Advanced Higher Schools Laboratory
Physics at Heriot-Watt University offers an experimental laboratory with access to equipment and resources suitable for Advanced Higher pupils to fulfil part of their physics investigation. In some instances, it may also be used at other levels by schools as an enhancement of their own resources. We aim to provide some limited support for the sessions, and there is usually an opportunity to talk to physics academic staff. However please note that this laboratory receives no external financial support and this will limit the availability of support staff and access times. During times when our own first or second year students are in the laboratory, this is an ideal opportunity for school students to see that there is no great barrier between university and school study environments.
Sessions are normally available only on selected dates in October, November and early December. A limited number of lab sessions may be available after the Christmas break.
What experiments are offered?
There is a range of mechanical, electrical and optical equipment, with some experiments computer interfaced. All experiments may use computers for data handling and analysis. A complete list of experiments currently on offer is included in our Handbooks, which may be emailed to teachers on request. The Student Handbook may be given directly to students to assist them in planning their investigation. It contains a list of the experiments available, and the equipment provided, as well as the concepts involved with each experiment. More detailed information about the experiments can be found in the Teacher Handbook as well as example procedures for carrying out the experiments, this version must not be given to the students. To request copies of the current handbooks, please contact Bill MacPherson via AHPhysicsLabs@hw.ac.uk. Both handbooks include some guidance notes on keeping a record book, and on the treatment of errors.
It is recognised that the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) expects Advanced Higher entrants to keep a day-book of work leading towards the experimental sessions. Teachers and students should select experiments in advance and familiarize themselves with the concepts for the experiment before coming to the University.
How may I book a session?
We invite teachers to bring their students for one-day sessions. Points to note before booking:
- The class should come as one group, and must be accompanied by a teacher/school representative.
- Due to high demand, and where expected pupil numbers allow, we may offer the lab session to more than one school. In such cases we would normally plan to avoid clashes with equipment requests.
- We require the following information when booking:
- Suitable date for the session - please see availability calendar below.
- Number of students attending
- Which experiments the students wish to use
- Pupils should have planned their experiment before coming to the laboratory so they can “dive right in” to the experiment once they get here.
Bookings are made via our AH Lab booking page, see below for details.
Lab availability
Our Booking Calendar indicates available laboratory sessions – and places can be booked via this page. Please include your email address carefully as this is used for automatic confirmation of bookings.
Contact information
Please use the AHPhysicsLabs@hw.ac.uk for general correspondence about this lab. If you are concerned that a message may have been missed, then please feel free to contact Bill MacPherson (w.n.macpherson@hw.ac.uk) or phone 0131-451-3733.
We would like to acknowledge support from the Institute of Physics in Scotland for grants to upgrade some equipment.