Required Readings
Bevington, Philip R., and D. Keith Robinson. Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN: 9780072472271.
Experimental Lab Manuals by the Junior Lab staff (available inside every Experiment page)
Ethics in Science and Education by the Junior Lab staff
Laboratory Safety and Regulations in Junior Lab by the Junior Lab staff
Recommended Texts
Melissinos, Adrian Constantin. Experiments in Modern Physics. New York: Academic Press, 1966. (Out of print. May be available in academic libraries.)
Melissinos, Adrian Constantin, and Jim Napolitano. Experiments in Modern Physics. San Diego: Academic Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780124898516.
Consult both before and during your investigations. This text is only “Recommended” because the Junior Lab staff feels it is too expensive to “Require.” Material which is essential to the understanding of an experiment and which can be found in the Melissinos text is generally omitted from the lab manuals. The Physics Reading Room on campus has both editions which offer different material: you should consult them both!
Other Useful Texts
Preston, Daryl, and Eric Dietz. The Art of Experimental Physics. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1991. ISBN: 9780471847489.
Taylor, John Robert. An Introduction to Error Analysis: The Study of Uncertainties in Physical Measurements. Sausalito, CA: University Science Books, 1997. ISBN: 9780935702750. (This book covers much of the same material as Bevington and Robinson and is easier to read.)
Gregory, Philip Christopher. Bayesian Logical Data Analysis for the Physical Sciences: A Comparative Approach with Mathematica® Support. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780521841504.
Reference Articles and Equipment Manuals
At this stage of your training as an experimentalist, you should realize that there is no ‘comprehensive’ or perfect textbook. Much of the material you will need to dig into are the early journal papers which originally detailed many of these important discoveries.
For more information on Technical Writing, please refer to The Mayfield Handbook for Technical and Scientific Writing.
