The final assignment in this course is a short micro-project of your choice.

Your team’s task is to select a reasonably advanced circuit, build it, and to demonstrate that you understand the circuit and that it works.
The circuit should be conceptually clear and technically accessible to you.
- It must use components you have in the lab or that are easily accessible to you
You may choose a published circuit.
You are certainly allowed to use an Arduino or Python data acquisition, but don’t use them more than necessary since we are more impressed by analog than digital.
- Points may be lost if the device depends too much on software and not enough on hardware ( i.e. a circuit).

For ideas, see the list below.

Requirements for the Project

Written Report

Each student must submit an individual Report. This report should be concise and include:

Title & Abstract
Description of circuit and how it works
Test Procedure & Data Analysis
Conclusion & References

Technical Notes

There is no length requirement, but 4 to 8 pages would be typical.
Longer reports DO NOT get higher grades; you want to be succinct and clear.
All source material must be cited and any help received (from Instructor, TA, Technologist, Student, …) acknowledged.
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE!! For more information, please see the Academic Integrity sites of the Faculty of Arts & Science and the University. If in doubt, talk to the Instructor.

Safety

You must consider any potential safety issues associated with your project. - Circuits should not involve voltages over 45 V nor currents exceeding 1 A, without prior permission from the Instructor. - Nothing should get too hot or too bright or too forceful.

Video

Your team must also make a short (< 4 minute) video to demonstrate your project.

State the point of your project.
Show it working.
- Illustrate any interesting features.

Grading Scheme for Project

25% for effort
25% for clarity
25% for understanding
25% for difficulty \(\times\) quality of project

Notes:

If your project does not work, you may lose marks in all if the above categories, but if you dealt well with unforeseen problems arising in a difficult project, and well document and explain your efforts, you can still get a good grade.
- You can still get a very good grade if you demonstrate a clear understanding of why the project did not work and the reasons were not trivial to anticipate.
“difficulty times quality” means that projects that simpler projects are expected to be better done.
- creativity can also boost this component
If after starting on the project you quickly realize the project is too difficult or is otherwise unworkable, immediately consult with the Instructor. When grading your project, we will not be sympathetic about foreseeable problems that were unsolvable because the project was done in a rush on the last day. Start work on your project as early as possible!
For the Final Project, it is nice to have it beautifully laid out. You might want to look at this Breadboarding tips video suggested by PHY405S student Samuel.

Some Suggested Projects

The project can be

simply an interesting circuit, or
a circuit used to measure something (since this is a Physics Lab course).

Here are some ideas, that might - or might not - be practical. More ideas may be added - and possibly some removed - later in the semester.

An apparatus to measure the time it takes for a falling object to pass by a start photodiode and a stop photodiode.
- This could be used to measure ‘little g’, by dropping object from increasing height.
Battery powered automatic LED night light/blinker..
Photoplethysmography circuit & sensor
- Something like this?
A circuit that uses a photodiode to control and stabilize the output of an LED.
- e.g. if the power supply voltage or temperature changes
A simple Function generator
Light sensor circuit
- Inspired by IR Sensor Circuit
- Maybe with a self-driven piezo alarm when it senses something.
Chaotic circuit
- Vilnius educational chaos circuit
  - Falstad Example
- RLD (Resistor, Inductor, Diode)
Piezo circuits
- weighing scale
- Vibration damper
- Electronic stethoscope
Simple AM receiver
- Circuit is not tunable, but a signal at the resonant frequency can be produced by your wave generator instead of picking it up with an antenna.
Water electrical conductivity
- Simply replacing the thermistor in Lab 5 with two wires in water might work work as a basic resistivity meter, although some tweaks might be necessary to increase dynamic range, e.g. for comparing fresh and salt water.

PHY405 Electronics, Project Guidelines