Dipole Mapping Lab

3D map the electric potential around a dipole.

You should have the following materials at your lab table.

1. clear plastic tray

2. mapping grid

3. multimeter

4. two 9V batteries

5. two wires

6. set of alligator wires

7. piece of sandpaper

8. roll of masking tape

1. Snap the batteries together as shown below.

• The male end is POSITIVE.
• The female end is NEGATIVE.

2. Bend the wires as shown below.

Clean the ends of the wires with sandpaper if there is any deposits on the ends of the wire.

3. Place the mapping grid beneath the tray and secure the wires with tape as shown below.

The tips of the wires need to be above the two black dots.

4. Wire the batteries into the set up as shown below.

The POSITIVE terminal MUST be wired to the wire above the dot at the top of the mapping grid.

5. Connect the leads to multimeter as shown below.

Set the meter to the 20V setting.

If your display is frozen it's because the HOLD feature has been activated. An "H" will appear in the top left corner of the display. Press the YELLOW button to release the HOLD.

6. Fill your tray with 1.5 - 2 cm of water.

DO NOT GET ANY OF THE EQUIPMENT WET.

7. Touch and HOLD the COMMON lead (black lead) to the snapped battery connection as shown below.

The voltage where the common touches is set to equal zero.

8. Measure and record the voltage at the center of each mapping grid as shown below. Record the sign of the voltage too.

Record the values in the Google Sheets file linked below. Save a copy to your drive before entering data.

Record values to ONE decimal place.

9. When all data has been recorded share your Google Sheet with Mr. Carroll. Send one team member up to get a copy of your 3D printed mapping.