The Value of Computer Interfacing— Exploring the Physics of Current/Voltage Measurements
A more instructive measure of voltage vs. time, which opens up the activity to more interesting possibilities, was obtained by interfacing the clock to a Macintosh 8100/80 microcomputer via Vernier Corporation serial box interface hardware and software (see ref 2). This affordable ($100–$250 per computer) interfacing package is being used in our first-year chemistry laboratories. The interfacing setup permitted data to be acquired at the much more meaningful rate of up to 50 points per second. It also permitted us to observe voltage variations with time while the strips in orange juice were hooked up to the clock. When data are taken 50 times per second rather than once every hour, the data take on new meaning. Figure 4 shows that there is a sub
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