis. Ac-
chanical equilibrium of the slat would be upset requiring that
cording to Ampere’s law,4,5 the value of the magnetic field
an appropriate counterweight should be applied at its oppo-
inside the cylinder is, if the cylinder is long, directly propor-
site end. A similar remark applies to the other models of
tional to the distance r from its axis and given by:
motors described below.
␮ 0 jr
B⫽ .
2 III. A UNIPOLAR MOTOR WITH AN OPEN
CYLINDER
In such a field a moment of force or torque directly propor-
tional to r 2 acts on each pole of the magnets fastened to the In this motor 共Fig. 2兲 two magnets 共1兲, similar to the mag-
slat. The torques acting on the external and internal poles are nets from the model previously described, are used. These
in opposite directions, but the magnitude of the torque acting magnets were arranged radially in holes cut in an aluminum
on the external poles is greater, because they are located cylinder 共2兲 opened at the bottom. Such a cylinder can be
farther from the axis of the cylinder. In this situation the obtained from a piece of aluminum tubing with a diameter of
resultant torque acts on the rotor causing it to rotate continu- several centimeters. In order to close the cylinder at the top,
ously. Thus, the direction of rotation of the rotor is deter- a circular slab was cut off from an aluminum plate and in-
mined by the direction of the torque acting on the external serted into the tube and glued by means of a conducting glue
magnetic poles, which move in a circular way along the used for repairing printed circuits. An aluminum can for soft
magnetic field lines. drinks, from which the cover was cut off by a can-opener,
In the model constructed here the rotor made about five was used as the cylinder in one of the constructed models.
rotations per minute when the intensity of the current flowing The magnets were fixed in the holes with adhesive tape. A
through the cylinder was I⫽4.5 A. The internal diameter of bearing similar to that in the previously described motor was
the cylinder was 130 mm. The rotation direction of the rotor glued inside the cylinder to the center of its top plate using a
can be reversed by reversing the direction of current flow or conducting glue. The cylinder with its magnets and bearing
by reversing the orientation of the poles of both magnets. It constitutes the rotor of the motor, which can rotate on a
should be noted that it would be impossible for the motor to sharpened bronze rod 共4兲 fastened in insulating base 共5兲
operate in the magnetic field produced by a long rectilinear made from plywood or plastic. One of the power leads 共6兲

456 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 70, No. 4, April 2002 Apparatus and Demonstration Notes 456
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 Fig. 3. Construction of a unipolar motor with a closed cylinder presented in
the axial cross section: 共1兲 magnet, 共2兲 aluminum cylinder, 共3兲 bearing, 共4兲
tip, 共5兲 insulating base, 共6兲 power lead, 共7兲 post with outrigger, 共8兲 nut, 共9兲
screw, 共N, S兲 magnetic poles, 共I兲 current intensity, 共B兲 magnetic induction,
共M兲 torque acting on rotor.

was soldered to the bronze rod near its base. The other power
lead was soldered to brush 共7兲 made from a belt of an elastic
bronze plate screwed to the base. The belt was bent at a right
Fig. 4. Construction of a unipolar motor with a closed cylinder and a rod
angle, so that it barely contacted the lower edge of the cyl-
presented in the axial cross section: 共10兲 brass rod, the meaning of the
inder ensuring a good electric contact. remaining symbols is the same as in the caption of Fig. 3.
The motor described operates as follows. After connecting
the leads to the power source, an electric current I flows
through the rod and the cylinder. The rod can be treated as a IV. A UNIPOLAR MOTOR WITH A CLOSED
long rectilinear current-carrying conductor. Such a conductor CYLINDER
produces a magnetic field B given by:
The construction of the motor is shown in Fig. 3. The
␮ 0I system of magnets is the same as in the motors described
B⫽ .
2␲r previously. The magnets were placed radially in a closed
aluminum cylinder 共2兲, which can actually be an aluminum
In Eq. 共2兲, r denotes the radial distance from the rod axis. tube closed with two end plates or a tall can for soft drinks.
According to Ampere’s law, the current flowing along a lat- Bearings 共3兲, the same as previously described, are glued in
eral surface of the long cylinder does not produce a magnetic the center of each end plate with a conducting glue. The
field inside that surface. Outside the cylinder, the current lower bearing lies on the tip made of a piece of bronze wire
flowing through it produces a magnetic field B given by Eq. placed in insulating base 共5兲. One of the power leads 共6兲 is
共2兲. However, outside the cylinder these fields contributions soldered to that tip. The post with outrigger 共7兲 is connected
are opposite, because directions of the current flow in the to the base. Brass nut 共8兲, to which the other power lead 共6兲
cylinder and in the rod are opposite. As a result, there is no is soldered, was placed in the end part of the outrigger. Brass
magnetic field outside the cylinder and magnetic forces do screw 共9兲 was screwed into that nut. The tip of the screw is
not act on the poles of the magnets protruding from the cyl- inserted into the upper bearing. Due to this construction, the
inder. Only the poles of magnets located inside the cylinder rotor composed of magnets, bearings, and a cylinder can ro-
are in a magnetic field. The magnetic field lines have the tate about the axis determined by the tips, and electric cur-
shape of concentric circles and a torque acts on the poles rent flow is possible.
inside the cylinder causing the rotor to rotate. Effective mo- The operating principle of such a motor is easy to explain
tor operation requires a current of several amperes. The di- when the spatial distribution of the magnetic field produced
rection of rotation of the rotor can be reversed by reversing by the current flowing along the lateral walls of the cylinder
the current flow direction or by inversion of the poles of both is considered. According to Ampere’s law, the current does
magnets. not produce a magnetic field inside the cylinder; however,

457 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 70, No. 4, April 2002 Apparatus and Demonstration Notes 457
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 outside the cylinder the value of the magnetic field is ex- electric current flowing along the walls of the cylinder does
pressed by Eq. 共2兲. Thus, only the external poles of the mag- not produce a magnetic field inside the cylinder. The lower
nets are in a magnetic field, the lines of which have the shape poles of the magnets are not located, therefore, in the mag-
of concentric circles. The magnetic fields produces a torque netic field. However, the upper poles of the magnets are lo-
that acts on these poles, thus rotating the rotor. As was the cated in the magnetic field produced by the electric current
case for the models described previously, the direction of the flowing through the rod and the cylinder. The spatial distri-
rotor rotation can be reversed by reversing the current flow
bution of this magnetic field is similar to that of the field
direction or by reversing the poles of both magnets.
produced by a long rectilinear conductor with the current.
Thus, the upper poles of the magnets experience a torque
V. A UNIPOLAR MOTOR WITH A CLOSED causing rotation of the rotor.
CYLINDER AND A ROD
This motor as shown in Fig. 4 is characterized by magnets a兲
Electronic mail: [email protected]
arranged parallel to the rotation axis and is constructed simi- 1
A. Isaacs, A Dictionary of Physics 共Oxford U.P., Oxford, 1996兲, p. 235.
larly to the motor described in the previous part of the paper. 2
E. M. Purcel, Electricity and Magnetism, Berkeley Physics Course Vol. 2
A difference is that brass rod 共10兲 ends with a conical cavity, 共McGraw–Hill, New York, 1965兲, p. 415.
which constitutes the upper bearing of the rotor, and is fixed 3
R. M. Sutton, Demonstration Experiments in Physics 共McGraw–Hill, New
in the top cover of the cylinder. Both magnets 共1兲 were York, 1938兲, p. 306.
placed into holes in the top cylinder cover and like poles 4
R. P. Feynman, R. B. Leighton, and M. Sand, The Feynman Lectures on
were turned to the same side. Physics 共Addison–Wesley, Reading, MA, 1963兲, p. 224.
When explaining the operation principle of this motor it 5
D. Halliday and R. Resnick, Physics for Students of Science and Engineer-
should be remembered that according to Ampere’s law the ing 共Wiley, New York, 1963兲, p. 300.

Simple Internet data collection for physics laboratories

Kyle Forinash and Raymond Wisman
School of Natural Sciences, Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, Indiana 47150
共Received 30 January 2001; accepted 29 November 2001兲
We present a surprisingly simple yet flexible method for remote data collection over the Internet.
The method requires minimal development effort, has considerable hardware and software
independence, and is essentially free. The basic approach is to convert a scientific measurement
instrument into an Internet device to give remote computers access to the instrument. The method
is compatible with most programming languages and software applications that have Internet access.
It can be used with many serial port measurement instruments and allows different computers,
operating systems, and instruments to be intermixed when collecting data. We give three examples
of how the method has been used to enhance the undergraduate physics laboratory experience.
© 2002 American Association of Physics Teachers.
关DOI: 10.1119/1.1445408兴

I. INTRODUCTION II. METHOD

Remote data collection applications range widely in cost, What hardware and software are needed in this approach?
time, and the skills required, from high profile science such The necessary hardware is often already available in settings
as the Hubble space telescope to more commonplace student where computers perform data collection and an Internet
connection exists. Remote data collection hardware consists
projects. Given the low cost and wide availability of com-
of two computers and one measurement instrument as illus-
puters with Internet access and data measurement hardware,
trated in Fig. 1. One computer acts as a communication
remote data collection should be simple, inexpensive, and server to connect the instrument to the Internet. This com-
adaptable. puter is directly connected to the measurement instrument
What do we mean by remote data collection over the In- through the computer serial port and to the Internet. A second
ternet? The method discussed here allows an inexpensive data collection computer can then access the instrument over
measurement instrument to be used as though it were an the Internet through the communication server. The method
Internet device. A computer on the Internet can then collect also supports local data collection by using only one com-
data from the instrument as though the computer and instru- puter to act as both the communication server and the data
ment were directly connected. In the following we discuss collector. The measurement instrument can be a serial device
the method in detail and give three examples of its use in an such as those from PASCO, Pico Technology, or Vernier
undergraduate physics laboratory setting. Software.1–3

458 Am. J. Phys. 70 共4兲, April 2002 http://ojps.aip.org/ajp/ © 2002 American Association of Physics Teachers 458
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 Fig. 1. A software and hardware configuration used for remote data collec-
tion over the Internet.

The two software components required are the communi-

cation server and the data collection programs. The server
program merely passes communications transparently be-
tween the Internet and serial port. Numerous Internet to se-
rial port communication servers are available for different
computer platforms 共e.g., Mac, Windows, and Linux兲 as
shareware or as freeware from the authors.4 The data collec-
tion program is specific to each type of measurement instru-
ment and typically controls the instrument by sending out the
normal instrument commands and receiving data in return.
As an example, the command ‘‘s 兵 0 其 ’’ is sent by the data
collection program to reset a Vernier LabPro3 instrument.
Collection programs can be implemented in any language
with Internet access including Java, Perl, Visual Basic, or
applications such as Excel and MathLab. A simple strip chart
can be implemented using an Excel chart and a few lines of
Visual Basic code to control the measurement instrument.

III. MOTIVATION
How is this better than other remote data collection solu-
tions? One advantage is the low cost. The communication
server software is free, nearly any computer can be used, and
Fig. 3. In addition to known sound samples students also analyze an un-
serial port instrumentation is relatively inexpensive. Hard- known signal, in this case a saw tooth wave 共a兲. The spreadsheet Fourier
ware and software operation is simple and the learning curve transform function was used to create the FFT graph 共b兲.
is gentle compared to other approaches.
Alternative methods include the Common Gateway Inter-
face 共CGI兲 or one of several competing protocols such as
Sun’s Jini, Microsoft’s UPnP, or National Instruments’ Data-
Socket. The CGI approach requires programming and admin- control of the experiment at the data collection computer.
istration of a Web server. Using one of the protocols may The implication is significant in that separate data collection
require learning a new programming language or learning a computers can independently control the same measurement
complex programming interface that is limited to proprietary instrument for different experiments.
hardware. These approaches, such as a Web server running a The fact that the communication server transparently
CGI program to control an experiment, may need at least a transforms a serial measurement instrument into an Internet
virtual visit to the controlling computer over the course of an device is the key advantage to this method. Using the stan-
experiment. The method described here instead places full dardized Internet protocols any vendor’s serial instrument
can then be accessed over a network with any computer
hardware or operating system. One can intermix Mac’s with
PCs running under the Windows or Linux operating system
for either the communication server or the data collector
computer. In addition the data collection software is typically
simpler to write and more portable across different computer
systems for an Internet device than for a serial port device.
An instructional laboratory with mixed computers can often
use the same Perl script or Excel macro for an Internet de-
vice in contrast to serial port interface code constrained to a
specific operating system and computer. Debugging a remote
instrument is also enhanced since a telnet session can com-
municate directly with the instrument.
A final benefit is the possibility of sharing experimental
data as illustrated in Fig. 2. Several collection computers can
simultaneously share data from a single remote instrument or
Fig. 2. Three examples of data collection topologies: 共a兲 one instrument and several remote instruments can be controlled from one col-
one collector, 共b兲 one instrument and multiple collectors, and 共c兲 multiple lection computer. Collection of data simultaneously from
instruments and one collector. multiple remote instruments by multiple collection comput-

459 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 70, No. 4, April 2002 Apparatus and Demonstration Notes 459
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 Fig. 4. A frequency versus time analy-
sis using a Grossman–Morlet wavelet
transform of very low frequency elec-
tromagnetic signals. The data repre-
sented here is collected continuously
through the Internet from a remote an-
tenna site. Several manmade signals
are clearly seen including the 60 Hz
power grid signal. Naturally occurring
signals are not seen in this relatively
short time sample.

ers is also possible. This offers the potential for collaboration requires students to experiment with the measurement instru-
among researchers sharing geographically separated instru- ment sample rate and the number of data points collected. As
mentation. part of the laboratory report students must explain the accu-
racy and error inherent in the measurements. This requires an
understanding of measurement instrument limitations, ex-
IV. APPLICATIONS IN THE PHYSICS CLASSROOM
perimental design, and the tools used to analyze the data. The
What are some examples of use? Our original motivation familiar spreadsheet model provides the students with data
for developing this remote data collection method was to collection and analysis tools that support the necessary ex-
support open laboratories in which students could perform perimental inquiry. The unknown sound source data graph
experiments at school or home by accessing laboratory and the FFT graph from the Excel spreadsheet are shown in
equipment on campus. For one experiment students deter- Fig. 3.
mine the transmission rate and organization of a digital com- In a third project junior level physics laboratory classes
munications signal generated at the campus. Students em- operate a listening post for electromagnetic signals in the
ploy a Java applet oscilloscope in a Web browser to analyze ULF range 共i.e., under 100 Hz兲 using three coil antennas.6,7
the signal in place of an oscilloscope on a lab bench. Be- To avoid unwanted electrical activity the antennas are buried
cause the Java applet is easily included with the laboratory in an open field at the edge of the campus making on-site
instructions on a Web page, the laboratory assignment is par- data collection less than convenient. For safety reasons stu-
ticularly convenient for students to access and for instructors dent access to the remote equipment is limited to occasional
to develop and maintain. The laboratory equipment consists maintenance visits with faculty. These factors combine to
of a digital signal source, a serial port version of an analog to make remote data collection an essential feature of the
digital converter and a communication server computer. Stu- project. The project equipment consists of an analog to digi-
dents can use a laboratory computer or their own computer tal converter connected to the three antennas, one communi-
for data collection and analysis of the communications sig- cation server computer, and several data collector computers.
nal. Because the laboratory equipment is available to stu- The analog to digital converter is connected through two
dents anytime and anywhere, a single equipment setup is short haul modems and by a long length of buried phone
sufficient for the class. wire to the communication server running on an old Linux
A second example is from an introductory physics labora- computer located in a corner of a university maintenance
tory exercise where the fast Fourier transform 共FFT兲 of a building loading dock. Data collection and analysis can be
sound sample is examined. The experiment is conducted in a done on campus or at the student’s home over the Internet.
traditional laboratory course setting where the instructor, stu- Continuous data collection has been achieved for periods of
dents and equipment are all at the same location at a sched- up to 2 weeks.8 A wavelet analysis of 1 hour of data is given
uled time. Each laboratory station consists of a single com- in Fig. 4.
puter that acts as communication server and data collector,
an analog to digital converter with an attached microphone, V. CONCLUSION
and several musical sound sources. An Excel spreadsheet
with a small Visual Basic macro is provided to collect data, A potential pitfall of many undergraduate science research
perform the FFT, and graph the results. In addition to known projects or laboratory exercises is that complex data collec-
musical sounds made by the students an unknown sound tion and analysis tools can encourage students to lose sight
source located in a remote room is provided for students to of the research purpose. Issues of cost and complexity can
analyze. Students can collect the unknown sound data by make some laboratory exercises unattractive to instructors as
changing a cell in the spreadsheet from the Internet address well. The three examples above illustrate a simple yet flex-
of their laboratory computer to the address of the remote ible approach in which students can concentrate on the phys-
source.5 Determining the frequency of the unknown sound ics of the experiment rather than struggling with complex

460 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 70, No. 4, April 2002 Apparatus and Demonstration Notes 460
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202.28.191.34 On: Sun, 22 Feb 2015 21:14:29
 instrumentation. The familiar spreadsheet presents the stu- net TCP/IP protocol to the serial port and an Excel spreadsheet with a VB
dent with a simple data collection and analysis package that macro to control a LabPro can be downloaded from http://Physics.ius.edu/
they can readily master. In the ULF project multiple students ⬃kyle/K/DataCollect/LabPro.html
5
Lab procedures for this experiment can be viewed at http://
can collect and analyze data from the same measurement
Physics.ius.edu/⬃kyle/P222/FFTlab.html
instrument at the same time even as long-term data collection 6
This project was based on a suggestion by Shawn Carlson; The Amateur
to an archival computer is ongoing. This flexibility allows Scientist 关Sci. Am. 共1996兲, p. 98兴.
students to explore, test, and develop their understanding of 7
Naturally occurring low frequency electromagnetic radiation is known to
the research project and its requisite methodology. Because originate at 8 Hz 共and multiples兲 as resonance 共the so-called Schumann
the method is simple and can be used across different plat- resonance兲 in the earth–ionosphere cavity due to global thunderstorm ac-
forms, time and cost investment for development is also tivity. There may also be other electromagnetic signals occurring in this
minimized. frequency range as indicators of other natural events. For example, there is
a possibility that earthquakes may give off signals in the range below 4
1
PASCO Scientific, 10101 Foothills Blvd., Roseville, CA 95678-9011. Hz. 关See George Stavrakakis and the reply by Panayiotis Varotsos, Nicho-
2
Pico Technology Limited, The Mill House, Cambridge Street, St. Neots, las Sarlis, and Mary Lazaridou in Phys. Today 51, 15 共1998兲 for additional
Cambridgeshire PE19 1QB, United Kingdom. references.兴
3 8
Vernier Software, 13979 SW Millikan Way, Beaverton, OR 97005-2886. Continuous data streaming as well as archived data will become available
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Sample software including the communication server which passes Inter- at a future date at http://Physics.ius.edu/⬃ELF/VLF – ULF.html

461 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 70, No. 4, April 2002 Apparatus and Demonstration Notes 461
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