Physics 3330: Electronics for the Physical Sciences
Instructors: Heather Lewandowski, Kevin Stenson, James Thompson
In Experiment 5 we make an oscillator out of a parallel LC 'tank' circuit. The photo above shows a tank circuit that resonates at 21 kHz, about the same frequency as the one we will make. But this is a really big tank circuit, designed to couple 1 MW of power to an antenna that transmits VLF (very low frequency) radio waves. Why would anyone want to transmit radio waves that have a wavelength of 9 miles? Turns out you need to go to such low frequencies if you want to communicate with submarines under the ocean. Learn more about US Navy station NSS, about how to build a VLF receiver, and about ELF (extreme low frequency).
Labs 5 and 6 cover active filters, oscillators, and optoelectronics.
Remember, prelabs are due at 5pm the day before your lab in your instructor's mailbox and lab reports are due at the beginning of lab.
I welcome your comments on the class and this website. Send them to Kevin Stenson