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The Chemical Educator
ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)
Abstract Volume 6
Issue 4 (2001) pp 235-237
Measurement of the Bulk Modulus of a Liquid Using a Pump–Probe Laser Technique
Christopher D. Lane, David J. Hathcock, Andrew J. Leavitt,Farooq A. Khan,and John E. Hansen*
Department of Chemistry, State University of West Georgia, Carrollton,
GA 30118
Received October 27, 2000 Accepted January 11, 2001
Published online: 20 July 2001
Abstract. We describe an undergraduate laboratory experiment that uses a time-resolved laser technique. Using pump–probe in a novel way, students determined the bulk modulus of a liquid. Employing the fourth harmonic from a pulsed Nd:YAG laser, an elastic wave is generated in an aqueous solution of N-acetyltryptophan, and the wave propagation is probed by a He–Ne laser. This experiment serves as a rare example of how a bulk property of a condensed phase can be measured using time-resolved optical measurements having relevance to undergraduate physical chemistry or material science laboratory.
Key Words: Laboratories and Demonstrations; physical chemistry; material science; laser; quantum
(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: jhansen@westga.edu)
Article in PDF format (132 KB) HTML format
Supporting Materials:
Student Instructions (64 KB PDF file) 10.1007/ s00897010489b
Issue date: August 3, 2001
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