| Projects are a vital part of developing independent research skills in the physical sciences. A project is normally done by a pair of students, who either submit a project proposal for approval, or choose from an extensive list of staff proposals. Projects usually have a substantial experimental component, and can address any area of physics for which the year 2 laboratory, and the student, are equipped. Students registered for specialised Physics degree programmes will normally
undertake a project relevant to their specialism. A project is different from a standard laboratory experiment in that there is no prescribed apparatus or experimental procedure. Students are expected to find out about the theoretical basis of their project, and plan their own investigation, in consultation with staff. Projects typically involve the designing and building of apparatus, acquiring and interpreting data, and refinement of the plan as work proceeds. Students report on their progress by reports, talks and demonstrations. Some typical project themes include: a laser beam profiler, earthquake protection, measuring G, an analogue of the quantum eraser, a stroboscopic clock, a search for particles in LHC collisions, physical and pseudo- randomness. | 