How Does Air Turbulence Affect a Light?
Time Required: 1 hour Grade Level: High School Summary: When you talk, your breath makes the air around your mouth move. However, you probably are not usually aware of such tiny breezes. Using a sensitive photo-detector, we can make even minor air turbulence in the air detectable. Can you think of some uses for the device you will be making? Materials: Diode laser Battery holder (2 “D” cells for 3 volt power supply) Photo-detector Amplifier-speaker Mini-phone jack 4 Alligator clip leads Optional: Multimeter and leads (DMM=digital multimeter) Optional: Oscilloscope Assembly: • To extend the length of time that the laser pointer will operate, remove the AAA batteries in the pointer provided in your kit, and connect the laser pointer to a battery pack containing two D-cell batteries. This is done by opening the laser pointer and connecting an alligator clip lead in the laser at the positive (+) internal battery terminal, and then connecting that clip lead to the positive (+) terminal on t
