A Glimpse of Being a Physicist

          The first meeting was a not so ordinary encounter with physics. Well, not so ordinary for a student inexperienced in working under lab conditions.

          Let me start by describing the physics lab at NIP. It has enough space for just a few students (20 maybe) and the tables are structured in a way that members of a group face each other while sitting for a better discussion and cooperation. In short, it's just right and conducive for experimenting. The ambience was complemented by our exerienced prof, Dr. Rene Batac. I had encountered him before during Physics 10. He is great indeed.

          The lab work started with Measurements, which for me is the fundamentals of physics- quantifying things. I learned that measured values are inherently "uncertain". To combat uncertainty, we must be precise. In a 30-minute talk, there are 4 ways to lessen uncertainty, that is to be precise. A) Order of Magnitude Approximation B) Significant Figures C) Min-Max and D) Based on a distribution function. Dr. Batac said we would utilize based on a distribution function. The equation is quite complicated though but the thought was if I still remember it correctly, the graph of data with normal distribution will be a bell shape.

          The second part was using calipers. We were taught how to use a vernier and micrometer caliper. I remember the vernier caliper back in high school during our SIP. But because I really dont know how to use a vernier caliper, I just used a ruler instead to measure the minimum inhibitory concentration of a seaweed extract (kinda off-topic XD). Anyways, we were taught about the main scale and fractional scale in the vernier and the 2 sound "ticks"  in a micrometer. To make it short, we now know how to use them (maybe not so pro but good enough). As proof, we were able to send our data to Dr. Batac. The data was about the measurements of a thai grain rice. And after it was encoded in excel, the graph really showed a somehow bell shape or a near bell shape. I remember our group was able to make 50 measurements. Lesson learned: don't be biased in measurements.

          That is all folks for tonight's "pisikasayahan" (funphysics) at NIP. Watch out friday next week for our next lab experiment!

*this is in compliance for my Physics 101.1 under Dr. Rene Batac