An undergraduate laboratory experiment for measuring ε 0 , μ 0 and speed of light c with do-it-yourself catastrophe machines: electrostatic and magnetostatic pendula

摘要

An experimental setup for electrostatic measurement of $arepsilon_0$,separated magneto-static measurement of $mu_0$ and determination of thevelocity of light $c=1/sqrt{arepsilon_0 mu_0}$ according to Maxwell theorywith percent accuracy is described. No forces are measured with theexperimental setup therefore there is no need of a scale and the experimentprice less than pounds20 is mainly due to the batteries used. Multiplied137~times, this experimental setup was given at the fourth open internationalExperimental Physics Olympiad (EPO4) and a dozen high school students did verywell. This article, however, focuses on the catastrophe theory, which is thebasis of the methodology.